The quintessential uninvited picnic guests, ants show up in all kinds of other places as well. Particularly where food is involved. So when you see an ant in your kitchen or other places where you have food, it’s really not a surprise.
But why in the world would ants want to hang out in your bathroom? Unless you’re eating sandwiches in there and dropping lots of crumbs, it’s hard to imagine why ants would have much affection for the room where your toilet, shower and sink are located.
Keeping your bathroom clean and disinfected is one of the first and most important steps toward keeping your entire home free from pests. However, there are a few factors present in bathrooms that really can’t completely be avoided if you actually use your bathroom.
Read More: 8 Ants That Are Likely to Invade Houston Homes
Moisture
No matter what you do, it’s impossible to keep a bathroom dry! Just as the name implies, this is the place for taking baths and showers, as well as flushing the toilet and washing your hands. Not only that, unnoticed water leaks can cause wood and other materials to decay, which may act as a source of food for ants. Of course, taking care of leaky fixtures and wiping up water spills is important, but really it’s not likely that you can keep your bathroom completely water free.
Skin Cells/Hair Cells
Each time you walk into the bathroom to brush your teeth, wash your hands, shower, or comb your hair, you are creating a trigger that may draw ants in. Disgusting as it sound, ants are attracted to the chemical odors in your bathroom, scents coming from your drain, and even fermented hair. That’s why bathrooms are one of the most common places in the home that ants like to turn into their homes.
Odors
Various odors emanating from the bathroom can act as a draw for ants. The bathtub or shower drain filled with hair is disgusting for us, but acts as a favorable place for stagnant water to collect. In fact, ants consider this to be a source of food and are highly attracted to the scent the drain gives off. Even if you can’t smell it, the ants can.
Read More: Where Do Ants Hide Out & How Do They Get In Your House?
Houston Ant Control Solutions
Because of moisture, odors and other attractions, ants clearly love your bathroom and probably aren’t going to stay away on their own. And for every ant you see? There could be hundreds or even thousands of ants hiding in the walls that you can’t actually see. Even just one ant that seems like a stray may be a sign of an ant infestation.
Sealing up cracks and crevices is a good start to make sure that ants aren’t able to get inside of your bathroom or your home. And getting rid of the hair in your bathroom sink or shower drain will help to keep ants from being attracted in by the scent. But existing ant infestations that are simply left alone will not only stay in your bathroom, they are quite likely to grow. The best way to get rid of ants in your bathroom (and entire home) is to contact a pest control professional.
Cypress Creek Pest Control in Houston provides professional ant control treatments that are tailored to the specific characteristics of each ant species. This allows the nest to be found, the queen ant to be eliminated, and residual ants to be controlled. Contact Cypress Creek Pest Control professionals today for information or a quote.
