![How to Get Rid of Ants in Carpet? [6 Ways To Expel]](https://i0.wp.com/yourcarpetadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/How-to-Get-Rid-of-Ants-in-Carpet.jpg?fit=1024%2C577&ssl=1)
An ant infestation can be really nasty and in this article, we are going to talk about how to get rid of carpet ants. Have you ever had the experience where you are sitting comfortably on your couch with your feet on the carpet and all of a sudden feel something crawl up your legs?
Worse off, you may even feel a sting or two. Upon closer inspection, you discover that the cause of the discomfort is actually some ants that have invaded your carpet. Why are they there and how can you get rid of them? This article will answer these questions.
Ants invade your carpet because they have found a food source. To get rid of ants there, you need to use a combination of a thorough cleaning as well as some pest control measures in order to repel or kill them. There are products like Borax and other natural alternatives that will help you get rid of the infestation.
Why do you have ants in your carpet?
Though there are hundreds or even thousands of ant species in the world, only about a dozen of these will end up invading your home. The good thing about these species is that they are harmless and nonlethal.
They tend to be more of a nuisance than anything else. To get a better understanding of how to get rid of ants, you need to establish why they invade your home in the first place.
Ants are creatures that live in colonies with a hierarchy. There is the Queen which lays the eggs, males which mate with the queen then die afterward and female worker ants some of which will become queens. Among the worker ants, there are scout ants that go out to seek food sources.
When these scouts find a food source, they leave a pheromone trail to the food source which the worker ants then follow. The worker ants then collect the food and bring it back to their colony.
Ants will build their colony close to a food source. The reason that you have an ant invasion in your carpet is that there is a food source there. This may be food crumbs in your carpet or juice that your children spilled there. Even if you don’t see these, ants surely will find them.
How do I get rid of ants in my carpet naturally?
So, how do you get rid of carpet ants? There are a number of ways that you can do this. We will first look at some natural ways to get rid of ants. Natural methods are great for situations where you have pets or small children in the house. You don’t want them to accidentally ingest poisonous chemicals.
Cayenne or Black Pepper
These won’t kill the ants but act as a great repellent. Ants hate these and will not go anywhere near them. You can sprinkle them on the carpet or mix them with water then spray them on the carpet. You need to be careful in situations where you have a light colored carpet as it may stain it.
Mint
Mint is a great insect repellent. You can mix mint essential oils with water and pray it on your carpet to repel the ants. They totally hate the smell.
Vinegar
Vinegar is another great natural alternative. It will both kill and repel ants. For this method, mix 1 part vinegar with 1 part water then spray the mixture over your carpet. It will kill any ants there and act as a repellent against future invasions.
Lemon
Lemon works in much the same way that vinegar does. It acts as a natural repellent. It also destroys that pheromone trails which the ants follow which means you would have effectively cut off their means of communication.
Cinnamon
This is another great way of killing and repelling ants. If you want to repel them, you can mix the essential oils with water and spray it over the carpet. The ground cinnamon powder will suffocate ants when they breathe it in thereby killing it.
Regular Vacuuming
This should have been top of the list but regular vacuuming and cleaning of your carpet will eliminate their food source meaning that they will no longer see the need of remaining there since their food source would have been eliminated.
How do I get rid of ants on your carpet overnight?
When you see an ant infestation in your carpet, you would want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. One of the best and quickest ways of doing this is to use Borax.
It is also known as boric acid and you want to get it in powder form. If you are going to use this, the best time would be at night with the kids tucked away and your pets confined to other rooms in the house.
Spread the Borax over the carpet and leave it in overnight. Vacuum it off the following morning. You will find the Borax as well as some dead ants in the vacuum bag.
It is one of the most effective and best-known ways of getting rid of ants on your carpet.
How do I get rid of Ants permanently?
When you successfully get rid of ants on your carpet, what can you do to ensure that you don’t face this problem ever again?
There are a few things that can help you keep ants away for good. Regular Cleaning Ants only ever invade your carpet because they would have found a food source.
Vacuuming and cleaning any food stains from your carpet will prevent them from ever getting in there in the first place. Avoiding eating over the carpet in the first place is also worth considering.
If you have small children or sloppy adults, make sure that they don’t eat over the carpet. This will eliminate the risk of food particles being trapped in your carpet. Also, make sure that your carpet is dry all the time.
Ants like damp places and this can be one of the reasons that they end up building and invading them. Water Your House Plants Daily Make sure that you water your house plants daily.
This is because ants like to build their colonies in plant pots. If you don’t water them regularly, the ants will have a comfortable place to build their colony.
If their colony is close by, there is a greater potential of them invading your carpet. Use Chalk Chalk is a great way of keeping ants or other pests out of your house.
Ants come from outside when they invade your home. Cutting off their paths into your home will deter any infestation. Use it on door and window seals. If there are any cracks in the wall where the ants congregate, apply it there as well.
Conclusion
Fortunately, in most cases, having ants in your carpet is not a disaster. It can easily be remedied using the methods I have talked about in this article. If, however, you have such a bad infestation that can’t be dealt with using the methods outlined here, you may want to call in a professional.
