Ants in Couch | How to Get Rid of Ants in Your Couch

Laying on the couch after a long day is a feeling most live for, but ants can ruin your relaxing moments by infesting your couch. Different kinds of ants can find their way into your house.

Battling ant invasion is not an easy task because these insects can pass through and hide in very tiny openings. Nonetheless, it is possible to eliminate ants from your couch.

Some effective methods for getting rid of ants in your couch include using ant killer pesticides (traps/baits, borax, and sprays) and natural solutions such as using peppermint essential oil, cleaning the couch, getting rid of moisture and clearing any type of garbage.

These methods can help you to eradicate ants fast and also permanently. Looking out for their entry points is also a great starting point before applying any method. Usually, when ants invade your home, they are just searching for food and want to go through the house without being disturbed. They can invade almost everything, including the living room, bedroom, and kitchen.

These insects get attracted to couches and other places that offer suitable protection and shelter. In the following sections, we will discuss different methods you can use to get rid of ants in couches. Let’s start!

Ways to Get Rid of Ants in Your Couch

Vacuum Clean Your Couch

Vacuuming your couches regularly is a sure way to eradicate ants. Start by removing all the cushions on your couches and vacuum them thoroughly. Ensure to clean all areas of your couches, including the edges. As you do this, remember to clean under every couch.

Vacuum cleaning helps eliminate food substances or any paper wrap under the couch that might attract the ants. Since ants like sugary stuff, you should clean your house thoroughly with soapy water. Let the cushions air outside for some time, and leave your living room windows open to air out the house.

Get Rid of the Moisture

Ants not only search for food but also travel in masses in search of water. If your living room is wet, finding ants on your couch shouldn’t surprise you because they like wet places. You are likely to find them in your bathroom. You can prevent ants’ invasion in your house if you dry out the moist places.

While different types of ants behave differently, the carpenter ants are particularly known to look for wet places to make their colonies. When it’s dry outside, they find their way into houses, searching for moisture and water.

So, eliminate any pools or spots that are wet. As for your bathroom, you can use a dehumidifier. If your house remains clean and dry, you will naturally prevent ants from infesting your couches and your house.

Use Ant Baits

If you spot one ant on your couch, there is a high likelihood of many others around. This can be risky, especially if you have kids around. Setting a bait for them is an effective way to eliminate them. These baits work well in trapping all types of ants.

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Hot Shot HG-2048 MaxAttrax Ant Bait

Finding their hiding place is vital if you want to succeed in removing them completely. For every couch, you should set bait in the areas around it. You can also try to trace their pathways in order to place your baits tactically.

Spraying

Protect yourself first with a latex glove before using your preferred pesticide. A mix of water and vinegar effectively deter all types of ants if you are looking for a natural solution. If not, you can use this ant-killer spray.

Raid Ant & Roach Killer Lemon Scent

Always spray all the areas where ants have been found, including possible hideouts. The pheromone trails left by these insects can be used to track other nearby ants easily.

Spraying disrupts the trails making it difficult for other ants to use the same route. Equally, the area around the couch should be sprayed. All surfaces and floors should be free from food to avoid any contamination. After spraying the couches, clean the house thoroughly for efficient results.

Use of Borax

Borax is another way to eliminate ants from your couches. The borax powder can be found at most local stores. Borax works well with a sugar solution. The sugar in the solution attracts the ants, while the borax kills them.

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As they return to their shelters, they spread it to other ants. After a while, you will clear out the whole colony of ants, including the ants’ queen. The borax solution disrupts the ants’ digestive system, killing them as a result.

Peppermint Essential Oil

Peppermint essential oil is known to deter ants. Add about five drops of the oil to a ball of cotton wool and wipe it around the insides of the couch pillows. Make sure you clean all the woody edges of the couch and below the cushions.

Organic Peppermint Essential Oil

Under the couch could also be an ants’ harboring place because it is warm. So use enough oil in such places to get rid of every ant. The peppermint oil smell irritates the ants, keeping them away for a few days.

This method is simple and uncomplicated. Thus, one can apply it without any professional help. Besides, the peppermint also gives the room a pleasant fragrance.

How to Prevent Ants From Infesting Your Couch

Seal Gaps and Cracks

Move around all the couches in the room to see if there are any crevices. The areas around the couches are likely to be their entrances.

All identified holes should be closed to prevent further trails because ants move in large numbers. Ants usually find their way into your house through a gap or crack that leads from outside. Sometimes they might come from your kitchen garden. So, how do you seal these holes? Caulk is very useful when you want to seal all the ants’ holes.

Keep Your Environment Clean

Ants need a safe place to go and return with food. So find anything that provides them with shelter or food and remove it. 

The fallen tree logs around the compound, the tree limbs lying around, and the mulch that has overstayed around should be moved. This is because ants like dark and moist places. Trim the extra branches touching your roof because that could be their passage to the living room.

Firewood should not be stored inside the house unless it has been checked for ants. Keep your surroundings clean, and you will prevent any ants’ infestations.

Clear the Garbage

Ants love the smell of waste. It is their paradise when they are scouting around. They leave a scent behind for the other ants to follow. Once you leave the garbage inside the house, ants infest it in large colonies to find food. They will find crevices to enter the house, and some will end up in your couch.

As you clean up, ensure there’s no garbage around the sitting area. Ant invasion can be prevented by discarding your garbage far from your house. Also, change the garbage bags often and always carry them fully closed.

Coffee

Coffee grounds are an excellent remedy for ant infestation. Coffee is a great ant repellant because these insects don’t like its strong smell. Dry out the coffee grounds and place them strategically in your home, especially in the sitting room.

Spread them around the compound, the garden, and the yard to keep them away for good. Be careful when using this remedy if you have pets because caffeine is known to poison pets. Reapply the coffee grounds after it rains for effective results.

Eating Areas

Since ants constantly move in search of food and water, they will creep anywhere to search for what they want. People often snack while watching TV on the couch. If you keep up with this habit, food remains will get stuck between cushions and couch pillows. Any food that remains on the couch is an invitation for ants.

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

List of Sources

Do’s and Don’ts of Pest Control, United States Environmental Protection Agency

Ogg B., Ant Baits: A Least-Toxic Control, University of Nebraska

Ants in the Home, Colorado State University

Vail K., Barnwell P., Managing Structure-Invading Ants, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture