What Causes Ants In The Bathroom & How To Get Rid Of Them?
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You can expect ants to be in your kitchen, the reason is obvious. While ants in your kitchen may gather because of the food, it may make you disgusted and wonder when you notice ants in your bathroom too. The whole situation is pretty awful, but there are reasons behind this.
Today, we figured out what causes ants in the bathroom & how to get rid of them for you. Whereas it’s pretty unlikely for you to think, that ants can gather in the bathroom because of food, or shelter. Bathroom plants and cracked walls in your bathroom can attract ants to roam around the bathroom floor and walls as well.
Among 12000 different ant species, your bathroom ants are more likely to be carpenter ants, ghost/ odorous ants, or argentine ants. No matter what species you are dealing with in your bathroom, we will share the causes, prevention, and ways to get rid of these elaborately. Keep on reading!
Contents
What Causes Ants In The Bathroom?
To get rid of the ants, you need to know the causes behind this sudden arrival of ants in your bathroom. Knowing the reasons will help you prevent such unwanted occurrences from happening again. So here are the possible reasons why ants are found in your bathroom:
1. The moisture
Some of the ant species may be attracted to the environment of your bathroom. Mostly the main culprit is the moisture of the bathroom that keeps inviting ants. The environment might also be liable for creating dampness, which makes an easy shelter for ants to live in.
2. Food particles
Without you even noticing, there might be some food particles laying on your bathroom floor or corners. These food particles attract ants and therefore when you don’t clean the bathroom for days, they get accumulated in the area.
3. Perfect shelter
Moist and cold areas are just ideal for ants to make a colony. When your bathroom indicates the perfection of a shelter for ants, they will accumulate and make a home in your bathroom.
4. Cracks & crevices
If you notice attentively then you will see that ants are not only roaming on the floor. They are mostly roaming on the wall and coming from the cracks and crevices of your bathroom. Mostly they create their nests there as they find those places as their safest home. In some of the cracks, you might also notice elaborate tunnels and chambers created by ants.
5. Ducts
Many of us have cooling and heating facilities in our bathrooms. These ducts are the favorite place of ants. So if you have cooling or heating ducts in your bathroom then that might be the reason for ants coming to your bathroom.
6. Bathroom plants
Have you decorated your bathroom with plants? Then there’s a high possibility that your bathroom is attracting ants because of those. There are a lot of species of ants that are obsessed with living in small plants.
How To Get Rid Of Ants In The Bathroom?
Leave a sigh of relief cause there are plenty of ways that can be applied for getting rid of ants. But first of all, you have to figure out the valid reason for ants being attracted to your bathroom. So if you have already found the reason for our given possibilities, let’s move forward to know some solutions to get rid of the ants.
Identifying and repairing the entrance
There might be a nest of ants inside your bathroom. They create nests mostly under the broken floors, behind the walls, inside cracks, holes, crevices, etc. Consider calling a professional and repairing all the plumbing leaks, cracks, crevices, and holes professionally.
Doing that will block the entry spot of the ants. Sealing the holes which make pipes and wires enter your house would be another useful step for getting rid of ants in your bathroom. Window and door frames should be sealed properly as well.
Control moisture issues
As there is no doubt that ants mostly get attracted by the moisture of your bathroom, you need to keep your bathroom clean and dry. Start repairing leaking faucets, roof leaks, water drainage, and so on.
After taking shower or using your washroom, try unclogging the drainage system and drying up the floor. If the drain seems to be clogged, you can call a plumber to fix it. These will make ants out of your bathroom magically if moisture is the issue.
Handling the damaged materials
Ants often come because of the damaged woods in your bathroom. Moist and water-damaged woods are their favorite place to live inside. That’s why replacing the water-damaged woods can be an effective solution to getting rid of ants in your bathroom.
Getting rid of nearby trees
The trees touching your bathroom window can be the reason behind the arrival of ants in your bathroom. So trim all the big trees that touch your bathroom surface or walls and the ants will fail to reach your bathroom.
Removing and clearing stuff
A dirty bathroom is a safe place for the ants to create a nest. That’s why always keep your bathroom neat and clean. Get rid of logs, stumps, wood stuff, and everything unnecessary.
Use Borax powder
Borax is an effective way to get rid of the ants from your bathroom. You can use it in two different ways. You can mix borax and heated up maple syrup, then pour the mixture into the areas where the ants might be coming from.
Another way that you can follow using borax is to mix it with sugar. In this case, the sugar will attract the ants in one place and the borax will kill those. If you don’t have any maple syrup, you can try this method. Mix one or two cups of sugar with one or two tablespoons full of Borax.
Pour warm water into the mixture and later use this to kill the ants. Pour this mixture in all the entrances of ants, pour this in the corners of your bathroom surface and in the sink also.
