Having ants in our bedrooms can leave many of us feel uneasy.
No one wants these tiny pests crawling and biting on us while we sleep.
In this article, we’ll go over everything you need to know about getting rid of your ants in your bedroom.
So you can finally relax and get that peaceful sleep you deserve.
1. Inspect/Monitor Your Home
Inspecting and monitoring are vital for two things.
- Identifying the type of ant
- Finding where they live and travel
Different species of ants feed and behave differently. As such, you need to treat them differently.
To identify what species of ant you have in your room take a photo of the ant or capture one ant and place it inside a container.
You’ll also want to look for trails to find out how the ants are getting into your bedroom.
If the ant trail leads you outside of your room, make sure to treat that area of your house as well.
Follow the ant trails to determine how the ants are getting into your house or if they are nesting in your home.
Look for trails, mounds, or other signs of ants inside and outside your house.
It’s important to make sure that the ants you found outside your bedroom are the same ones inside.
It’s not uncommon to have two different types of ants or multiple best in and outside your home.
One way to check is to capture one ant from each trail and place them in a container.
If the ants are not from the same colony, they will fight each other.
Keep track of any other locations you see other ants inside or outside your home.
This will help you when placing ant baits in the next step.
2. Eliminate Items that Attract ants
Ants enter your home for food, water and shelter.
If you remove these they wouldn’t have any reason to stay.
To keep ants from your room eliminate any food and water sources:
- Vacuum or sweep under your to remove crumbs or small particles that may be trapped in your carpet or under your bed.
- Wipe down surfaces to remove any food and water residue.
- Remove or wash dirty laundry regularly. Sweaty clothes contain sugar and salt which is attractive to ants
- Hang wet towels properly to make sure they dry fast. Towels can provide ants with moisture and shelter if not stored properly.
- Remove or place pet food in an airtight container. Make sure you clean the bowl once your pet is finished eating.
- Remove indoor plants in your room, especially the ones that attract insects that ants can eat.
- Ants can travel from room to room through voids, crack and crevices in walls, doors, and floors. To keep ants away from your room make sure to fill these voids shut.
3. Pre-Baiting
Pre-baiting involves using non-toxic food to attract ants.
This strategy allows you do three things:
- Find the ant trails
- Observe and identify ants
- Locate the nest
Ants have different food preferences.
Unless you know exactly what ant you have in your bedroom, I recommend testing out both sugar and protein-based pre-bait.
These two bait bases should cover all the common indoor ants.
For sugar pre-bait, I suggest using a 50/50 mixture of honey and water.
You can use peanut butter or spam as a protein pre-bait.
Place these baits wherever you saw ant activity during your inspection.
If there are active trails, you can place a pre-bait on each side to determine which they prefer.
When placing your baits outdoors, keep them out of direct sunlight. Doing so will keep the baits effective as long as possible.
Some common places you can find ant trails outside are guidelines, foundation, along walls, or near moisture.
Different ants forage at different times, so make sure to check your pre-baits throughout the day.
The only exception to this if you know exactly what type of ant you have at this point.
If there are multiple ant trails, follow each one.
Multiple ant trails could be a sign that there are two ants nests nearby, and you may need to treat each one separately.
4. Identification
Different ant species are hard to identify because they are small and can look very similar.
The best way to identify them is by examining their appearance, food preference, behavior, and food preference.
Appearance
There are a couple of ways you can examine ants’ appearance.
First is by capturing one ant and using a magnifying glass to study it.
The second is to use a zoom or macro lens and take a photo to get a closer look.
Food Preference
Different types of ants have different diets.
Some ants might prefer sweets and protein, while others might prefer oils and fats.
For instance, carpenter ants prefer proteins and sweets. On the other hand, fire ants will prefer meat and lipids.
You can use the ants’ choice of pre-bait as a baseline for what you’ll use in your bait treatment.
Nest Location
Following the trails to find an ant’s nest can help determine what type of ant it is.
Carpenter ants, for example, live inside the wood.
On the other hand, pavement ants may build their nest under concrete and come up through the cracks.
