Flying Ants

[JurgenG]

Have you noticed a change in the weather lately ?

Today where I am it was hot, like the winter was definitively over.

The big thing with the weather in Isaan is every big change bring its invasion of insect.

Today it is flying ants, hundreds of them.

I don't really care. They don't bite. The bed room is always closed so they can't get inside. Tomorrow morning we will need to sweep the floor from hundreds of wings. I don't really know where they go, mostly in the toilet it seems.

Jut an other day in Isaan

Edited February 9, 2011 by JurgenG

[DanielS]

This is Termits, and now they eat wood in your house.

[terrier123]

This is Termits, and now they eat wood in your house.

Maybe you are near to a river same as me. Termites and another hatch/swarm twice a year and are usually collected by the locals to feed the chickens full of protein -- so they say

[bergen]

The termites will lose their wings and die during the night.

They are attracted to light, so have brighter lights outside your house than inside, and you've solved your "ants" problem inside your house!

Edited February 9, 2011 by bergen

[mxyzptlk]

I experienced the same last night at dusk. The front & back doors of the house open and before I was aware of their presence, the buggers were swarming around a couple of lights. It was a bit of a pain in the arse as I was eating my dinner at the time.....but after a while their bodies & discarded wings started to litter the tiled floor. As already said......just another day in Isaan

Edited February 10, 2011 by mxyzptlk

[SantiSuk]

Get them at least 4 or 5 nights during the early stages of the wet season along with swarms of bigger winged animals that seem to fly ahead of incoming storm clouds. The geckos get stuffed. Driving through swarms is like driving through heavy rain.

[Pinot]

There not just in Issan. They're here in Phuket and probably everywhere. Seem to come only for a couple of hours a night. Close up the house or turn off the lights and sit in the dark.

[KhunDave]

Interesting that you have them in February. Here in Chiang Mai we always get them in May.

[DMC1]

If it's too late and you left the door open and your house is already full of them then try this....Hold a bowl of water about 1 foot underneath the light that they are buzzing around and they will eventually all fly into the water. It works pretty good if you want to get rid of them quickly.

[WarpSpeed]

The termites will lose their wings and die during the night.

They are attracted to light, so have brighter lights outside your house than inside, and you've solved your "ants" problem inside your house!

They don't die they grow wings when they've outgrown their current colony and then swarm to another location where you can't see them any better then you can now... But they aren't dead, trust me..

[isanbirder]

Usually they come out after it has rained. I once saw the swarm emerge, from a tiny hole in the ground that I wouldn't normally have even noticed. Thousands upon thousands of them! If you have a garden, there are toads waiting for just this occasion to stuff themselves.

What I don't understand about them is how they know the rain is coming. Once in Chiangmai, we had an unseasonal rainstorm... and still the flying ants emerged. How on earth could they know to get to just the right stage in their life-cycle at exactly that moment?

[WarpSpeed]

There not just in Issan. They're here in Phuket and probably everywhere. Seem to come only for a couple of hours a night. Close up the house or turn off the lights and sit in the dark.

That's because they drop their wings and form a new colony..

[WarpSpeed]

Usually they come out after it has rained. I once saw the swarm emerge, from a tiny hole in the ground that I wouldn't normally have even noticed. Thousands upon thousands of them! If you have a garden, there are toads waiting for just this occasion to stuff themselves.

What I don't understand about them is how they know the rain is coming. Once in Chiangmai, we had an unseasonal rainstorm... and still the flying ants emerged. How on earth could they know to get to just the right stage in their life-cycle at exactly that moment?

Nature's an amazement....

[Dave the Dude]

If it's too late and you left the door open and your house is already full of them then try this....Hold a bowl of water about 1 foot underneath the light that they are buzzing around and they will eventually all fly into the water. It works pretty good if you want to get rid of them quickly.

Better still place a bowl on the floor, directly below your outside lights (the bigger hte better) and the reflection will make the critters drown in the water, thus leaving your drinking hand free to sup another cold one!

Edited February 19, 2011 by Dave the Dude

[isanbirder]

Usually they come out after it has rained. I once saw the swarm emerge, from a tiny hole in the ground that I wouldn't normally have even noticed. Thousands upon thousands of them! If you have a garden, there are toads waiting for just this occasion to stuff themselves.

What I don't understand about them is how they know the rain is coming. Once in Chiangmai, we had an unseasonal rainstorm... and still the flying ants emerged. How on earth could they know to get to just the right stage in their life-cycle at exactly that moment?

Sorry, that was the other lot. I had the smaller variety at my house last night, without rain. They must read ThaiVisa!

[JurgenG]

Usually they come out after it has rained. I once saw the swarm emerge, from a tiny hole in the ground that I wouldn't normally have even noticed. Thousands upon thousands of them! If you have a garden, there are toads waiting for just this occasion to stuff themselves.

What I don't understand about them is how they know the rain is coming. Once in Chiangmai, we had an unseasonal rainstorm... and still the flying ants emerged. How on earth could they know to get to just the right stage in their life-cycle at exactly that moment?

Probably because of atmospheric pressure change. In my home country you know it's going to rain when some birds fly low. actually it's because the the insects they are chasing fly low because of the change of pressure.

Maybe also because of the change in temperature (my invasion was caused I believe because of a sudden increase of temperature) and/or humidity in the air.

Every time the weather change, we have new insects coming. This time it was the flying ants, other time it's some small black beetles, or an other kind of ants ... If you like insects, you will never get bored in Isaan.

[Dave the Dude]

If you like insects, you will never get bored in Isaan.

Or hungry!

[JurgenG]

If you like insects, you will never get bored in Isaan.

Or hungry!

A friend of mine stopped eating lobsters since he heard someone calling them "cockroaches of the sea"

Others just call them "bugs".

Lobster Thermidor ..... I'm drooling on my keyboard !

[robbo1]

If it's too late and you left the door open and your house is already full of them then try this....Hold a bowl of water about 1 foot underneath the light that they are buzzing around and they will eventually all fly into the water. It works pretty good if you want to get rid of them quickly.

Better still place a bowl on the floor, directly below your outside lights (the bigger hte better) and the reflection will make the critters drown in the water, thus leaving your drinking hand free to sup another cold one!

Was in issan last songkrahn those flying ants-bugs were everywhere my Motherinlaw did the same thing bucket of water under outside light then she did something to them and ate them .

[jazsnake]

Can anyone recommend a reputable company name (& telephone number) to deal with termites that have invaded my house in the Nong Khai (Thabo) area?

Thanks...Dr. Voodoo

Edited January 11, 2013 by jazsnake