It is frustrating to see a large number of flying carpenter ants in the house, which is not a common sight. It can be a surprise for many people if they are not familiar with winged ants and usually see wingless worker ants around them.
How to Get Rid of Flying Carpenter Ants? You can get rid of flying carpenter ants by using a solution prepared by mixing peppermint oil and dish soap that is effective at killing them. In addition, you can use natural repellents, ant killer sprays, cinnamon oil spray, sticky traps, boiling water, sugar and borax baits, and vinegar solution.
Removing the wooden logs from the garden and inspecting the wooden furniture regularly can help avoid the infestation of ants. However, their sudden appearance in the house requires proper treatment and deterring substances for immediate removal. Call exterminators if you are not able to control them.
Peppermint oil and dish soap spray
Prepare a spraying solution by mixing peppermint oil with dish soap that works well against ants with waxy exoskeletons. This herb has a repelling odor that causes discomfort for insects.
Add liquid dish soap to water in a 1:2 ratio and mix them well to prepare a spraying solution. After that, add 10 to 12 drops of peppermint oil and pour the solution into a spraying bottle.
Mix the ingredients thoroughly and spray the solution directly on the bodies of flying carpenter ants when you see them on the sidewalk or indoors.
The odor of peppermint helps keep these nuisance pests away from the house, while the soapy solution breaks the bonds in the waxy exoskeleton and leads to death.
Natural repellents
Some natural repellents can also help stop the winged carpenter ants from getting inside the property because these repellents interfere with their communication signals.
Spread salt on the infested spots or spray the salty solution to dehydrate them, which will cause death as they cannot live with a dried exoskeleton.
Sprinkle the turmeric powder in areas infested with the population of these winged carpenter ants that discourage insects due to its powerful scent.
I used cayenne pepper to remove these nuisance insects by spreading natural repelling powders.
Ant killer spray
Get an ant killer spray if the natural methods of repelling and killing flying carpenter ants do not work. These commercial sprays contain insecticides that can efficiently kill them.
The toxic chemicals penetrate their bodies when these killer sprays are directly sprayed on them. The chemicals interfere with the nervous system and cause death.
Last year, I used bay leaves to remove their infestation, but it did not help me, so I switched to Terro spray or chemical methods to deal with them.
This chemical method of dealing with their population should be considered only when natural methods do not work well.
Vacuum cleaning
Get a vacuum cleaner and quickly wipe out the swarm of flying carpenter ants.
Sucking them through a vacuum cleaner kills them, but a few can survive and try to escape. So, add borax powder or some desiccants to kill them quickly and avoid escapes.
I used my vacuum cleaner to get rid of crazy ants, pavement ants, and carpenter ants, as when the winged alates appear on the ground during mating season.
Cinnamon oil spray
It is an effective solution to treat the infestation naturally because cinnamon is a good repellent for them.
Add 5 to 10 drops of cinnamon oil in 100ml water and prepare a spraying solution to remove them. The odor of cinnamon is powerful and can cause problems in chemical communication.
It becomes difficult for them to identify the mating signals and approach their mates to engage in the flight.
It takes only a few hours to a day to deter these swarming carpenter ants. This solution can also be used to kill them if you keep the quantity of oil more than the repelling solution.
Sticky traps
They usually approach trees and wooden logs in the backyard so that you can put some sticky traps around plants. These traps can also be used indoors if there is an infestation.
These traps can be designed at home if you do not want to spend money on commercial sticky traps. Take duct tape and wrap the tree trunks or other surfaces with it.
Put a few drops of honey on the tape that act like an attractant for them and grab the attention of nearby flying carpenter ants. These sticky traps make it difficult for them to move away due to the tape’s sticky nature as their feet adhere to the sticky surface.
Boiling water or vinegar solution
Pouring boiling hot water directly on the nests of carpenter ants can help kill the newly born winged insects that can infest your house in the future.
In addition, vinegar solution is also effective at removing them when spraying the solution on their swarm, indoors or outdoors. Its strong scent deters them in a few hours.
Sugar and borax balls
The use of baits is common to deal with infestation because they help to permanently remove their colonies.
You can prepare a homemade bait by mixing sugar in the borax as an attractant. The quantity of sugar should be 3 times more than the toxic borax powder to suppress its unpleasant odor.
Add water to the powder mixture to prepare a solution of thick consistency. Dip the cotton balls into the prepared solution and leave them soaked for a few minutes.
After that, put these cotton balls near the infestation or their nests. Do not worry if they are not attracted to it for a few minutes, as it will take some time.
Electric zapper racket
It is good to use an electric zapper racket for these ants when it is not easy to spray the solution.
These zapper rackets deliver a powerful shock to winged carpenter ants, which leads to their death. They cannot tolerate the sudden shock of high voltage and die immediately.
You can also use it to remove them from outdoors and wait for them to hit the grid of the racket. These devices emit UV light or an electric voltage, so you can get one that can deliver a powerful shock to them.
Spread diatomaceous earth powder
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth powder on the spots that are prone to infestation, around nests, or directly on the bodies of flying carpenter ants swarming in or out of the house.
It is a suitable desiccant for them appearing in the spring or mating season. It removes moisture from bodies by causing damage to the outer shell as silica particles break outer shells.
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