Pest Control for Warehouses in Cambridge
The pests warehouses attract, from rats and mice to birds and stored-product insects, where they get in, and what a warehouse pest control plan covers.
Read the guide →Flying Ants
Flying Ant Control Cambridge
Most flying ant days need no treatment at all. The swarm is over within a day or two. What deserves a closer look is where they are coming from, because winged ants emerging from inside the house mean a colony is living in the building.
Flying ants can be alarming: dozens of winged insects on a window, a patio covered in them, or a stream coming out from under a skirting board. This guide is about what to do about them. For why they appear at all, the ant control cost guide has a short explanation of the mating flight.
Is It Flying Ants or Something Else?
Winged ants are sometimes mistaken for small wasps or flies. A close look settles it.
- An ant's body, dark brown or black with a pinched waist, and none of the yellow and black stripes of a wasp.
- Bent, elbowed antennae, the same as the ants you see on the path.
- Two pairs of wings, with the front pair noticeably larger than the back pair. They snap off easily, so you will often find loose wings on the sill.
- Ants without wings mixed in around the spot they are coming from, which wasps never have.
If you are still unsure what species of ant you are dealing with, our ant identification guide covers the common ones in Cambridge homes.
What to Do on the Day
A swarm outdoors does not need treating. Within a short time the males die, the new queens fly off, and the numbers drop away on their own.
- Close the windows and doors on the side of the house where they are swarming.
- Vacuum up any that get inside rather than spraying them. It is quicker and leaves nothing behind.
- Note where they are coming out. This is the one useful piece of information a swarm gives you.
- Do not pour boiling water or spray on the patio. It kills the ants you see and does very little to the colony below.
Where they come out matters more than how many there are. A cloud rising from the lawn or between paving slabs is a garden colony doing what garden colonies do. Winged ants appearing from a skirting board, floor gap or airbrick inside means the colony is in the building.
When Flying Ants Do Need Treatment
Treatment makes sense when the swarm points to a problem you would have anyway. The signs to look for are:
- Winged ants emerging indoors, from a gap in the floor, behind a skirting board or around a pipe.
- Ordinary worker ants trailing into the kitchen in the weeks before or after the swarm.
- Ants coming from the same gap every summer.
- Fresh piles of fine soil or sand at the base of an internal wall or along the edge of a floor.
In those cases the treatment is aimed at the colony, not the winged ants, which will be gone soon anyway. Our guide on how to know if you have an ant infestation covers the other signs.
Winged ants on the patio are a summer afternoon. Winged ants out of the skirting board are a colony in the wall.
The Treatment and the Price
Our ant control service targets the colony that is using the building. Ant control is £240 fixed price, with no call-out fee, and the price is confirmed before anything is booked. Every treatment is guaranteed: if the problem comes back within 14 days of treatment, we return and re-treat free of charge.
Before the visit we tell you what will be used, where, and when the treated areas can be used again, and what to do with any pets. Follow those instructions. The same colony will produce winged ants again in a future summer if it is left, which is why dealing with it matters more than dealing with the swarm.
If ants keep returning after a treatment or year after year, see why ants keep coming back. And if the winged insects in your loft are sluggish flies rather than ants, our guide to cluster flies will help.
Ant Control Cambridge — £240 fixed price, no call-out fee. Every treatment is guaranteed: if the problem comes back within 14 days of treatment, we return and re-treat free of charge.
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Flying Ant Control Cambridge — Common Questions
Do flying ants bite or sting?
The common garden ant does not sting, and the winged ants are focused on mating rather than on people. They are a nuisance rather than a hazard.
Why do flying ants appear everywhere at once?
Colonies across a wide area respond to the same warm, humid weather, so they tend to release their winged ants at the same time. It is the weather, not a local infestation.
Should I spray the flying ants in my house?
No. Vacuum them up and note where they came from. Spraying does nothing to the colony and can make a later treatment harder.
Will a flying ant swarm happen again this summer?
It can, over several warm days, and neighbouring colonies may swarm at different times. If they keep coming from inside, it is worth getting in touch.
Can a new queen start a colony in my house?
Most new queens fail to start a colony at all. If one does succeed indoors, you will usually notice worker ants trailing long before you see winged ants from it.
Get a Quote for Ant Control
Tell us what you have found and where. We confirm the treatment and the price before anything is booked.
More Ants Advice
What Is the Hardest Pest to Get Rid of in Cambridge?
The household pests hardest to clear and why: bed bugs, German cockroaches, pharaoh ants and rats, and what makes a pest stubborn in the first place.
Read the guide →Are Pest Treatments Safe for My Pets and Family in Cambridge?
What we tell you before a treatment, how rooms, pets, fish and children are handled, and who to ask if you have a health or veterinary worry.
Read the guide →How Much Does Ant Control Cost in Cambridge?
£240 fixed price
What the price covers, what changes it, and what happens on the day.
Read the price guide →Need Help With Ants?
Tell us what you have seen and where, and we will give you the treatment and the price before we book anything.