We have a huge swarm of flying ants. Is it your flying ants day today and what do you do about yours?

[FlyingAunts]

We've lived in this house for decades and we've never noticed any ants or flying ants here before. Today we've got a huge swarm of flying ants in the garden. They are crawling all over a stone wall, down onto the lawn and flying thick in the air. The garden is unusable, especially with the DC. We are in the UK and rural. We're a very nature-friendly family usually but these are awful and they are everywhere!

They are meant to fly on the same day, depending on the weather and whether urban or rural. I find this rather spooky!

Have you got flying ants today and what, if anything, have you done about the beasties?

Here's some information:

Flying ant day: when winged ants take their nuptial flight | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)

Yes, today is the day in South Wales!
They aren’t flying around yet, lots of them crawling everywhere.

I am going on a Bat Walk in our local park later this evening.
I will encourage all bats to focus on 🐜 🐜 ants 🐜!

South Wales here! Swarms of them today, literally dropping to the floor at one point!

I'm in Torquay today and they've been relentless. Ugh!

Other than brushing my hair when I got in, didn't do anything.

I will be driving back to South Wales tomorrow and am horrified by the posts from IamEarthyMama and housedramas. Will they be gone tomorrow?

I’ve just been outside (Swansea outskirts) and it’s glorious and no flying ants. There were loads at 3pm.

I saw a single one today. It must have been lost. Or a scout.

Yes in Liverpool. I absolutely hate them.

We've been away for a few days and have arrived back home in the North West to find about 20 in the kitchen. Then, as I was trying to remove them from said kitchen, decided to knock a cup onto my little toe which is now twice its normal size and purple, so I'm blaming the flying ants for my potentially broken toe. Excellent.

We have them in Co Durham - walking the dog about 5pm and it is as awful

Here in Cheshire

We had ours a few weeks ago and it’s usually a really humid/muggy day when it happens. First sign of it and I run around the house shutting all the windows because I still remember my first flying ant day when they got in! Now I feel like I’m ready for them and I have to admit the whole thing is quite interesting to watch from a well-sealed room!

Far south west, massive swarm of them this afternoon. Looked like sooty confetti right across the valley.

Yup in Enfield.

Thanks, BestisWest, I will try to be hopeful then, they're awful things. I'll be driving to Newport and up to the valleys... hopefully all the ants will have been eaten by then.

Yes had them 2 weeks ago and some today as well I am in north west

OMG we are inundated!! Is this seriously a thing!????

@BluetitDave 's DS probably already knows, but I just found this on Devon Live from early July. Flying ant swarms can be picked up on weather radar, can be several miles across and mistaken for rainfall!

"A weather radar has picked up on a mile-long swarm of flying ants on the south coast. The Met Office picked up the ants on a rain radar on Friday as people in the East and West Sussex and Hampshire regions took to social media reporting sightings saying it was “flying ant day”.
The Exeter-based forecaster said the winged insects are usually picked up on their radars at this time of the year over the space of about a week. The swarms appear on the radars and look similar to rainfall, but the Met Office can check their weather gauges to confirm if it is rain or flying ants.
The creatures are less likely to fly in the rain and it is harder for the Met Office to tell if it is ants or the rainfall during wet weather, Simon Partridge, a forecaster for the Met Office, said.
He added: “Every year around this time we do pick them up on the rain radar. At the moment it’s harder to tell because we’ve got so many showers and the ants look like showers. When we do get the rain, they don’t fly as much.
“It’s generally the southern parts of the UK where we tend to notice it most. We haven’t seen any swarms today but it doesn’t mean they’re not there as there are so many showers around.
“They were picked up on the radar on Friday. It was much drier and it was easier to spot them. They can be seen several miles across – they look like very heavy showers. On Friday it was about a mile."

Yup, got them here today too, they don't really bother me.

I grew up in a different country, and the flying ants there are significantly larger...and when they swarm people rush out with nets and catch them and fry them to eat 😁

we have them here, but only in small numbers - I am in London

Still didn't have many until I decided to climb a little mountain after tea and then was INUNDATED! 😣 in my hair, crawling up much neck and all over my ears. Ahhhh I'm still itchy and I've had a shower.

How fascinating!
Had loads here today - SW.
Was watching them in the garden while recovering from covid!

Same. I'm in Kenley and it was definitely flying ant day today!

We had them all emerging in our kitchen one year - ewwwww!!! Yuk. I hoovered them up and then sprayed flea spray (only thing to hand) up the nozzle.

Was at the in laws in Surrey today and the little buggers were everywhere (the ants not my in laws).

In Cornwall - so many of them early this evening.
Had to shut all the windows and doors, garden was full of them.