Ants are always in pursuit of something sweet. However, nothing is more frustrating than coming home and seeing an ant infestation. What do you do if these ants are on your nice carpet?
Ant bait, insecticide powder, and insecticide spray are some methods to get rid of ants on your carpet. However, it is recommended that you use a natural approach on your carpet, like vacuuming or water mixed with vinegar in a spray bottle.
We go over those natural solutions below!
Why Do Ants Live on My Carpet?
Ants use the carpet for travel, as the pheromones ants use to communicate persist for longer periods of time in the fabric.
Ants may travel on your carpets while searching for food, but they need the right circumstances to make nests.
Carpets usually don’t have the right makeup for ants to remain there permanently.
Ants look for dark places for their nests.
Traditionally, carpets are always positioned in the open, getting tons of light.
This will signal the ants to find a different spot to build the nest, which usually leads to them infesting inside walls, behind the weak boards, bathrooms, or other kitchen appliances.
In contrast to such areas, carpets cannot conceal the queen ant and are always in danger of being trampled.
What Attracts Ants to My Carpet?
There are two primary reasons ants would live under your carpet.
When looking to start a colony, ants are naturally drawn to moist areas and food.
These two are excellent indicators of water and resources!
Simply put, searching for food will lead them to the little crumbs that are usually left behind from eating in the living room or inside bedrooms.
The ants won’t have any motivation to stay if you keep food crumbs off your carpet.
A single crumb can sustain an ant for days and set off a full search from the rest of the colony.
We know how hard it is to keep crumbs off the carpet.
The reality is that there are probably tons of little crumbs on the carpet, some of which are sticky and delicious.
When ants discover this new reliable source of food, they establish an ant nest close by and keep returning.
But the truth is, the carpet is not the best area for ants to live since it will make them visible.
Being visible will make them vulnerable, but since food is still food to an ant, the colony’s worker ants will navigate the hazards of your carpet to continue collecting crumbs.
Given this, your carpet may have a nest.
And since hiring an exterminator is the most expensive approach to dealing with ants, most of us attempt to solve the issue on our own first.
So, before you start ripping up your carpet, you should check out these tips (And maybe try a few).
Using A Vacuum Cleaner On Ant Infested Carpet
Removing food particles from a carpet is a great way to avoid ants.
Start this by vacuuming it at least twice a week.
Also, this can suck ants up, which is a particular method of getting rid of them if you start to see some on the carpet.
Vacuuming won’t get rid of stains from sugary drinks that have been spilled on them, and this leftover sugar might still draw ants.
This will eliminate only ants that are now crawling on the carpet.
You must use something to get rid of the stain if any juice or other sweet drink has spilled on it.
For a few ants, vacuuming is simply a quick and temporary cure.
Using Ant Bait To Get Rid of Ants On The Carpet
Ant baits are a highly effective way to kill ants from your carpet.
It is not only practical but also one of the most popular methods for getting ants off the carpet.
When ants have infected anything, they are incredibly challenging to combat, and thus it is crucial to employ an efficient ant bait.
As the definition of the word “bait” means, the baits attract ants, who then transport this bait with them to their colonies.
The colony can’t live without the ant queen.
When the queen eats the ant bait, she will die, which will also cause the colony as a whole to perish.
So the ants in their nests will die, along with the full ant nest, after consuming the bait.
Adding to that, the bait functions in two ways.
First, it will ATTRACT ants to leave your carpet alone.
Second, because ants believe bait is food, they will leave a pheromone trail, and more ants will be drawn to the bait.
As a result, they were effectively killing off a number of them.
These are the typical ant bait varieties.
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Using Gel Ant Baits
Ant gels work well in cracks, crevices, and other difficult-to-reach places.
They can also be used on an index card left out in the open or as bait in a tough-to-find ants situation.
For application, these products often come in tubes with syringes.
Ants bring the bait to the colony to kill other ants, and the bait includes a slow-acting insecticide.
Both indoor and outdoor uses are suitable for ant gels.
Using Liquid Ant Baits
Liquid Ant Baits are very efficient against sugar-eating ants.
Pest control experts have tried and proven this to be the most standard sort of bait and the one they use when you purchase a consultation.
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Granule Ant Baits
Although they can also be used indoors, granule baits are primarily employed outside, such as in garages and backyards.
Granule baits work well and maintain their insecticidal effects for an extended period after use.
The pest range of granular ant baits is often wide.
Put the bait near the ant path that leads to the carpet. Do not forget to place the ant baits around the carpet rather than directly on it. The reason is that if there are food crumbs on the carpet, the crumbs will draw ants more than the ant bait.
Using A Steam Cleaner Against Ants Crawling On Your Carpet
One of the most excellent methods for permanently eliminating carpet ants is using a steam cleaner.
All the ants and their eggs will be killed as it presses and releases water deep into the carpet.
How to Use A Steam Cleaner Against Ants
- Clear the carpet and vacuum it to get rid of any solid debris.
- If the carpet is stained, soak up the spots with a moist cloth dipped in soapy water.
- Add one cup of white vinegar when filling the steam cleaner’s tank with water.
- Now that the cleaning procedure has begun, ensure the entire carpet is covered.
- Turn on the fans and open the windows so the carpet can dry thoroughly.
This is a tried-and-true method for controlling an infestation and removing ants from the carpet.
This will help eliminate ants and other pests on your carpet, such as fleas.
Besides, it will sterilize the carpet, giving it a clean, brand-new appearance.
Using Ant Carpet Powder To Kill Ants On The Carpet
Are there ant swarms on your carpet? Do you see an ant trail?
If so, the problem is severe and you need to move fast, as early pest control is one of the best ways to kill ants.