Advice: Wear hand gloves to protect yourself from any kind of burns and injuries. If possible, wear a mask to prevent any allergic reaction.
Boric acid
Here is another lifesaving way to rely on. Boric acid effectively kills the ants and also reduces their further visiting strongly. In a cup of warm water, add 1-2 teaspoons of boric acid and 8 teaspoons of sugar. In a similar way to the previously mentioned method, the sugar will attract ants and boric acid will kill those.
You can keep this mixture in a spray bottle and spray it in the affected areas. Also, you can dip some cotton balls in the mixture and keep the balls in the areas where you think ants are coming from. However, make sure that both the boric acid and sugar are dissolved well before you use the mixture.
Vinegar
Vinegar is a magical at-home ingredient that can get you rid of those irritating ant problems. Not only in your bathroom but also wherever you face the ant problem, you can rely on vinegar.
Mix one or two cups full of vinegar with 1 cup of water, and pour the mixture into the cracks and areas where you think the ants are coming from. The acidic property of vinegar will kill all the ants within the shortest time.
In this case, you can also use raw white vinegar and pour it into the mentioned areas. This is a quick savior way for anyone and we recommend following this for an instant solution. But vinegar might not be the permanent solution for your ant problems.
Using Ant Bait
There are several ant baits that you can use to get rid of the ant nests and tunnels inside your house. If no natural way is working, then you can rely on the ant baits. These are very effective to kill ants and prevent further appearance.
Use ant bait in the places where you notice the ants are getting inside. Also use it in their nests and tunnels, inside the cracks and moist areas of your bathroom. But if you have pets or kids in the house, be careful because the baits are highly toxic for them to tolerate.
Insecticides
Alike ant baits, you will find a handful of insecticides to deal with the ants inside your bathroom. Carefully spray or use the insecticides as instructed in the packaging. You will get yourself rid of the ants shortly without any hassle.
Using essential oils
Essential oils are incredible to get rid of the ants from your bathroom. Use any essential oil in the areas where you find ants accumulating and after a few whiles, they’ll leave the area peacefully.
Boiled hot water
Here is another quick solution that you can rely on. All you have to do is to boil some water, and then pour the hot water into the sink, surface, and corners of your bathroom. If your bathroom has ant nests, pour the water directly on the nests. It will immediately kill all the ants but again, this is not effective enough to get rid of your problem permanently.
Caution: Hot water can be extremely dangerous and can lead to burns if you are not careful enough. So take proper measures to protect yourself before you follow this tip.
Calcium Carbonate
Ants do not like this substance. So you can use baby powder or chalk as these contain calcium carbonate. Just make a line around your bathroom using the powder and chalk to prevent ants. Though it might not be as effective as the above-mentioned ways, you can still give it a try.
Read also: How to clean hard to reach places in your bathroom
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What attracts ants in the bathroom?
Mostly the moisture in the bathroom attracts the ants. Because that moisture helps them to create damps. Besides the cracks, crevices, pipe holes, broken walls, and floors also seem to be the perfect home to them. Decorating plants in your bathroom can also attract them.
Where are the ants in my bathroom coming from?
Mostly the ants come from the holes which make the pipes and wire enter your house. If your house is connected with a giant tree then that can be a reason for ants coming into your bathroom.
What are black ants in the bathroom meaning?
If you find any black ants in the bathroom then that’s probably because of the scent and chemical your bathroom plumbing has. Different kinds of ants are attracted to different things. Black ants mean the chemical of the plumbing is attracting them.
How do I get rid of black ants in my bathroom?
Getting rid of black ants in your bathroom requires nothing special. Just mix borax and powdered sugar. Sprinkle the mixture all over your bathroom. The next thing you will find is there are no black ants in your bathroom.
Does vinegar kill ants?
Yes, vinegar does. If you see ants in your bathroom then wipe the bathroom with a mixture of vinegar and water. You can use vinegar straight as well. That will kill the ants and the smell will stop ants from coming to your bathroom. But it’s not a long-lasting solution.
How do I get rid of ants in my bathroom sink?
In a similar way, as you have followed for your bathroom floor and surface, you can get rid of the ants in your bathroom sink. The easiest way to follow is to pour some vinegar on your bathroom sink closing the canal. Also, you can use borax and ant bait to get rid of the ants in your bathroom sink.
Final Thoughts
We have given the most common reasons why ants come to your bathroom alongside the ways to get rid of them.
But if none of these seem to be your one then feel free to call the professionals and identify the reason as soon as possible. You can’t help finding the reasons and solutions quicker as some of the species of ants are really dangerous!
But generally speaking, our given solutions should be enough to get rid of ants in your bathroom depending on the reasons. Once again, be careful if you are using ant bait or insecticides because these are highly toxic and can make you sick if you do not attempt to use them properly.
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