If you’ve seen small flying bugs around your home—especially after it rains—you might worry that they’re termites. That’s a smart concern. Winged termites, or alates, are a clear sign that a termite colony is trying to grow by creating new colonies.
But not every flying insect is a termite.
In Texas, many common bugs resemble termites. So, knowing the key differences helps avoid wasting time—or missing a real problem like an infestation.
Here’s a guide to the most common look-alikes and how to tell them apart.
Key Takeaways
- Bugs that look like termites are common in Texas, but not all of them cause serious home damage.
- Flying ants and termites have different body shapes and wing sizes that help tell them apart easily.
- Other look-alikes, like mayflies, beetles, bees, cockroaches, and wasps, confuse homeowners but need different pest solutions.
- Early signs of termites mean it’s time to call pest control companies for fast help and full home protection.
Flying Ants
Flying ants, including carpenter ants and acrobat ants, are often mistaken for flying termites. But there are easy ways to tell them apart.
Ants have a pinched waist, elbowed (or bent antennae), and uneven wings—front wings that are longer than the back wings. Termites have a thicker body shape, straight antennae, and wings that are all the same size.
If you’re not sure what you’re seeing, especially in areas like basements, schedule a professional termite inspection.
Mayflies
Mayflies are harmless but can swarm by the thousands. Their wings stand up when resting, and they have long tails. They don’t come inside looking for shelter, nor eat wood like termites.
Still, their swarming behavior causes many homeowners to confuse them with swarmers.
Powderpost Beetles
Powderpost beetles may not look like termites, but the damage they cause can look very similar. They lay eggs in wood. The larvae chew through it as they grow, creating small holes and leaving behind fine, powdery frass—which looks like sawdust.
They don’t make mud tubes like subterranean termites, but they can still do serious damage. If you notice tiny round holes or dusty debris near your wooden structures, call a pro for proper identification.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees are large and often light brown or dark brown. They drill round holes into wood, like eaves or railings. You might see piles of sawdust underneath.
These bees don’t eat wood, but they burrow into it to lay eggs, which can weaken the area over time.
Cockroaches
Some cockroaches, especially dark brown ones like smokybrown roaches, can fly and are often mistaken for winged termites.
They may look similar at a glance, especially at night. But cockroaches are after moisture and a food source, not your home’s framing.
Wasps
Yes—wasps can sometimes be confused with termites. While they are more slender and aggressive, some wasps have clear wings and a narrow waist that can confuse people when they fly near wooden areas.
However, they don’t feed on or tunnel through wood the way termites or powderpost beetles do.
Bed Bugs
We occasionally get calls from worried homeowners thinking they’ve found termites in their bed frames. While they don’t fly or eat wood, they can sometimes be mistaken for young termites or beetle larvae.
If you’re not sure, a proper inspection will help sort it out.
When Swarming Insects Signal a Bigger Problem
Seeing swarms of bugs around your home can be scary.
If it’s just flying ants or mayflies, you may not need to worry. But if you’re dealing with flying termites, it could mean a serious termite infestation is starting.
Drywood termites, subterranean termites, and even Formosan termites all behave differently, but all of them can cause long-term termite damage to your home. You might not notice the problem until the structural damage is already done.
Knowing the signs—like frass, droppings, mud tubes, or hollow-sounding wood—is the first step. The next step is calling in the experts for a thorough check and treatment.
Need Termite Treatment? Call Reliant Pest
At Reliant Pest Management, we help homeowners across Texas with expert termite control and pest control. Whether you’ve seen alates near your windows or found damaged wood near your deck, our trained team knows how to handle it.
We identify the exact species of termites causing the problem and use the right termite treatment for your home. You’ll get same-day service, clear reports, and even a video showing what we found and what we fixed.
Call us today for expert pest help and real peace of mind.