It’s not always easy to determine where an ants nest is.
If you can’t determine where the nest is, focus on the ant’s appearance and eating habits.
Types of Ants that Infest Bedrooms
1. Carpenter Ants
Carpenter Ants may be one of the most likely culprits you will find in your restroom.
They require moisture to survive and prefer to live in damp or rotting wood.
Bathrooms create a perfect habitat for Carpenter Ants.
They offer a consistent source of moisture and a likely place to find damp wood.
Carpenter Ants will commonly live inside wall voids, rotting windows, or door sills.
| Carpenter Ant Identification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Size: 1/4″ – 5/8″ | Antenna: Bent | Color: Red and Black |
| Pattern: Golden Hairs | Nodes: One | Shape: Segmented |
| Region: Coastal U.S States From Fl to WA | Food: Sweets, Insects | Nest: Inside Damp Wood |
2. Odorous Ants
Odorous ants are another common ant that hides in restrooms.
These ants are drawn to the smell released by drains.
Although you may not smell the drain, ants have extremely powerful smelling abilities.
| Odorous Ant Identification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Size: 1/8″ | Antenna: Bent | Color: Dark Brown to Black |
| Pattern: None, but distinct coconut smell when crushed. | Nodes: One | Shape: Segmented |
| Region: Across the U.S | Food: Sweets, Human food (salts, grease, dairy, and protein) | Nest: shallow mounds, inside wall voids. |
3. Argentine Ants
Argentine Ants are another common ant that will invade your bathroom.
They prefer living near a source of water or in damp soil.
This is what makes bathrooms an ideal target for Argentine ants.
Argentine ants can hide or nest inside wall voids, around toilet bowls, or under bathtubs.
| Argentine Ant Identification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Size: 1/8″ | Antenna: Bent | Color: Black Body, Yellow Mandibles |
| Pattern: No Pattern, Triangular Head | Nodes: One | Shape: Segmented |
| Region: West, Southwest, Northwest, and Southeast | Food: Sweets, Seasonal | Nest: Shallow and Deep Mounds, can create Super Colonies |
4. Little Black Ants
Little Black Ants are one of the most common types of ants found inside.
They can nest and forage nearly anywhere in your home.
They are known to infest inside of walls and around sources of water or damp wood.
| Little Black Ants Identification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Size: 1/16″ | Antenna: Bent | Color: Shiny Dark Brown To Black |
| Pattern: No Pattern | Nodes: One | Shape: Segmented |
| Region: Across the U.S | Food: Sweets, Proteins, Oils including human food. | Nest: Near moist soil, wood, or bricks, wall voids |
5. Pharaoh Ants
Pharaoh Ants are commonly found foraging and nesting inside structures.
They commonly hide inside homes in locations that are hard to reach, such as wall void and underneath cabinets.
They tend to place their nests near food and water sources when possible.
| Phoraoh Ant Identification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Size: 1/16″ – 1/8″ | Antenna: Bent | Color: Yellowish-Light Brown to Red |
| Pattern: No Pattern | Nodes: One | Shape: Segmented |
| Region: Coastal U.S States From Fl to WA | Food: Sweets, Protein, Insects | Nest: Near water sources, common indoors |
5. Use Indoor and Outdoor Bait
Regardless of the type of ant, baiting is the most effective treatment.
Baits are a mixture of attractant and insecticide.
When a worker ant finds the bait, they take a portion of it and tell other workers to bring it back to the colony.
The ants will then place the bait in their food storage area, contaminating the rest of the food.
Eventually, the contaminated food and the bait will kill the entire colony.
There are three factors that go into a successful bait strategy:
- The right bait
- The right location
- Lack of other food Sources
Location
Place ant baits in all the locations where ants were active during pre-baiting.
Doing so will make it a seamless and efficient transition once you apply the bait.
Other Food Sources
Remember to remove any pre-bait or other food sources that might attract ants.
Baits are most effective when they are the only food source.
Ants will have no other choice but to eat the bait.
Type of Bait
When selecting your bait, choose a bait that has the same base as the pre-bait the ants were eating.
