Waking up in the middle of the night and being bitten by ants can be the start of a period of sleepless nights. Ant bites can be extremely painful but even worse is getting no sleep. Being tired for the rest of the day will affect your productivity and cause even more problems. This is why getting rid of the ants in your bedroom needs to become your top priority.
How to get rid of ants in the bedroom? First, you need to thoroughly clean your bedroom of any food or water sources that are attractive to ants. Next, you can use insecticide powder around your bed as a quick perimeter defense. For permanently getting rid of the ants in the bedroom you need to set up ants baits, which are very effective.
There is a lot more to it than just keeping your bedroom clean. In most cases, ants will occupy the whole home not just your bedroom. From this article, you will find out where to look for the source of ants in the bedroom, how to get rid of them, and what products we recommend for their complete eradication.
Ants in Bedroom | Information
If you have ants in your bedroom, then you probably have even a larger ant problem than you think. Ants usually first invade kitchens, pantries, and even bathrooms, which means that having them in your bedroom could indicate that they have already spread through the entire house.
Ants love the coziness of homes because they are sheltered from bad weather conditions and if they have access to food they can move in for a longer period.
Why Do I Have Ants in My Bedroom?
Ants move into your home in search of a perfect hideout. In most cases, they will hide behind furniture, cracks in the walls or ceiling, and even in the floorboards if they are rotten or damp.
Besides the place to live, they need a source of food. If you don’t clean your bedroom often enough and if there are food scraps all over the place, that is almost like an invitation for the ants to move in.
What Are Ants Attracted to in the Bedroom?
If your bedroom has an appealing temperature, a spot to hide, and enough food nearby, it will be an extremely appealing home for ants. Ants tend to hide inside homes from bad weather and their natural enemies, so if they find all the right conditions in your bedroom, they will make it their new home.
Related: What Attracts Ants? Information and Facts
Is It Dangerous to Have Ants in the Bedroom?
In some cases, ants in the bedroom can be dangerous because some types of ants have a rather painful sting or bite. Besides that, having ants in a place where you sleep can deteriorate the quality of your sleep and subsequently lower the overall quality of your life.
Some ants can also transmit diseases, carry foodborne bacteria, and cause allergic reactions, so these are extra reasons to get them out of your bedroom as fast as you can. Keeping ants out of your bedroom is a must. Remember, it will become impossible to sleep in the same room with a colony of ants.
Where Do Ants Come From in the Bedroom?
The first thing ants look for when they reconnaissance a place is the source of food. They usually find it in the kitchen or in the dining room. After that, they look for a safe and nice spot to make a nest.
If they find such a place in your bedroom, then it is settled – your bedroom is their bedroom. If there is leftover food there – that is a huge plus for them. You will be able to see them behind and under the bed, under the carpet in the bedroom, in wall cracks, etc.
Types of Ants in Bedroom
Not all ants will search for a hideout in your bedroom or even your home. Some kinds of ants, like crazy ants, are keen on building colonies outside of human reach. Unfortunately, most types of ants will gladly move into your home if they find shelter and food in it.
Black Ants in My Bedroom
You can easily make a wrong assumption when your bedroom is infected with black ants. They are similar to carpenter and pharaoh ants but if the ant is completely black, without any brown coloration, then your guests are probably black ants. They usually build nests in the walls or in the rotten floorboards, so for starts check these places.
Little Ants in Bedroom
Several types of small ants can be found in the bedroom and the most common ones are ghost ants, big-headed ants, and acrobat ants. They will search for a slit in the wall of your bedroom or a crack in the floorboards to take shelter and create a nest.
Little Brown Ants in Bedroom
When you notice small brown ants in your bedroom, in most cases that means that you have a problem with odorous house ants. These ants can hide in your bedroom in search of dry space with available food. Try not to stomp on them because they leave a nasty smell.
Carpenter Ants in Bedroom | Big Black Ants in Bedroom
If you find in your bedroom large (up to 3/32″ or 2.5 cm long) black ants that chew wood, then you have a problem with carpenter ants. If you find any sawdust around your furniture or under your carpet then the prime suspect is a carpenter ant (you could also have termites).
