A swarm check for the wings and insects found in and around Southaven homes, timed to the late April to June window that MSU Extension gives for Formosan swarms.
Fastest: call (855) 974-4733. Or send this and we call you back.
Swarm Check
Termite Swarm Identification: what it covers
Quick answer
Termite swarmers are the winged reproductives that leave a colony to start another one. MSU Extension says Formosan swarmers are about half an inch long, with wings, and yellow to golden brown, and that they typically appear from late April through June, often for a few hours after sunset and frequently after daytime rain. A swarm check identifies the insect, locates the colony and states what is and is not known.
The most common reason a Southaven household calls about termites is a pile of wings. They show up on a windowsill, on a porch light, in the bottom of a pool skimmer or caught in a web by the front door. The wings look alike to most people, and the insect that shed them can be a native termite, a flying ant or a Formosan. Each of those needs a different response. A swarm check is a short visit to tell them apart before anyone reaches for a product.
MSU Extension's 2026 feature on heavy termite swarms gives the window to watch: late April through June, usually for a few hours after sunset, and often after a day of rain. An earlier MSU Extension feature from 2024 gives a window of early May to early June. Both are useful, and the honest version for a caller is that swarms in DeSoto County follow weather and temperature, so a warm, wet spring can bring them early and a cool one can hold them back.
If wings are found, do not sweep them up or throw them away. Put a few in a dry envelope and call (855) 974-4733. The technician can usually tell from a photograph and the time of day, and will examine the specimen if the photograph is not enough. A swarm check is quick, and it is the start of the inspection, not a treatment.
Do not spray a swarm, and do not burn wings or a pile of insects on a porch. Keep pets away from heaps of wings, and wash hands after handling specimens. Ventilate a room that has been treated before anyone sleeps in it.
Several wings lying together on a windowsill, a porch floor or a light fixture, all close to one length
Winged insects gathering at a porch light or a garage door light in the hour after sunset
Insects that run in a line along a window track during a warm evening after rain
Wings in a pool skimmer, a bird bath or a spider web near a door, which can build up over several evenings
A small heap of discarded wings at one particular spot, which often marks where swarmers have been sheltering
Our process
How our termite swarm identification visit works
Collect the evidence safely
Wings and insects are kept in a dry paper envelope, with the date, the time and the location written on the outside. A plastic bag traps moisture and damages the specimen. Several insects are better than one, because the technician can check a range of sizes.
Compare the insect to the description
MSU Extension describes the Formosan swarmer as about half an inch long, with wings, and yellow to golden brown. The native swarmer is darker and smaller. A photograph with a coin or a ruler beside the insect makes the size comparison quick.
Ask about the timing and the weather
Formosan swarms are reported after dusk and often after rain. The technician asks whether the swarm happened after a shower, at what hour and on how many nights. A single evening after a storm fits the pattern; repeated swarms over a week suggest a nearby colony that is active.
Look for the colony
Swarms leave from a colony, so the next step is to find where they came from. The technician checks the foundation, any wood in contact with soil, and the spot where the wings were found. The search follows the wings back toward the structure, not away from it.
Say what is known and what is not
After the check, the caller gets a plain answer: whether the insect matches the species, whether a colony is likely to be in the building, and what the next visit will examine. Where the evidence is thin, the answer says so.
A household finds a small heap of winged insects on the porch floor the morning after a shower in May. Nobody is sure whether they are termites or flying ants, and the wings have appeared on two nights in a row.
What we do
The wings are kept in a dry envelope with the date and the weather written on it. The technician compares the insects with the Extension description, checks the foundation and the wood touching the soil, and takes moisture readings at the sill.
What to expect
The insects are confirmed as a swarm, the colony is traced to a damp sill at the back of the house, and the household is given a written plan that starts with the moisture change before any treatment.
1-2 hours typical visit
The swarm calendar for Southaven and DeSoto County
MSU Extension gives late April through June as the Formosan swarm window and says swarmers usually come out after dusk and often after daytime rain. That window is the one a household should watch.
The 2026 Extension feature gives late April through June, and it describes the swarms as typically appearing for a few hours after sunset. The 2024 feature gives a narrower early May to early June window. A household that watches from late April and keeps watching into June covers both, and it has the best chance of seeing a swarm if one occurs.
