Help! How to get rid of flying ants / winged-ant bugs at night! Invading my room, bugging me, annoying! (Waipio: apartment, insurance)

[hawaiian by heart]

Geckos all the way

[R_Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by OKfine

Definitely works, from BudK dot com at under 7 bucks plus shipping, 2 AA batteries, press the racket ball
racket sized handle "button" -green light-"sweep air"-zap-zap-zap - snap -gone when they touch the racket mesh! Fun too...lol. Good for " no see-ems" - sweep air- "snap" electrocuted !

Some have success with Dawn dish detergent in a dish bowl with a little water, they land, and wings get coated and cannot fly again-drown.

^^^^
Yes an exterminator can help - and they probably are swarming termites.
Here's what we do -

I get a cooling rack (the kind you would set a pie or cookies on.)
I set a clear plastic bowl on the rack and fill it with soapy water
I put a light underneath the bowl (that's why you need the rack - to give you the space to put the light)

Turn off all lights in the house except for the light under the bowl.
They will swarm right into the bowl and drown.
I've done that for a couple of nights in a row and the insects inside the house are all gone.

Meanwhile, check all your screens and windows. Check the attic if you have one to make sure the screens are all secure up there. Be aware when you open and close doors. If they are swarming, it's all over the neighborhood. That's why an exterminator may not help. If they have chosen your neighborhood, you're not going to get rid of the thousands that are all over your yard and the neighbor's yard.

If you do get a zapper, be mindful that zappers send out mating type sounds. They can attract insects for up to 20 miles away (at least that's what my exterminator said.) So put the zapper in the farthest corner of your yard away from your house. Or, like my exterminator said, give it to a neighbor you don't like and THEY can attract the insects to THEIR house!

[OKfine]

Meanwhile, check all your screens and windows. Check the attic if you have one to make sure the screens are all secure up there. Be aware when you open and close doors. If they are swarming, it's all over the neighborhood. That's why an exterminator may not help. If they have chosen your neighborhood, you're not going to get rid of the thousands that are all over your yard and the neighbor's yard.

If you do get a zapper, be mindful that zappers send out mating type sounds. They can attract insects for up to 20 miles away (at least that's what my exterminator said.) So put the zapper in the farthest corner of your yard away from your house. Or, like my exterminator said, give it to a neighbor you don't like and THEY can attract the insects to THEIR house! [/quote]



The homes with central air and vents allow insects to enter via vents too, past any filter in place. The referenced zappers with a handle/tiny button, only stay on a few seconds as you press the button and sweep the air, zap/gone and then silence, as opposed to any that remain activated in a given spot. To test if the handled zapper attracted by "mating " sounds, I pressed the button in an area away from home, and in a few seconds, some nice ladies came over to say hello. Mostly, they were curious why I was carrying a silly racket pressing a button , and sweeping the air . Either way, it appears to be useful.
One suggested I go take my meds. "Whatever works" !

[hunterseat]

Ah...I see.. a one-post-wonder.

With the island being a giant rock, pesticides and lawn treatment, farming chemicals... they all run off and the marine life suffers. I guess that's why there's nothing in the way of coral reef in this gorgeous tropical paradise.

Pesky nats and other flying insects at night probably come in through screens from who-knows-where. Maybe drawn by the lights? Would an exterminator be effective for that? I've always wanted to sleep in mosquito netting.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by hunterseat

Pesky nats and other flying insects at night probably come in through screens from who-knows-where. Maybe drawn by the lights? Would an exterminator be effective for that?

Yes, an exterminator is effective for that - I'm always surprised people put up with bugs in Hawaii - there are pet friendly options and bugs aren't terribly interested in your residence that has regular maintenance by an exterminator.

[OKfine]

Reading commentary by John Froissart, 1337-1405, chronicles of the Middle Ages, we have it pretty good now.

The good old days of open sewers and a rare bath, may have kept many bugs away. Hmmmmm.

[OKfine]

I was surprised at this article about mosquitoes, and not being here at one time long ago.
The Seven Worst Things Ever Introduced to Hawaii | Maui Time News Feed: Maui's Only Independent News Source | The MauiTime News Blog
Almost every invasive animal has its defenders: cats, pigs, mongooses, even rats. But you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to make the case for mosquitoes. Ear-buzzing, blood-sucking, disease-spreading denizens of dusk, they’re also a (grudgingly) accepted part of Hawaii’s ecosystem.

But it wasn’t always so. Imagine a time when the islands were free of the biting Culicidae, when you could walk shirtless near a placid pond at sunset without being pocked by itchy red welts. That’s no fantasy—prior to the 19th century, Hawaii was mosquito-free. According to the state Department of Health, the first batch arrived in 1826, likely breeding in casks stowed in ships (though a persistent myth tells a more compelling, if less plausible story of a sailor who, jilted by a Hawaiian girl, intentionally unleashed the insects out of spite).

Different varieties of mosquitoes followed, bringing a Dengue epidemic in 1903—with some 30,000 confirmed cases—and an outbreak of yellow fever in 1911. Improvements in vector control have mitigated—though not eliminated—those risks, but mosquitoes remain among the state’s most irritating and embedded residents.

[CuriousKapono80]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

This isn't terribly difficult - call an exterminator.

I definitely will be calling several pest exterminators this week!

Ugh!

More of these flying ants are swarming around my desk lamp tonight, even right now as I type! One even flew straight at my face and started to crawl on my glasses!

Guys, these are definitely not termites, as the termites I have seen in Hawaii are brownish in color, and are large. They usually come out around the early summer time, and they are around 1 cm long.

These flying jerks look like small black house ants, except that they have wings, and "hop" - "fly" around and are attracted to light.

Last night wasn't too bad, as only a few came out.

But tonight, and cr-pload of them are swarming around my desk lamp, many are flying onto my neck, back, one even flew onto my eyeglasses and started to crawl on my forehead!

[CuriousKapono80]

Originally Posted by OKfine

Some have success with Dawn dish detergent in a dish bowl with a little water, they land, and wings get coated and cannot fly again-drown.

A friend of mine actually told me the exact same thing you've suggested. I got an empty Tofu container, filled it halfway with water, and added dish soap detergent. I think I've added Palmolive dish soap detergent.

Anyhow, these stupid flying ants do fly straight into the soap water-filled Tofu container. It's just that tonight, I have TONS MORE of these flying ants that keep showing up.

Right now, there are around 60 flying ants trapped, drowned, some still wriggling, in the Tofu container. I jjust snapped a photo with my Samsung smart phone, and want to find a way to upload the image.

[CuriousKapono80]

I am trying to learn how to attach picture images to my posting.

The first picture is that of a dead flying ant on one of my papers on a nearby drawer.

The second picture is the "icky" image of hundreds of flying ants that flew into a Tofu container halfway filled with water.

As of now, ugh, some are flying onto my back and arms, and my computer monitor!