Carpenter ants are quite large, and black, and they chew wood in order to faster establish their colonies. They don’t feed on wood. Carpenter ants chew through the wood where they can find moisture, for example: under the windows, roofs, and floorboards.
Flying Ants in Bedroom
Flying ants are a sign of a mating period for ants. If you see them in your bedroom during winter, that is a sure sign that you have an ant nest somewhere around the house.
During the winter they will search for a safe and warm place to mate, and your bedroom can be a perfect environment for it. Check for all the usual spots to see if there is an ant nest near.
Related: How to Get Rid of Flying Ants: A Complete Guide
How to Get Rid of Ants in Bedroom: Step by Step Guide
When it comes to getting rid of ants in your bedroom the whole process is not that much different than for the other parts of your home.
Step 1: Location
It is essentially important to find out where the ants are coming from. It is easy to kill the ants you can see but you are in the clear only when you get to their colony. For that, we recommend using ant baits that come in granule or liquid form.
Step 2: Clean Your Bedroom and the Entire House
Be sure to vacuum everything before and after you get rid of ants. Try to keep your home clean and tidy because that is necessary if you want to keep ants out of your bedroom.
Step 3: Ant Baits, Powders, and Sprays
Using ant baits is the most effective way to destroy their colony. Besides that, you can isolate your bedroom using an ant repellant either in spray or powder form. They will help you keep the ants out of your bedroom and if you stumble on a group of ants we recommend using an ant spray to quickly eradicate them.
Related: Best Natural Ant Sprays | Kids and Pet-Friendly Sprays
Best Insecticides for Getting Rid of the Ants in the Bedroom
If you are not sure what products to use we can help you in your search. You can find a huge variety of ant insecticides online. There are a lot of different options, including dust insecticide, ant spray, and all kinds of baits.
We narrowed the choices for you, so you don’t need to waste any additional time on searching for products that will work for you:
Delta Dust Multi Use Pest Control Insecticide Dust
- Delta Dust Bed Bug Insecticide - 1 lb.
- Yield: 1 lb. of Delta Dust covers about 2,000 sq.ft.
- Target Pest: Ants, Bed Bugs, Boxelder Bugs, Cockroaches,...
- Active Ingredient: Deltamethrin, 0.05%
- Cannot ship to NY or CT.
This is a dust insecticide that contains deltamethrin and it is highly effective. It is ideal to use on any cracks in the walls and all those hard-to-reach places that ants love. It is effective for a long period after it is applied.
TERRO T300B Liquid Ant Bait Ant Killer
- Attracts & Kills – Kills common household ants including...
- Kills the Ants You See & the Ones You Don't – As worker ants...
- Works Fast – You should see a significant decrease in the...
- Ready to Use – Place the bait stations, watch it attract ants,...
- Use Throughout Your Home – Place stations near areas where...
This bait has proven its effectiveness and it is one of the most popular liquid ant baits on the market. The main ingredient is borax ( a well-known ant killer). TERRO ant bait is easy to use, just place it where you know the ants are passing through and once they catch the sugary smell of the bait, they will be hooked.
Once they pick up the bait, they will carry it back to their colony and spread it through the whole nest. This process will result in the death of the entire colony.
How to Get Rid of Sugar Ants in Bedroom
Besides already mentioned Delta Dust and TERRO Liquid Ant bait, we can suggest using a Syngenta – Optigard Ant Bait Gel Box. It is a highly efficient granular ant bait that can work great against sugar and fire ants.
- Target pests: For indoor and outdoor control of...
- Highly attractive formula promotes ready transfer of the active...
- Powerful, active ingredient knocks out workers, brood and queens
- Approved for use indoors and outdoors, applied in cracks and...
- How does Optigard Ant Bait Gel work? Ants that feed on the gel...
How to Get Rid of Red Ants in Bedroom | Fire Ants
You will rarely see fire ants in your house. They are mostly found outside and most products are related to destroying their mounds. If you have seen a few of them inside of your bedroom they are probably foraging in search of food.
Your best course of action is to kill the group of ants that you have seen with an ant killer spray. Then go outside and try to find their mounds and apply Ortho Orthene Fire Ant Killer. This product will destroy them. Just read the instruction manual for maximum efficiency.
