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Termites vs Ants - How to Tell the Difference Between Ants & Termites

By DoMyOwn staff

It is important that you can tell the difference between an ant and a termite for various reasons. The most important of which is so you know what pest to treat and how to treat it.

 Termites vs Ants - How to Tell the Difference Between Ants & Termites Video Play

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Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Chris, the Bug Guy, from Do My Own Pest Control.com.  Today I'm going to help you determine yourself what is the difference between an ant and a termite. 

There's three distinct ways to determine between a termite and an ant.  You have body segment, you have wings, and then you have antennae.  With ants you focus on the body segments.  The body segments are clearly separated between the head and the back region, also known as the head, thorax, and abdomen.  The wings in the front are bigger than the wings in the back, also called the forewings and the hindwings. The antennae have an elbow band like this.  Termite's body segment has a head and tail region and there is no clear distinct separation between the two. So you kind of have a head and a really large body.  Both wings are large and both are the same size.  And then when you go to the antennae they are very tiny and beaded and they point straight out.  And that's how you tell the difference between ants and termites. 

Did you know termites are only found in sub-tropical and tropical regions all over the world?  Ants are found in any inhabitable continent.  And, did you know there are over 2300 different types of termites worldwide, but there are over 12000 different types of ants worldwide.  Whoa! Now that you know what pest you are dealing with, you can click here to get rid of ants or click here to get rid of termites.