For instance, if the ants consume sugar based bait during pre-baiting, use sugar as your base for the actual biat treatment.
If the ants consumed both pre-bait, then either type of bait should work.
Baits typically take 1-3 days to kill ants that directly consumed the bait.
It’s expected to eliminate an entire colony between 1-2 weeks.
Indoor Bait
When you see ants in your bedroom, you may want to grab the first chemical or Raid spray bottle, you see.
While it is instant, it is not long term.
This method will only kill the ants you see in front of you, but they won’t eliminate the colony or prevent other ants from coming inside.
Stick to bait stations or gel bait syringes.
Bait stations are easy to use and fast to apply.
They are also good for those with children or pets.
With bait stations, the bait is not exposed but hidden in a small compartment.
Syringe bats can make it easier to apply to hard to reach areas and it easy to track how much has been consumed,
The Best place to place indoor baits inside your bedroom including:
- Baseboards
- Guidelines
- Under or Around Bet
- Inside Closet
- Top of walls (crown molding)
- Window sills
- Corners of Walls
If you spotted ants in other areas of your home, its place baits there as well.
Doing this will ensure that you deliver as much bait to the nest and cover any ant trails from a different colony.
Place indoor bait anywhere you spotted ant trails during the inspection.
Other ideal locations to place bait indoors include:
- Under appliances
- Small cracks and crevices
- Cabinet door hinges
- Windows or door sills
- Along walls or cabinets, guides, and baseboards.
- Near sources of water
- Near ant trails
I recommend applying small dabs onto 2×2 inch pieces of wax paper.
Doing so will make it easy to keep track of the bait and clean up any gel bait you apply.
Outdoor Ant Bait
The source of ants is typically outside, making outdoors one of the best places to bait.
Certain types of ants, such as carpenter ants and fire ants, create two nests.
In these cases, outdoor bait will typically allow you to target as many species or mounds outside.
The best option for outdoor ant bait is using refillable ant baiting stations.
These are typically stations where you can fill a liquid or gel bait that will attract ants.
Place these stations around the perimeter of your home.
I recommend placing one along each corner or side of your home.
Other ideal places to put bait stations are near ant mounts, in your garden near plants, or near other outdoor structures.
Check your bait stations regularly to ensure that there is still bait inside.
If you notice that ants are not consuming the bait, try using a different bait to attract them.
6. Apply Non-Repellent Spray
Baiting is typically sufficient to eliminate most ant infestations.
But you can use barrier treatments for additional protection.
Barrier treatments are best for houses with severe ant problems.
This means that you consistently see thick ant trails indoors or outdoors.
Foragers around your home or large mounds or nest of ants coming out of cracks on the pavement.
There are signs that you can have a severe ant infestation.
In times like this, a barrier treatment is a great way to eliminate and keep ant infestations out of your home.
Barrier treatments typically include spraying an insecticide around the foundation of your home.
I recommend using a pressurized sprayer to apply a 3-foot wide base around your home’s perimeter and a 3-foot wide application on the walls of your home.
When doing this type of treatment, there are two options non-repellent and repellent.
I recommend using a non-repellent insecticides.
Liquid insecticides are slow-acting like baits.
When ants walk through the insecticide, they will take it into their nest and spread it to the rest of the colony.
Repellent insecticides kill on contact but can be infective and cause ants to flea and create more colonies.
If the infestation in your yard is severe, a broadcast liquid insecticide treatment may be necessary.
This involves applying the insecticide to your entire yard.
These treatments are typically active for around 3-6 months, depending on the insecticide and weather conditions.
7. Keep Ants Away with Preventative Measures
We’ve all heard the maxim: prevention is better than cure. And when it comes to ants, this is undoubtedly true.
Here are some of the best tips and strategies to stop ants from invading your home:
Eliminate Food
One of the most natural things you can do to keep ants out of your house is cleaning up any food or water sources.
Be sure to clean up food preparation areas to ensure there are no potential food sources for ants.
Wipe down your counters with a cleaning agent is a great way to remove ant trail pheromones.
Clean anywhere you recently saw an ant trail to make sure they can’t use it again.
