If you have ever discovered that you have an ant problem, you know how frustrating it can be, especially when you discover ants in your car. Not to mention, a little dangerous if you feel ants crawling on you while you’re driving! Ants never come alone, so when you find one, the others are usually not far behind. While it’s not as easy as just killing a few ants, there are a lot of ways you can get rid of ants in your car and keep them out.
Ants in your car? You can get rid of ants in the car by cleaning out the food source that has attracted them and placing these homemade ant bait traps around the car (see below). Thoroughly clean and vacuum the car to remove all possible sources of food. Worker ants are coming into your car because they have found something to eat and they will persistently go after it as long as it’s there. Placing ant bait traps will take care of any remaining ants that don’t find their way out on their own.
Why do I have ants in my car?
If you find a trail of ants making their way into your car it is because they have found a food source to bring back to their colony. If you take a look around your car, you will probably find some food crumbs, maybe an old bag of fast food, something sweet that has spilled, a piece of dropped candy, or a forgotten snack from the kids. If you’ve ever spilled soda on the pavement or dropped a piece of food at a picnic, you’ll notice how quickly the ants will swarm it and begin carrying the food away. The same goes for your car, so be sure to remove all food items and vacuum up any loose crumbs first.
What attracts ants?
We now know that a food source is to blame for attracting ants, but what types of foods are the biggest culprits? The number one food that is sure to attract ants is, of course, sugar! A lot of foods have sugar, but the more sugary and sweet they are, the more likely they are to attract ants. Ants are hard working insects and sugar is calorie rich, providing the ants with the energy they need to keep working hard. This is why spilling a sugary drink or dropping a piece of cake at a birthday party will almost immediately bring the ants around!
A very close second, though in some environments it may win out over sugar is salt! If ants do not get enough salt in their environment, it could be more of a draw than sugar. Either way, whether the crumbs are salty or sweet, the ants will find their way!
Ant Traps
If you have thoroughly cleaned out your car and still have ants hanging around, you can place a few ant bait traps around your car. These traps should be readily available at your local hardware store and fairly inexpensive. You can also use some ingredients from around your house to make a homemade ant trap.
Homemade ant traps for car
- Boric acid and sugar – mix these two ingredients together, adding more sugar than boric acid, and add a little water. The sugar will be enough to draw the ants into the boric acid which will be effective in killing the ants. If you have kids or pets, however, this is not the safest option.
- Baking soda and sugar – This is a safer option with kids and pets around. You can simply mix the two ingredients and again, add some water. Place the mixture in a shallow container and place it in your car which should draw in the ants effectively.
Allow these bait traps to sit for 24-48 hours to determine if they have killed all of the remaining ants. The first trap using boric acid will absolutely be the most effective, but remember to be extremely careful if you have kids or pets and do not allow them to get near the trap.
Homemade ant spray
You could also create a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray around the entire perimeter of your car so that the ants have to cross over it when trying to get into your car. Vinegar is a natural, inexpensive way to kill and repel ants. Spray the area every few hours to keep the area saturated until all the ants are gone. Don’t spray this mixture in your car or you will be smelling vinegar for a long time!
Types of Ants
Identifying what type of ants you have found can be tricky because there are so many different types in the United States alone. There are actually around 1,000 different species living in North America and from a distance, they can all look quite similar. Up close, however, they are actually quite different. You might only be concerned with getting them out of your car and not what type they are, but if you’re curious, we found a great resource for identifying the 19 most common ants in the United States: How to identify types of ants
How many ants would it take to lift a car?
Okay, probably not something you have to worry about, but just for fun, if we had to guess, since ants can lift 1,000 times their own weight, it would probably take around 500,000 ants to lift your car. So you better get busy and get those ants out of your car!
Keeping ants out of your car
Keeping ants away is as simple as keeping a clean car, free of any food or sugar drinks. This can be hard to do especially if you have kids. So if your efforts to keep a clean car fail, using the methods above should clear your ant infestation quickly and effectively!