Im in San Diego. Im pretty sure that the pellets are termite pellets, they look exactly the same as the pics shown via a quick google. Personally though, Im more inclined to believe the first guy who said that there were termites pellets in the attic,but he didnt believe there were any termites present currently. My reasoning for this is because the ants were patrolling in and out of the area where the pellets were. The ants at anyrate live outside and come in whenever there is food left about, and since there are multiple people, thats pretty often during the summertime. The ants are a pretty simple nuisance and just takes a spraying of an ant trail leading into the house. Are there any companies or organizations that will offer inspection services and ONLY inspection services? I would like to get the firsthand professional opinion from someone thatdoesnt profit from reccomending fumigation. I basically just wanna remove any doubts of termites in the area for myself, as well as provide some proof to a realtor that the proper action was taken, should the house be sold at a later date.

They are ants and completely harmless in every way -- unless they bite. In any case they clearly by now have taken their offspring to saftey after being disturbed. No problem using the mulch whatsoever.

If there were that many inside your house all at one time it could very well have been dry wood termites. have/had you noticed any small sawdust looking mounds any where in your home before this happened? I had a similar experience years ago when I lived in an apartment in Ohio. Before the bugs I kept noticing sawdust under my bedroom door and just thought it was something caused by the new door rubbing on new carpet. When we did research when we saw the swarm we put two and two together-removed the door and took it outside and it was full of termites! This was a new door and apt manager and pest control figured the door was manufactured somewhere in the south since this type of termite was not common where we lived.

Top image looks like a small wasp; bottom image looks like a crane fly.