I also recommend cleaning underneath appliances where food tends to accumulate, such as the refrigerator, microwave, and stove.
It is also vital that you store food properly in airtight containers or bags, including dog food.
If you have pets, clean and store food and water bowls properly when they are not eating.
Indoor plants can also attract ants. Some of these plants are home to aphids that produce honeydew.
Indoor plants can also be home to small insects that ants fee
Eliminate Water
Ants need water to survive.
If there are no food sources but there is an abundance of water ants will still enter your home.
This is particularly true when the soil outside is dry and they need to find additional sources of water.
Make sure you address any excess moisture issues both inside and outside of your house.
This includes leaking pipes or faucets.
Standing water or overwatering of plants and grass outdoors.
Seal Up Enrty Points
The harder ti is for ants to get in, the less likely they will try and enter your home.
The best way to do this is to seal up any cracks, holes, and crevices around your home using caulk.
Some common places to look outside are:
- Cracks in foundation
- Holes or cracks on walls
- Door or Window Sills
- Under or around windows and doors.
- Pipes or Wires that penetrate walls.
Common places to look indoors include:
- Cracks on walls
- Around windows and doors
- foundation or edges walls
- under sinks where there are pipes
- electrical sockets
It is also a good idea to apply a dust insecticide into these crevices before sealing them up.
This will allow you to kill any ants hiding inside these voids and give them no way of getting out.
Trim Vegetation
Trim any branches that are touching your walls, windows, roof, etc.
Carpenter ants live in trees and can use its branches as a bridge to enter your home.
If you are confident that a near your house is infested with carpenter ants, make sure you treat it or consider cutting it down.
Keep Your Yard Clean
Piles of trees give ants an ideal shelter. They allow ants to hide undisturbed, as well as provide the moisture they need.
Remove anything that can collect water, such as stacks of wood and overturned plant pots.
Minimize Mulch
You’ll also want to minimize the use of mulch around your home.
Layers of mulch provide ants with the perfect shelter.
It traps moisture and insulates against harsh temperatures.
If you must use mulch at home, make sure to replace old mulch with new ones at least once a year.
You can use rock, gravel, pebbles, rubber as an alternative to mulch.
Pebbles or gravel is typically too dense and compact for ants to tunnel through. As a result, they won’t be able to access the perimeter of your foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why Are There Ants In My Room?
There are many reasons ants could be in your room.
The two primary reasons that ants enter bedrooms is for food or moisture.
If there is a food source or water source ants will find it regardless of where it is located.
The food or water sources they are looking for are not always apparent.
Sometimes food sources include small crumbs embedded in carpet or insect such as aphids on indoor plants.
Moisture can also come from unlikely locations such as moisture rings from drinks or sweaty clothes.
Other reasons that ants could be in your room that is not directly related to a food or water source are:
- Insecticide Treatment Outdoors
- Shelter from harsh weather conditions
- On route to different locations
- Indoor flowers
- Easy access points
- Nest is inside your home
Can Ants Infest My Matterss?
While it is possible that ants can infest your bed they won’t nest there.
If there are ants on your bed then it is likely that they are foraging and they found food on your bed.
This means that they found potential food on your bed (not you!! Crumbs).
To prevent this avoid from eating on your bed.
Will Ants Bite Me While I Sleep?
The reality is that ants typically do not bite people when they sleep.
In most situations even if you eat on your bed there will only be a few ants forging on your bed.
Ants typically do not engage directly with people.
As a result, they only typically bite when they feel threated or when the contact was initiated with the,
This means you won’t have to worry about ants biting you as you sleep.
Can I Spray Raid In My Bedroom?
Yes technically Raid is safe for indoor use.
But it should not be used to eliminate ant infestations.
This only eliminates visible ants on contact but not other ants that are inside the nest including the queen.
Raid can also cause toxic chemicals to get into the air.
These toxic chemicals will be approved by any fabric materials in your car.
Avoid using Raid to treat ants whenever possible.
Be patient and use baits to ensure that you eliminate the entire colony and not just the one’s you see in front you.