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Ant vs. Termite
All termites and most ant species swarm. Swarming is simply nature’s way of starting a new colony of pests. During a swarm the Secondary Reproductive members of the original colony fly out from the nest in an attempt to find a mate, and start their own colony elsewhere.
When you have experienced a swarm, it is important to know whether it was a swarm of ants or a swarm of termites. Treating your property for the wrong pest can be very expensive, and will be totally ineffective. The way a building is treated for termites will not solve your ant problem and vise-versa.
Unfortunately, it is very easy to get these two pests confused, if you don’t know their differences. Ant swarmers and termite swarmers are approximately the same size, the swarming activity of these two pests looks very similar, and the number of swarmers from an ant colony or a termite colony are about the same.
However, there are three differences between an ant swarmer body and a termite swarmer body that will immediately tell you which pest you are dealing with. First, ants have a very narrow waist, which clearly the upper and lower portion of their body. When you look at an ant swarmer body, you can easily see three distinct body parts; the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. On the other hand, termites have a very fat waist, making the separation between their thorax and abdomen indistinguishable. When you look at a termite swarmer body, you can only see two parts; the head, and the body. Secondly, ants have a bent (or “elbowed”) antennae; whereas, a termite has a straight antennae. The final way to tell the difference between an ant swarmer and a termite swarmer is by looking at the wings. Both ant and termite swarmers have four wings. However, an ant swarmer has two long wings and two short wings, while all four wings on a termite swarmer are the same length. By using these three identifiers, you will at least know which type of pest you are dealing with at your property.
Ultimately, you will still have to call on a Pest Management Professional to further identify the subspecies of ant or termite that is swarming. The trained inspectors at Industrial Commercial Termite (ICT) are able to identify the subspecies for you, and prescribe the proper treatment to solve your pest problem. Don’t spend money to treat a pest that you don’t have. Use the expertise at ICT to invest your dollars wisely.
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