An ant infestation in your home is no joke! These tiny insects can invade your kitchen and pantry, spoiling your stored food.
Interior ant problems take time and a reputable pest control company to solve the problem, but what about an ant infestation in your car? Follow our helpful tips to rid your car of bothersome pests like ants!
Have a pest issue? Contact Zunex pest control today!
When you have an ant invasion, you’ll want to act fast to prevent these pests from damaging the inside of your car or biting you! Check out our helpful advice to remove ants whenever they sneak into your vehicle.
Ants are primarily in your car for one reason: food. We all eat in our cars; there’s no shame in it! However, leaving food or drinks inside for an extended period can encourage ants to infest your car.
Instead of discarding food wrappers and empty drink cups on your floorboards, trash them when you arrive home. Ants can pilfer through anything for small crumbs to take to their nest.
To effectively clean up any spills inside your car, use a vacuum cleaner or a gas station vehicle vacuum to clear out stray crumbs. Sometimes, messes can become trapped in your car’s carpeting or between seats, giving ants easy access to meals.
When vacuuming your vehicle, try out the following:
Check out this guide for more tips to vacuum your vehicle properly!
Don’t forget to clean the hard-to-reach areas to keep these pests from routinely invading. If ants have a consistent source of nutrition, they will keep infesting your car to bring food back to the colony.
They may even flock toward areas devoid of visible crumbs or particles. Ants are fans of sticky, sweet treats and will feast on dried liquids stuck to your car's interior.
After you’ve accidentally spilled a drink or shake in your cupholders, dashboard, or windshield, ants will head to these spots. You can easily scrub any sticky messes with a washcloth or an interior car cleaning wipe.
Ants will congregate in spaces with ample food sources and return if they continue to find consistent sustenance.
Some families store additional fridges or pantries in their garages, which could encourage ants to build nearby and visit. Without proper storage, ants can infest your food and car!
Ants aren’t picky eaters, either! They will feast on any available items stored in your garage like:
Ants could wander into different areas looking for food and may stick around if you have crumbs in your vehicle.
Never store trash in your garage, especially if you struggle with pests. Some insects like ants, cockroaches, or flies could congregate in your garage to reach the decomposing food.
Are you suddenly noticing ants in your car and have no other explanation? Your parking spot could be the culprit!
While some ants may build indoors, most spend their time outdoors in sizeable ant colonies. If you regularly park your car outside, a few ants could search through your vehicle for any sign of food.
Ants are tiny creatures and can slip through small spaces around your doors or windows, especially if you leave them cracked open.
Plus, as the weather warms up, ants will become more active outdoors. Rainy summer days entice ants to flourish, even if your car is squeaky clean.
Check out this video to learn more!
Look around your regular parking spot and see if you can spot a nearby anthill. If you see these pests milling around, move your car and consider calling Zunex to help you eliminate the ants from your yard!
After cleaning up your car, you may have to utilize other pest control methods to eliminate these pests. Removing their food source can encourage them to forage elsewhere, but ants are persistent pests!
To avoid a mess, try placing sticky ant traps wherever these pests crawl inside your car. After you catch enough ants, you can dispose of the sticky sheet.
Other DIY pest control methods like diatomaceous earth work well. The corrosive powder, made up of sharp diatoms, quickly strips away an insect’s exoskeleton. Apply a fine layer of powder to your floorboards and vacuum away the diatomaceous earth after eliminating the ants.
Food grade diatomaceous earth is safe to consume, but avoid inhaling large quantities of the powder. The sharp particles could cause minor lung irritation.
Borax works similarly, but you’ll want to mix it with another substance like sugar or honey to entice the ants to stop by.
If you add some water, you can create a paste to avoid cleaning a powdery mess later. Keep any borax mixtures away from your children or pets, as this chemical isn't safe to eat!
Ant bait is another option that could quickly remove the problem, but you may notice a sudden uptick in the pests as they flock toward the substance. However, rest assured that the bait will slowly cull the entire colony.
As a last resort, you could always vacuum the ants you find milling around your car! While this won’t impact the entire colony, you can quickly resolve the problem in your vehicle.
If you’re continually struggling with an ant infestation in your car, call a pest agency like Zunex Pest Control to help!
We can locate the source of your ant infestation and eliminate the pests if they’re crawling in from your home or yard.
Don’t struggle through a pest invasion alone! Contact us today to learn more, or give us a call to schedule an ant pest control appointment.
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