Waking up to creepy crawlies in your bed at night is a dreadful nightmare that no one should ever experience. Ants can invade your home in search of food and water and they can be a nuisance. A least every once in a year you will notice a few ants or an entire colony in your home, especially in the kitchen and the bathroom. Other parts of your home like your bedroom aren’t immune to an invasion either.
When ants get into your bedroom, you need to act quickly to get rid of them otherwise you will be risking sleepless nights and painful bites. This article looks at all the nooks and crannies on how to get rid of ants in bedroom.
The first thing you ought to do is establish what is attracting the ants, remove it, then use an insecticide or ant baits to kill them. You can also use the insecticide to create a perimeter defense.
By the time you are seeing ants in your bedroom you probably have a bigger ant problem. Ants are likely to invade your kitchen, pantry, and bathroom first before moving to other parts of the home because they only come inside in search of water and food.
When ants move into your home, they will look for the perfect hideout. They are likely to settle behind your furniture, inside the cracks in your walls or ceiling, or even in the floorboards if they are dump or rotten.
Here is why you are seeing ants in your bedroom:
An ant colony needs a lot of food and water to thrive. An ant colony will only survive if the worker ants are sent out to forage. These worker ants can travel as far as hundreds of feet from their nest to get food and water. If you see so many ants regularly, it is highly likely that there is an ant colony nearby.
If you check your bedroom windows and walls and find ants crawling about, that is enough evidence that there is a colony nearby. If this is the case, then the ants are just checking out your bedroom even if there is no food or water. They will keep checking until they find scraps of pizza or doughnuts.
When you have an ant infestation, the areas with increased ant activity are usually your en suite bathroom, plumbing that carries water to the kitchen, and leaky pipes in walls and roofs. These areas are enough to water the ants especially during drought.
Check to see that there aren’t any leakges on your bedroom walls and if you have an en suite bathroom, which could be the reason why the ants are in the bedroom.
Worker ants live to work and work for them is finding food and water to sustain the colony. If you see so many ants in your bedroom regularly it may be because they have a consistent source of food there. If you eat in your bedroom and leave dirty plates in it, drop food, or even crumbs on your bed, it is a feast for the ants.
Once a single ant finds a good source of food it will rush back to get help to gather it. Your stained clothes can also attract ants. If you spill food on your clothes and leave them in the bedroom they will attract ants.
Ants can’t withstand bad weather. If it is too cold or too hot outside, they will come into your house to hide. Storms can also force them to come in for shelter. If you only see ants in your bedroom periodically, it may be because of bad weather. Try and monitor ant activity in your home and see if it increases when the weather is bad.
According to experts Trusted Source The trick to getting rid of ants for good (it’s not a spray) - The Washington Post For permanent control, you need to get rid of the whole colony, including the queens and the grubs that are growing into the next generation of worker ants. www.washingtonpost.com , an ant infestation isn’t the worst problem in the world because most of the species that invade the home don’t do real damage. However, ants in your bedroom can be problematic. Some species have a very painful bite or sting. Plus, your sleep quality is likely to deteriorate causing a lower quality of life.
What’s more, ants can transmit disease. Some species can carry foodborne bacteria that may give you allergic reactions.
There are thousands of ant species with different characteristics and food preferences. The reason why you are getting regular ant infestations in your bedroom may change according to the type of ants they are. Besides knowing why they are there, you should understand the types of ants in your bedroom so that you can get rid of them good. Here is a quick rundown of some of the ants that are notorious home invaders:
These almost look like carpenter and pharaoh ants. You will know you have black ants in your bedroom when you see a type that is completely black without any coloration. They like to build their nests in the walls and in the rotten floorboards.
You can get a small ant invasion in your bedroom. The most common small ants are the big-headed species, acrobat ants, and ghost ants. They like to settle in cracks in the floorboards or a slit in the wall of your bedroom. You may also encounter little brown ants in your bedroom. They are also known as odorous house ants and they usually invade the home in search for food and a dry environment. If you stomp on them they leave a bad odor.
If you see large black ants that chew on your furniture in your bedroom then you have a carpenter ant infestation. You may see sawdust around your furniture or under your carpet. They chew wood to establish their colonies faster. They don’t feed on wood and they are drawn to wood in environments with high moisture levels.
For most ants, baits are usually and effective way of clearing them up but that isn’t the case with carpenter ants. They are such a resilient species, you may be forced to try a couple of ant baits before getting one that works.
It is safer to attack carpenter ants early before they cause any structural damage in your house. Winged carpenter ants are a sign that you may be late as only mature carpenter ant nests produce winged ants. You can still destroy the mature nest with strong pesticides and baits.
Flying ants are usually a sign of mating season. If you spot flying ants in your bedroom it means there is a colony around and they have moved in for a safe and warm place to mate. This mostly happens during winter.
Getting rid of ants in your bedroom isn’t any different from getting rid of them in any room. Here is a step by step guide.
The first thing you need to do is find the ants’ home. Killing them is fairly easy but you will only be able to clear them when you get their colony. You can use either granules or liquid ant baits.
Food and water are the main reasons why ants invade homes. Try to clean and keep your bedroom and the entire house tidy before and after you get rid of the ants. Vacuum everything, and wash all the dirty clothes that may have food stains in your bedroom.
When you clean all the areas with high ant activity in your home will destroy the pheromone trails that invite more ants into your home. Also, while cleaning, be sure to check for any leaky plumbing or roof failure that may cause moisture problems in your home.
