How to Get Rid of Ants in a Laptop | Safe & Proven Methods!

You find yourself wanting to browse through the internet, maybe write, play a game, or do something else, but suddenly ants start coming out of your laptop. Don’t worry, with the following methods you can remove them with ease.

So, how to get rid of ants in your laptop? You can try shaking, vacuuming, or cleaning your laptop. Creating a water moat and placing ant baits are also good strategies. However, the best option would be to take your device to a professional for them to efficiently remove the ants themselves.

We’ll dive deeper into these methods so that you can decide for yourself which are most convenient for you to do. Read further this article for more!

How to Get Ants out of Your Laptop

1. Shaking Them Out

The easiest way to get rid of ants is to simply shake your laptop. Abrupt, jerky movements will hopefully scare the ants and get them off of your device. In most cases, this is the most effective.

2. Vacuuming The Laptop

The downside to this is that you can’t vacuum ants inside the laptop without opening it fully. Instead, you can vacuum the vents on the sides or below the device. If you manage to open your laptop, take extra care when vacuuming over its components such as its CPU, GPU, or RAM.

3. Cleaning Your Laptop

The only way you can be entirely sure that your laptop is ant-free is to open it and clean it. As we have said, laptops can be very fragile, and there are a lot of parts and connectors that you need to be careful with.

Something can be torn off or broken easily. If you decide to do it yourself, better watch a couple of tutorials on YouTube to see what is the best way to open and clean your laptop. For example, the video below.

If you are unfamiliar with opening laptops, and you don’t have confidence in your skills, it is better to hire a professional to help you.

4. Unorthodox Method: Water Moat

One rather unusual way of evicting ants from your laptop is to create a water moat. The point of this method is to make ants feel isolated and unsafe, thus prompting them to leave.

You can do that by filling a washbowl or a similar container with water. In it, you should place something that will resemble an “island” on which you need to place your laptop. Make sure it can support the weight of your device.

Make a “bridge” that will be the only way to leave the “island.” When an ant leaves your laptop, they see that they are surrounded by water and that they have only one way to cross it, motivating them to escape.

5. Ant Bait Near the Laptop

You can make bait from borax and mix it with something sweet, like sugar or honey. Ants will eventually come out to forage for food and water, and they will stumble upon your trap.

You can also place stronger insecticide baits. Borax and insecticide are strong enough to kill an ant, so this bait can help you in resolving this problem, but bait alone is not enough. Opening and cleaning your laptop is the only way to be positive that you got all the ants.

Try our recommended baits for ants like Home Plus Ant Killer and Terro 324 Liquid Ant Baits if you want to avoid preparing the borax mixture by yourself. These are ready-to-use products that are specially formulated for your convenience.

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6. Seeking Professional Help

If you are not familiar with DIY methods, or you just don’t want to risk anything, then simply don’t try to resolve this problem by yourself. The best solution would be to call a professional who will open your laptop and clean it of ants and their eggs.

Paying a couple of dollars to a professional is nothing when compared to the possibility of total destruction of a laptop in the hands of an inexperienced person. Sometimes it is just better not to get involved, and to accept that you can’t get everything done by yourself.

Related: Ant Exterminator Cost | Ant Treatment Price Guide

Reasons Why Ants Have Infested Your Laptop

In most cases, leftover food inside the laptop is a common magnet for ants. Most of us, while watching a movie, working or playing games on a laptop, eat snacks. Crumbs can fall over and get inside the laptop, ultimately attracting ants.

Can Ants Harm Laptops?

They can damage and destroy the physical components of the laptop by creating a short circuit. While ants are small, the components within laptops are even smaller. By simply walking over the circuit board, they can create a short circuit with their bodies.

When you notice ants around your laptop, be sure to address the problem quickly. Don’t wait for the problem to escalate because it will be too late. If ants damage your laptop from the inside, a repair can be very expensive or, in worse cases, even impossible.

How to Prevent Ants From Entering Into the Laptop

The main thing you should do is not to eat around your laptop or leave any food nearby. That way, you will remove the main reason why ants have moved into your laptop in the first place.

The other thing you can do is to take your laptop to professional services regularly to be opened and cleaned. Not only will you regularly keep your device clean from ants, dirt, and other debris, but you also get to maintain good performance of your laptop.

Lastly, if you can, move your laptop to a more suitable location where ants don’t frequently visit. This way, you reduce the chances of getting ants into your laptop and saving yourself from the troubles of removing them.

Related: How to Get Rid of Ants | Safe and Effective Methods

List of Sources

Alder P., & Waldvogel M. (2023). Tips for Effective Ant Baiting.
Keck M., & Drees B. (2013). Managing Red Imported Fire Ants in Electrical Equipment and Utility Housings.
Koehler, P. G., Vazquez, R. J., & Pereira, R. M. (2022). Ants.
University of California. (2023). Ants