It usually happens on a warm, humid evening after rain. You turn on the porch light, and within minutes it’s surrounded by small winged insects. The next morning there are tiny wings scattered across the windowsill.
If you live in Kendall, The Hammocks, or Country Walk, there’s a good chance you’ve just seen a termite swarm. Here’s what it means and what to do about it.
What a termite swarm is
A swarm is how an established termite colony reproduces. Once a colony is mature — usually several years old — it sends out winged termites called swarmers (or alates). They fly, pair off, drop their wings, and try to start new colonies.
Two things make swarms worth paying attention to:
- A swarm means a mature colony is close by. Swarmers are weak fliers. If they’re coming out inside your house, the colony may be in your walls, your framing, or the soil under your slab.
- Swarmers themselves do no damage. The damage comes from the workers in the colony, which you almost never see.
When termites swarm in South Florida
South Florida has both subterranean termites, which live in the soil and travel through mud tubes, and drywood termites, which live entirely inside wood. Swarm timing varies by species, but spring is the busiest stretch:
- Subterranean termites, including the Formosan subterranean termite, swarm mostly in spring and early summer, often at dusk or after dark and often after a rain.
- Drywood termites tend to swarm on warm evenings, and their swarmers are drawn to lights.
Because swarms happen in the evening, the first clue is often what’s left behind in the morning: wings.
Termites or flying ants?
Flying ants swarm too, and they look similar at a glance. Look closely at one (a photo zoomed in on your phone works):
| What to check | Termite swarmer | Flying ant |
|---|---|---|
| Waist | Thick, straight body | Pinched, narrow waist |
| Antennae | Straight | Bent, like an elbow |
| Wings | Two pairs, equal length, much longer than the body | Front wings longer than the back wings |
| Shed wings | Very common — piles on sills and floors | Less common |
If you’re not sure, save a few in a zip-top bag or a piece of clear tape. A technician can identify them in seconds.
Other signs to check for
A swarm is the most visible sign, but it’s rarely the only one. Walk around your home and look for:
- Mud tubes — pencil-width tunnels of dirt running up the foundation, a wall, or a pipe
- Frass — small piles of pellets that look like sand or coffee grounds under wood, from drywood termites
- Hollow-sounding wood — tap baseboards, door frames, and window trim
- Bubbling paint or sagging trim — moisture and damage behind the surface
What to do if termites swarm in your home
- Don’t spray. Bug spray kills the swarmers you can see and does nothing to the colony.
- Save a sample. Put a few swarmers or wings in a bag so they can be identified.
- Vacuum up the rest. Swarmers can’t survive long indoors, and cleaning up won’t make things worse.
- Don’t break open mud tubes or damaged wood. It helps the inspection to see them undisturbed.
- Turn off outdoor lights at dusk during swarm season, or close blinds near indoor lights, so fewer swarmers are drawn to the house.
- Get an inspection. The colony is the problem, and finding it takes a trained eye.
How Golden treats termites
We start with a free termite inspection to confirm what you have and where it is. Our licensed technicians then treat the whole house without a tent — you don’t have to move out, pack up food, or find a place to stay. The treatment lasts a year, and we offer protection and prevention treatments to keep termites from coming back.
Termite damage is rarely covered by homeowners insurance, and colonies do their damage quietly for years. If you’ve seen a swarm, the best time to act is now, while it’s still a swarm and not a repair bill.