Moving quickly is critical because baits won’t work this time.
Utilizing anti-ant carpet powder is the ideal answer.
Ant powder is another typical method to kill all the ants on carpets.
The carpet should be uniformly covered with anti-ant powder.
The ants will take up the powder and consume it quickly, killing them.
After deploying the carpet powder, wait for about 30 to 60 minutes.
Either all the ants will perish on the carpet, or they will instantly leave the carpet to die somewhere.
To remove the dead ants from the carpet, use your vacuum.
Don’t, however, spread the powder with your bare hands. Put on gloves. Remember: Till you’ve vacuumed the carpet, keep kids and dogs away from it.
Using Baking Soda To Get Rid of Ant Infestation
Did you know that this super secret ingredient works well in killing ants?
And your kitchen pantry is a convenient place to find it.
Using baking soda is an all-natural, non-toxic method to get rid of the ants on the carpet.
How To Use Baking Soda To Get Rid of Ants
- Combine sugar and baking soda in an even ratio in a bowl.
- Over the carpet, scatter the mixture. The chemicals in the baking soda cause the ants’ stomachs to inflate and burst. (However, baking soda doesn’t work on pests like bed bugs.)
- Mixing baking soda with diatomaceous earth or boric powder is another fantastic technique to eliminate carpenter ants from your carpet.
- Cockroaches may be eliminated effectively by using diatomaceous earth.
- The procedure is the same: combine baking soda with diatomaceous earth or boric acid powder in equal proportions.
- After that, apply the mixture to the carpet.
But keep in mind that boric acid powder is poisonous.
Pets and children should stay off the carpet until you’ve cleaned it.
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Using White Vinegar To Get Rid of Carpet Ants
An inexpensive and efficient method to kill and repel ants is to use white vinegar, sold in all grocery shops, and it functions as a natural cleaner.
Wherever ants are prone to go, try cleaning hard surfaces with a 1-to-1 vinegar/water solution, including floors and counters.
Before utilizing the rug, you must quickly clean it.
White vinegar kills ants instantly and won’t leave a mark on your carpet, discouraging them from returning to the ant trail.
Since ants will return once the vinegar dries up, it will be less effective if the carpet is still unclean.
After washing the carpet, fill a spray bottle with warm water and white vinegar (add lemon for the smell). (Read More)
To kill and repel all the ants, spray this on the carpet and ensure it spreads widely.
When you run out, create another solution using the same ingredients to cover the entire surface.
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Using Cinnamon To Get Rid of Ants on your carpet
Ants hate cinnamon.
To aid sabotage to the pheromone trail, put some cinnamon along the outskirts of your carpet.
If the nest is hidden beneath your carpeting, put some cinnamon on it and then wait.
However, you’ll need something more potent if the ants don’t depart.
Additionally, using cinnamon to prevent ants from entering is more effective than using it to fix a problem once they have.
Tips on How to Prevent Ant infestation on Your Carpet
While there are a ton of ways to get rid of ants once they’re on the carpet, sometimes prevention is the best solution.
Do Not Eat On Your Carpet
If you frequently discover ants on your carpet, food could be around.
If you want to prevent ants from finding your carpet, make sure there are no breakfast leftovers because some ants love the meat and fruit they discover on the floor or ground.
If your home is carpeted, another option is to make sure to clean up after every meal, at least until the ants have left.
Keep It Tidy
As they say, “cleanliness is next to godliness.”
You must first ensure that your carpet is clean to prevent ants from getting into it. (See More)
Your carpets won’t be able to attract them if they are clean, and this ought to avoid issues of ants in the future.
For optimal results, thoroughly vacuum your carpets with a brush attachment before ants start to overrun them.
Every week, vacuum all carpeted parts of the house to get rid of any potential resources before ants find them and cause damage to a particular region of the carpet.
Ants will probably be crawling around the edges of baseboards, so you should also clean around them.
Try sweeping any dirt away.
Move Wood Off The Carpet
While this one may seem unique, a lot of time wood ant colonies are attracted to wood that sits on top of carpet.
This includes carpenter ants, where ants live inside the wood.
While the problem started with just a few ants, our family quickly realized our old cat structure actually attracts ants.
This is because the different ant colonies will send a couple of worker ants to check out the place and see if there is a safe place to set up shop.
Sadly for us, they really liked the old cat stand (so did our cat).
We tried everything, even things like raid ant killer, raid ant bait, and another ant spray.
It just didn’t work, eventually, We threw it out, and we stopped having our normal winter ant invasion!
Final Thoughts on How To Get Rid of Ants On Carpet
Ant infestations are expected in parts of a house where they may obtain food, water, and shelter.
The most straightforward technique to get rid of ants on the carpet is to learn how ant species behave and what draws them to your carpet.
Keeping sweet goods and sugary beverages away from carpets is crucial if you know that ants invading your home prefer to feed on them.
Other Appropriate Ant-Prevention Articles
Here are some relevant articles in our Ant-Prevention Series that also cover the immediate prevention of ants in case you have an infestation.
- What Diseases Do Ants Carry: Still not sure about getting rid of these ants? Look at some of the diseases they carry; we’re sure you’ll take your prevention seriously.
- How To Get Rid of Carpenter Ants in Mulch: While gardening, you may see some ants. Keeping ants out of your plants will keep them from getting in your home and onto your carpet.
- Ants in The Bathroom Sink: While having ants on your carpet is bad, so is having an ant infestation in the bathroom sink.
- Do Dryer Sheets Keep Ants Away: Sometimes, other natural tactics like dryer sheets can help get ants off of the carpet.
- Does Epsom Salt Keep Ants Away: Some Epsom salt may be able to help get those ants off of your carpet!