In most cases the ants you see inside your home are usually from outside. The main nest where the queen lives is normally built outside. Therefore, after getting rid of the ants, it only makes sense to prevent their return.
Take your time and inspect the ants’ points of entry into your home. Check for gaps around your doors and windows and anywhere pipes or wires go inside the house. Also check air conditioner conduits. Seal any holes you find in these area. You can use weatherproof silicone caulk Trusted Source What is Waterproof Silicone? (with pictures) Waterproof silicone is a synthetic silicone-based material that’s commonly used as a waterproof sealant for weatherproofing and… www.wise-geek.com . Cracks in your home’s foundation are also a possible point of access.
Ant baits are the most effective method of destroying an ant colony. Bait is basically poison mixed with an attractive substance that makes the ants want to it. One ant will eat the bait and carry it back to the colony. The entire colony will get poisoned and the queen will die. You can do a DIY bait by mixing borax and sugar water. Mix one cup of water with 2 cups of sugar then add 2 tablespoons of borax and boil. Allow the mixture to cool down then put it in bottle caps or pieces of cardboard in areas with increased ant activity.
Remember, baiting is only effective if the ants stay alive until they take back the food to the colony. You don’t want to kill them on sight.
If DIY is not your thing, you can easily get commercial ant baits like the popular Raid Max Double Control Ant Baits. It guarantees reduction of ant population in a matter of days and it remains effective for another 3 months. It is child-resistant and you can use it in the closet, bathroom, under the bed and other areas in your bedroom.
It is premixed and placed in a bait station to give you an easier time. Commercial baits are recommended for persistent ant infestations because they use stronger pesticides and formulations that attract ants.
You can also use ant repellants in form of powder or spray to isolate your bedroom. The repellants will keep the ants away from your room and in case you spot a group you can easily spray them.
After getting rid of ants inside your home, you should take up preventive measures like creating a barrier outside. Use an appropriately labeled pesticide to create the barrier. An ant killer spray like the EcoRaider Ant Killer & Crawling Insect Killer can come in handy. The spray kills 100% of ants in one minute. It also breaks down ants’ pheromone trail and prevents re-grouping and re-entry for more than 4 weeks.
Spray the entire exterior of your home, both on the ground and up to 2 or 3ft up the wall. All the ants and other insects that try to cross the barrier for the next 3 months will die instantly. If you hate the idea of using a pesticide, you can try Diatomaceous earth. It is an organic product that creates an effective physical barrier that will ruthlessly kill any ant that tries to cross it. The powder kills the ants by dehydrating them. The powder is safe for your family and pets. Its only downside is that it gets ineffective when it rains.
For the best results, sprinkle the diatomaceous earth powder around your house in a 3ft wide band. You don’t want to use so much that it forms mounds and clumps that insects will avoid. It should be a fine coat of powder.
Continuous monitoring will help you stay on top of an ant infestation problem, especially if yours has been persistent. Don’t get complacent at any point. Continue storing food in insect-proof containers and clean up any food spills immediately. Keep your entire home clean and tidy and dispose of any uneaten pet food.
Another thing you can do is invest in a moisture meter to be able to locate the high humidity areas in your home. It makes tracing leakages much easier.
When it comes to insecticides, you are spoilt for choice. There are multiple brands of insecticides that target ants online in powder/dust, spray and bait form.
If you have a large infestation, it means there is a colony around your home and thus you need to take care of it first. For a colony you will need the most effective bait.
If you only see a group of ants in your bedroom occasionally then you can get dust or spray ant killers. When choosing the insecticide, go for a child and pet safe ant killer. You wouldn’t have to use it with close monitoring to avoid ingestion by either parties.
Ants like to hide in safe places that have great living conditions. There are some areas in your bedroom that will be more inviting and you should check and treat them to get rid of ants completely. They include:
The carpet in your bedroom is highly likely to be a sweet hiding spot for ants. This is because of a couple of reasons. One, your floorboard may be dump or rotten. The moisture in the floorboard will attract ants as it will be their source of water. Second, carpets catch all the food scraps, whether they are just a few crumbs or whole spilled foods.
To avoid having ant nests under your carpet, ensure you vacuum regularly and you check the condition of your floorboard every other time. Here is more on how to get rid of ants on the carpet.
Ants will get into your closet, not to chew on your clothes but just to see what’s good in it. If they don’t find food and water in it, they may decide to use it as shelter because it’s warm and conducive. As much as they won’t feed on your clothes, they may cause danger in the closet. Remember carpenter ants chew on furniture. You need to double check the closet and create an effective barrier to prevent an infestation.
If you see a trail of ants on your ceiling, there is a high probability you have a leakage in your roof. Find the leakage that causes damp spots which attract the ants and fix it before you start sorting out the ant infestation problem. You need to act as fast as possible because some ant species don’t take long before causing structural damage.
You may not feel the presence of ants in other parts of your home as you would in your bedroom. It is safer to arm yourself with tips on how to get rid of ants in the bedroom the momet you spot a group of them. Food and water are the two main reasons why ants would move into your home. If you eat in your bedroom and there’s a colony of ants nearby you are likely to suffer a large infestation unless you take up all the preventive and reactive measures outlined in this article.
Just killing the ants is not a permanent solution. If you have a colony around and the queen is still alive you will continue to have persistent infestations. Invest in the most effective bait to clear all the colonies then get strong pesticides to create barriers that prevent re-entry.