- Kills the queen and destroys the mound
- No watering-in required
- Treats 54 mounds
How to Get Rid of Black Ants in Bedroom
Ortho Home Defense Liquid Ant Bait is another liquid bait but it showed great results against black ants. The bait station contains a mix of water, food, and insecticide that will lure all the black ants in your bedroom. The bait is then carried into the nest and it spreads among the ant population.
- Ortho Home Defense Liquid Ant Bait kills ants inside your home;...
- No Mess: The satisfying snap of our patented Clean Snap...
- Continuous Protection Formula: Our liquid ant bait is an...
- Maximum Kill: With delayed killing action, ants dutifully share...
- Easy-To-Use: Kill common household ants; place wherever ants are...
It is completely safe to use indoors so you don’t need to worry about pets or children. This ant bait works against almost all types of ants excluding imported red ants, carpenter ants, and pharaoh ants.
Ants in Specific Bedroom Places
Ants tend to hide in places where they feel safe and have all the living conditions they need. There are a couple of spots in your bedroom that can be more inviting and you should double-check them for ants.
• Ants in Bedroom Carpet
Carpet is always a source of food scraps for ants and that is the main reason why they are roaming through it. Sometimes the problem can be rotten floorboards that are attractive to ants because of the moisture.
Keeping the carpet clean and vacuumed is a proven way to have an ant-free carpet. It is a good idea to from time to time check the state of the floorboards.
• Ants in Bedroom Closet
Ants don’t feed on the fabric of your clothes so you don’t need to worry about that. Usually, they roam through the closet in search of food or shelter, still, they can cause damage by just being there.
• Ants on Bedroom Ceiling
If you have ants in your bedroom ceiling the problem is probably related to your roof. If the roof is leaking, that will provide a damp spot for ants to move in. First, check your roof, fix any problems related to it, and only then move on to resolve your ant problem.
Home Remedy for Ants in Bedroom
There are several ingredients in your home that you can use to control your ant problem in the bedroom. Be aware that using these natural remedies is not as effective as using insecticides made especially for controlling the ants, but they can help you control the situation.
• Lemons
Squeeze the lemon juice on the spots where you see ants coming in your bedroom. You can use peel instead of juice if that works better for you. The scent of lemon will keep the ants away.
• Oranges
They work the same way as the lemons, so you can use the juice or peels to keep the ants out of your bedroom.
• White Vinegar
Make a white vinegar solution by mixing the vinegar and water (1:1 ratio). Spray the solution on the spots where you see ants moving around your bedroom and your bed.
Ants hate the smell of white vinegar, so they will stay away from it. Be sure to regularly apply the spray, because it will lose its properties very fast.
• Pepper
Making a spray with pepper can be an effective way to stop the ants from coming into your bedroom. Pepper has a characteristic odor that keeps away many bugs and insects, not just ants.
• Diatomaceous Earth
- 10 Lbs de - meets U.S. Food chemicals codex standards
To properly use diatomaceous earth you need to find ant trails. Once you know where are the main routes the ants are using, apply DE onto those trails. DE is composed of fossilized parts of algae that are sharp as a razor and once it comes in contact with ants it will cut their exoskeleton that will causing ants to dehydrate and die.
• Peppermint
Using peppermint against all kinds of pests is not new and a lot of insects can’t stand its fragrance. There are two ways of using peppermint against ants – in the form of a spray or by placing dried peppermint in spots crawling with ants. If you decide to use the spray, reapply it twice a day to ensure that the ants will stay out of your bedroom.
Related: How to Get Rid of Ants | Safe and Effective Methods
List of Sources
Ants in the Home, Colorado State University
Ants, University of California
Vail K., Barnwell P., Managing Structure-Invading Ants, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
Máximo, H. J., Felizatti, H. L., Ceccato, M., Cintra-Socolowski, P., & Beretta, A. L. (2014). Ants as vectors of pathogenic microorganisms in a hospital in São Paulo county, Brazil
Alder P., Waldvogel M., Tips for Effective Ant Baiting, N.C. Cooperative Extension
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