Where Do Ants Come From in Your House?

10-MINUTES READ

There are approximately 12,000 known species of ants all over the world, but the good news is only “few” of them are considered to be a household pest.

Whether in business property or private housing, ants are almost anywhere and rarely feel disturbed by the presence of humans around them. This might become the reason why it’s nearly impossible for you to not deal with an ant infestation in Indonesia.

Let’s take a look at where do ants come from in your house by understanding what attracts them to come, and how to stop them from coming into your house.

Like it or not, but ants remain as one of the most prevalent pests in the house. Their presence is not only undesirable but also very annoying for most people, especially when they start to come indoors in search of food or a place for nesting.

Similar to the main reasons why other pests are attracted to your house, ants also require some basic needs which they can easily find at your house, including food, water and shelter.

Although it’s never been easy to differentiate ant species by the untrained eyes, each species has its own preferred place for nesting and some individual species have highly specific diets.

Among many areas of the house, there are few areas that tend to be ants favourite place for foraging and nesting, these include:

• Kitchen
• Bathroom
• Bedroom

A story about ants invading a kitchen is like a never-ending problem for most homeowners. This is simply because your kitchen area is the most attractive spot at home that many types of ants like to go.

Ants are literally non-stop foraging for food and water for the survival of their colony. Unfortunately, your kitchen is the perfect area where ants can easily find reliable food and water sources in this place.

The most common ant species found in the kitchen, including:

• Odorous house ant
• Pharaoh ant
• Sugar ant
• Black house ant

Your kitchen is not only the place for cooking and storing foods but also a place where your kitchen trash may attract the unwanted black house ants to come.

Other ant species like sugar ants, odorous house ants, and pharaoh ants will also benefit from many sweet substances like leftover sweet drink spills and food crumbs on the floor or kitchen counter.

You have to always remember that just a little negligence in the kitchen will immediately attract a long line of ant workers to come.

Follow these simple steps to stop ants coming in kitchen:

1. Clear up food and liquid spillages immediately. Even the tiniest of crumbs is enough to attract an army of ants to your home.
2. Sweep up any food crumbs from under your kitchen appliances and units.
3. Store and avoid your food left out in the open. Don't leave food out open overnight, and keep food in airtight containers or bags and store them away safely in the refrigerator.
4. Treat your kitchen trash properly by tightly sealing your trash can, and should be emptied each night.

Any places around your house with excess moisture are likely to attract ants to come. Therefore, your bathroom is another place in the house that is susceptible to ants infestation.

Just because it is almost impossible to find food sources in the bathroom, it doesn’t mean that your bathroom is safe from ants problem. The fact is your bathroom is still vulnerable to ant infestation because a lot of water sources can be found here.

The most common ant species you will found in the bathroom includes:

• Pharaoh ant
• Carpenter ant

Moisture is something that can attract some ant species above to come to your bathroom. Ants need moisture in order to survive, so a room like a bathroom is a perfect place for them. Carpenter ants prefer to nest in the wet and damp area in the bathroom, including behind the bathroom walls, tiles, around sinks, tubs and shower areas.

Pharaoh ants, on the other hand, are the other type of ants that are commonly found in large numbers in the bathroom, and usually occupy warm places in the bathroom such as around hot water pipes and heating systems.

Moisture in a bathroom is inevitable, but there are things you can do to reduce its accessibility.

But luckily, there are few preventive measures you can take to stop ants infestation in the bathroom, such as:

1. Ensure there are no water leaks around the bathroom’s pipes or faucets.
2. Seal any cracks in the walls and floor to limit ants to gain access from outside to your bathroom.
3. Replace a broken tile in the bathroom to prevent a perfect hiding place for ants, and also cracks from the tile can also increase the level of humidity in your bathroom.
4. Make sure that your toothpaste, shampoo and soap bottle in the bathroom are sealed. Ants are also attracted to the fragrance from these toiletries!

Finding a group of ants crawling all over the bed while you are asleep will give you goosebumps. In fact, according to The National Pest Management Association of US (NPMA) on ant survey in late 2011 - your bedroom is 61% particularly vulnerable for ant infestation.

Your bedroom is the place you go to rest and recharge after a long day at work. But, can you imagine what will happen if the number of ants in a group ruins your mood by crawling all-around your bed or under the pillow?

Even though your bedroom is not commonplace for ants to invade, they may have few reasons for coming - especially if you have a habit of eating in bed.

The most common ant species found in the bedroom, including:

• Black house ant
• Carpenter ant

The little black house ants are very attracted to any food waste that you left overnight in the bedroom. While carpenter ants may establish their nests both outdoors and indoors in a block of dry wood, such as your window and door frames.

Here are a few important steps you need to take to prevent more ants from invading your bedroom:

1. Limit yourself by not consuming any kind of foods and drinks in the bedroom.
2. Make sure you don't keep any rubbish in your bedroom.
3. Regularly sweep and mop your bedroom floors.
4. Seal any cracks and crevices around your bedroom window frames.

Ants aren’t necessarily dangerous, but they might become a real nuisance for your family and house. If you keep seeing ants in the house, you have to be extra worried because probably you are dealing with a larger ant infestation right now.

Don't wait for ants to take over your house, contact ant control experts to assist you with effective ant treatments, and provide solutions to prevent them from coming back.

Contact Rentokil today for the best ant control solutions.