The weather link is the part most people miss. A dry week followed by a shower can bring a swarm the same evening. A caller who notices wings after rain should note the date, because the sequence of rain and swarm is what the technician will ask about first.
What to watch for in each part of the swarm window
Period
What a household should look for
Late April
Wings on the porch light or the windowsill on the first warm, wet evening
May
Swarmers after dusk, most often on the evening after a daytime shower
Early June
Final swarms in the window, and wings in spider webs by doors and eaves
July onward
Swarms are less expected; wings found now are worth a check rather than an assumption
Telling Formosan swarmers from look-alikes
The look-alikes are flying ants, native termites and the winged forms of other insects. The practical test is the body, the wings and the time of day.
No single feature settles the question, so the technician looks at several together. A specimen examined under a hand lens is the most reliable. A photograph taken beside a coin and in good light is the next best, and it is enough to decide whether the caller should wait for an inspection or book one now.
Termite swarmers have a thick body with a straight waist, and the antennae are short and beaded
Flying ants have a pinched waist and bent antennae, and their front wings are larger than the back pair
Formosan swarmers are about half an inch long and yellow to golden brown, per MSU Extension
Native swarmers are darker and smaller, so a size comparison against a coin is a quick first check
The wings of a termite swarmer are of nearly equal length and are shed in one piece at the base after landing
What a swarm check does and does not establish
A swarm check establishes the insect and the likely source of the swarm. It does not, on its own, establish the extent of a colony or the cost of a treatment.
A swarm is evidence that a colony exists and has reached reproductive stage. It does not show how large the colony is, how long it has been in the building or whether it is in the wall or the soil. That is what the inspection establishes, and it is the reason the swarm check leads to one rather than replacing it.
It is also worth being clear about what a swarm check cannot do. It cannot confirm that a building is free of termites because no swarm was seen, since colonies can exist for a long time without swarming, and swarming depends on the weather as much as the colony.
Options
Types and options for termite swarm identification
Phone or photo identification
For a caller who has found wings and wants to know what they are. A clear photograph, a size reference and the timing of the sighting are often enough to rule the insect in or out.
On-site swarm check
A visit when the wings are found in the building or the swarm is still happening. The technician looks at the swarm spot, the foundation and the nearest wood, and takes a specimen if one is needed.
Repeat-swarm monitoring
For a household that sees swarms over several weeks. Light traps or a check each evening can show whether the swarming is a single event or a pattern, and the record is kept for the inspection.
DeSoto County
Why termite swarm identification is different in North Mississippi and the Memphis metro
Southaven and the rest of DeSoto County are in the part of the state where MSU Extension reports isolated northern Formosan collections. A swarm here is worth checking even if the insect turns out to be native, because the check is the only way to know which it is.
Calls from the Tennessee side of the line reach the same call line. A swarm seen in Bartlett or Germantown is checked against the same window and the same description, and the licence on any follow-up treatment depends on the side of the state line where the building stands.
Need termite swarm identification today?
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
A written inspection for Formosan subterranean termites, the species MSU Extension reports in parts of Mississippi and in isolated collections in DeSoto County.
A survey of the wood and water around a building that gives termites a route in, written for Southaven properties with beds, borders and stored timber.
Sealing entry points at the foundation, the utility penetrations, the doors and the roofline, so that treatments last and swarmers and pests stay outside.
Formosan termite swarms in DeSoto County are most likely from late April through June, usually for a few hours after sunset and often after daytime rain, according to MSU Extension.
Read the guide
FAQ
Termite Swarm Identification FAQs
Are all termite swarms a sign of a colony in the house?
Not necessarily. A swarm is a sign of a colony nearby, which may be in a tree stump, a fence line or a neighbor's wood rather than in the house itself. The check is what finds where the colony is.
What should I do with the wings I found?
Keep a few in a dry paper envelope, label it, and do not vacuum them up. Take a photograph with a coin beside it if you can, and call for a check.
Why do swarms come after rain?
MSU Extension reports that Formosan swarming is frequently after daytime rain, and the conditions around a shower are the ones that bring swarmers out in the evening. The timing is a useful clue, but it is not a guarantee, so a swarm can also come on a dry evening.
