Swarmers in spring: what they actually mean

Every March the office phone starts with the same call: a cloud of winged insects by a sunny window, gone by evening, and a pile of discarded wings on the sill. That is a termite swarm, and it is the single most common way a Gulf Coast homeowner finds out they have a colony.

Swarmers are not the infestation

They are the colony’s reproductive caste, leaving to start new ones. By the time they appear, the colony that produced them has usually been established for three to five years. That is not a reason to panic — it is a reason not to wait.

Telling them from flying ants

Termite swarmers have four wings of equal length, a straight waist and straight antennae. Flying ants have a pinched waist, elbowed antennae and a front pair of wings noticeably longer than the back. Keep a few in a sandwich bag; identification takes a technician about ten seconds.

What to do that afternoon

Vacuum them up, note which window they came from, and photograph the wings. Do not spray — a repellent product at the swarm point can push the colony to forage elsewhere in the structure and make the treatment harder. Then call for an inspection.