Avatar for Txgal2007
Aug 5, 2022 9:13 AM CST
Thread OP

Hi! New here!
At midnight, I saw my window sill was covered in these, which were not there just an hour before.
In my tired state of mind, I immediately concluded termites. Now in the morning, I'm thinking ants. Can anyone help?
I'm located in Texas.
And for reference, they were all on a window sill that had a corner that warped from a small leak during spring storms.

Either way, how did these things get in so quickly and lay eggs all within a couple hours? I had just dusted window sills and blinds the day before 🙃
Thanks for the help
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Aug 5, 2022 9:42 AM CST
Name: Big Bill
Livonia Michigan (Zone 6a)
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Outer wall?
I think they are ants, segmented bodies, along with ant eggs. Perhaps the largest one is the Queen?
What makes sense to me is that some one or some thing disturbed the ant nest causing the 'workers' to flee taking the eggs with them. The Queen either lead or followed the exodus.
That's my opinion and it makes some sense.
Orchid lecturer, teacher and judge. Retired Wildlife Biologist. Supervisor of a nature preserve up until I retired.
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Aug 5, 2022 9:57 AM CST
Taos, New Mexico (Zone 5b)
Crescit Eundo
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Ants.

They didn't just appear and lay those eggs, they already have a nest in your house. And the bigger ant is another worker, it's bigger because it ranges farther then the nursery ants that are tending to the eggs. A queen ant would have wings, and once they shed their wings they stay in the hive. @Bigbill is right, something has disturbed the colony.

I had the same thing happen about 25 years ago in my old house. The ants got in through a crack in my stucco and created a nest in the wall. I didn't know they were there until they came out from under the window sill and swarmed in my living room. The intelligent and always resourceful Ms. Henderman grabbed the vacuum and sucked them all up before they got too far.

You have to kill the queen to get rid of the nest. Topical sprays will just kill the workers it touches and the queen will be left alive to produce more workers. I used an ant bait, it is poison on corn meal that the workers take back to the queen. The product I used was Grant's Ant Bait but I'm not sure if they still make it.

Good luck!
Last edited by Henderman Aug 5, 2022 10:06 AM Icon for preview
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