CLOSED: 1000 bugs hatching in my garage... help!

Last week my fiance noticed a bunch of little winged bugs in our laundry room (the room directly off our garage). When he checked out the garage he found the garage floor littered with bugs and their wings, some of which had fallen off. The bugs are small about a quarter inch long including the wings. We cleaned out the garage and sprayed Orkin Home Defense.

It has been a week since then and tonight I found even more little buggies in my garage. I would like to know what kind of bugs they are and what to do about them.

Please help and thanks!

They're soil ants. I can't tell you if they're grease-eaters or sweet- eaters. They won't do any damage. They burrow in dirt, not in houses. They typically wander near (or in) homes & foundations in cold months and go back out when it warms up outside. They're just trying to keep warm for the winter.

The winged ones are new queens & drones that are supposed to mate in the air, fly away...FAR away, tear off their wings, dig into the soil, and start new colonies. Every species of ant & termite does this in the spring or fall.

Unfortunately, they got stuck in your house instead. If you're not the bug type, you might want to buy some ant bait for them to take back to the queen to eliminate this colony, then seal your foundation better with some silicone caulk & a big caulk gun to discourage future colonies. Personally, I'd just clean 'em up, and wait for them to migrate back to the surface, then maybe seal 'em out, like in July or August.

Good Luck!

These are NOT, repeat, NOT!!! ants!!!!! They are winged (reproductive) termites - see http://tinyurl.com/chmlkq for easy ways to distinguish between winged ants and termites. You should have your premises inspected by a reputable, professional termite control company, and consider initiating a surveillance/control program. http://www.termite.com/missouri/ for a starting point in your search. You also may want to contact the Jefferson County office of the University of Missouri's Cooperative Extension office (see http://tinyurl.com/ch6l5p) for further advice. Extension offices usually are a good source for information when dealing with most home/yard/garden pest problems.

Thanks for the info. I would say they definitly must be termites from what I read. Yikes! My landlord wont be happy about that. My fiance mentioned that he thought they may be termites but he wasn't sure, just guessing.

I appreciate the quick response and good info.

GEEZ, then i'd better be more alert when we get our spring hatch in a month or so... We get swarms on the cars & lawns in our apt complex. They emerge from UNDER the building slab. I always thought they were the same critters that emerged from anthills in the brick patio at my parents house twice a year. Now I don't know if our Spring swarm is ant or termite! Yikes!!!!

I've seen big Savannah alates in African documentaries, but never noticed the local northeastern guys. I was told by the local exterminators that if you had termites around here, there would be mud trails leading up from the foundation, weak spots in the wood, and small creatures that looked like grains of rice (I'm guessing they're the working class termites). I'm humbled and worried what i will find after the thaw...

Yes, that's most certainly a "swarm" of termites. Better check any untreated lumber you may have under your house. The swarm I experienced was in the Spring. They came up between the floor and baseboard in the living room of our old house. ALL of the untreated lumber in our crawlspace was converted into termite excretions, if you know what I mean. They may not have ruined anything, but I would definitely have the apt complex check into it before you're floors start giving in.

With apologies to Ogden Nash:

"An ancient termite knocked on wood,
Tasted it, and found it good.
And that is why your dear Aunt May
Fell through the parlor floor today."

Exactly! That's just too cute for something so horrid!
I never thought I would read a poem about termites that could make me chuckle,
Especially after having had an experience with them.

Suunto, I never thought prowling through a bug identification forum would yield something that would make me laugh out loud, but lo and behold here you are doing just that! Your poem made howl, for which I thank you. Your information, however, I take VERY seriously. Thanks for the laugh!