Good afternoon, my reader. Winged ants are common and seasonal. They can appear both in the city and in suburban areas, cause a number of inconveniences, but are not a threat to human health and life.
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What a beast is a winged ant
Ants are representatives of the order Hymenoptera, but wings are an attribute of males and females born to mate and reproduce. Worker ants that are found outside anthills are not endowed with this feature.
With the arrival of stable heat and in a long period without rain, females and males leave the parental anthill and rise into the air. While hovering there, the females produce certain pheromones that attract males, forcing them to follow them.
After mating, the males die, and the female creates a house for herself and breeds offspring, which will be the basis of a new anthill. She chews off her wings.
Are winged ants dangerous?
Like wingless individuals more familiar to humans, winged ants are not dangerous to humans. But their abundance on the ground and in the air can cause a number of inconveniences and unpleasant moments.
Particular attention to the appearance of ants with wings should be paid to the owners of suburban areas where gardens and orchards are located. The appearance of these insects indicates that in the near future the number of anthills in the area will increase, which will lead to a sharp increase in the number of aphids. Ants breed aphids, as they feast on the honeydew secreted by it. Aphids are a dangerous pest that can destroy both garden and garden plantings.
Prevention of the appearance
It is impossible to prevent the appearance of flying ants. During the breeding season, they are everywhere and everywhere. But you can scare away insects from yourself, your home, your site.
- Spray the exposed skin with citrus juice. Orange, grapefruit, tangerine, lemon juice is ideal. The most effective and affordable is lemon. You can use cosmetics containing citrus essential oils. Indoors, it is recommended to spread out pieces of zest and use a citrus air freshener.
- You can put a small piece of mint, linden flowers, and a carnation in your clothes pocket. These plants scare off ants with their scent. Having landed them on the site, it is easy to protect it from these ubiquitous insects.
- Ants with wings move easily on the ground, like their wingless relatives. In these cases, chalk, baby powder and sleeping ground coffee will help. Scattered around the site or at the entrance to the house, they will ward off insects.
- Perfume with a cinnamon or mint scent will keep winged ants from even getting close to humans. But a significant disadvantage of this method is that not all people are able to wear and inhale such fragrances for a long time.
If insects have already entered the house or are located on the site, it is not always possible to get rid of them only with the help of harmful chemicals. Before resorting to aggressive measures, you need to try folk ways to get rid of ants:
- wood ash - it is necessary to fill the anthill with it from above;
- lime, ground pepper, dry mustard - also sprinkle on the ants house;
- cornmeal - for ants it is poison, 3 handfuls are enough for one anthill.
Winged ants do not pose a danger to humans, but they can cause inconvenience and harm the yield of plantings.
Do you have ants in the country?
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