How to Get Rid of Ants in Apartment? 9 Effective Methods!

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How to Get Rid of Ants in Apartment

If you have an ant infestation in your apartment, you need to act as fast as possible. First, you will need to watch the ants’ patterns and where they come from.

To get rid of them, you should clean your house. Additionally, you must also use things like lemon juice, chalk lines, and more.

Wondering how to get rid of these pesky creatures? Keep reading this guide.

Ant Infestation in Apartments

If you see one ant in your apartment, you should know there will likely be several more. More often than not, they swarm your house in search of food.

Getting rid of them can be extremely challenging. No matter how much killer spray you use, they may keep coming back.

This is why you might be tempted to call the landlord or exterminator simply. But they may take several hours so that you can take matters into your own hands.

Luckily, there are several other methods you can use to get rid of ants in your apartments. These methods vary in effectiveness, so you should use them all to get the best results.

Doing so will eventually get the job done and prevent a future infestation.

Why Do Ants Come in Apartments?

Ants come in apartments all the time to find shade. However, the main reason why they stay is because of food.

This is why you can typically find them in your kitchen munching on food residue. They mainly enjoy sugary and greasy food as well as starches.

In some cases, ants also enjoy pet foods. Hence you should avoid keeping such foods out because that would be inviting.

Moreover, not taking out your garbage frequently will also invite ants into your apartment. Ants can easily find their way into the garbage.

They can also break through the garbage bags and enter. Hence, you should change your garbage often.

You should also avoid leaving your garbage out for long. This would be their biggest attraction.

How to Get Rid of Ants in Apartments

Now that you know why ants may be in your apartment, it’s time to take measures to get rid of them.

Luckily, there are several things you can do. They include the following:

Clean, Clean, Clean

As mentioned, ants are attracted to the food residue left in your home. They will feast on the crumbs and remnants left behind.

This is why the first thing you should do is thoroughly clean your whole house. This will cut off their food source, so they won’t have a reason to stay.

Doing so will also give you a blank slate to use other methods. Hence, you should spend one-weekend doing deep cleaning of the apartment/house.

Use a broom and a mop to get in all corners and remove any food leftovers on the counter. Change your garbage and remove all the trash.

There are a few things you can do to reduce the chances of ants coming inside:

  • Make sure there’s no food or water left out where ants could get to it.
  • Fix any leaks or spills right away.
  • Keep your floors and countertops clean.
  • If you see a lot of ants, call an exterminator

Use Lemon Juice

Lemon is good for cooking and cleaning and for deterring ants. The acid can encourage them to go and prevent them from staying.

You should squeeze the lemon into a spray bottle. Then, spray it into all the cracks and holes in your walls.

After this, you should seal these open spaces with caulk. All of this will suffocate the ants and mess with their tracking abilities.

As a result, they will leave and look for shelter elsewhere.

Chalk Lines

This might be a very temporary way of getting rid of ants, but it will keep them away for a long time. You should draw chalk lines on the door frame, walls, windows, and more.

This will deter the ants, mess with their scent tracking abilities, and prevent them from coming inside.

Using chalk lines is an excellent method to keep ants out while you wait for a more permanent solution.

Essential Oils

If you are looking for more pleasant ways of getting rid of this issue, consider essential oils. You can use peppermint oil and cinnamon oil.

Use a Q-tip that has been dipped in cinnamon oil and apply it all over the ant trails and entry points. If you don’t like the scent of cinnamon, you can use peppermint oil.

Add several drops of peppermint oil to half a cup of water and mix the concentration well. Add it in a spray bottle, and you can spray it on entry points.

Additionally, you can also use tea tree oil the same way. In fact, you can also make a mixture of tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and water.

 You will need to use these remedies for several days for them to be effective.

Vinegar

When you no longer see any ants, you should use this method. Spray over any previous ant trails with a water and vinegar mixture.

This will deter their scent, and the ants will likely not return. It won’t kill them, but rather prevent them from coming.

You can also try adding some essential oils to the mixture to make it even more effective.

Lemongrass, peppermint, and citrus oils are all known to repel ants naturally. Just add a few drops of whichever oil you choose to the vinegar solution before spraying.

Black Pepper or Cayenne Pepper

Ants get irritated by black pepper and cayenne pepper. This is why you can use these to ward them off and prevent them from coming back.

Sprinkle some of these peppers in any holes or crevices they come from. This will block their entry.

Alternatively, you can also mix some black pepper with water in a spray bottle. Spray this on the ants.

This will not kill them but will likely ward them off so that they don’t return.

Ant Traps and Poisons

If none of these natural solutions work, you should get ant traps and poisons from the store. Follow the instructions on the packaging carefully.

Such poisons tend to contain many chemicals, which can be harmful to pets. Another poison you can consider for ants is aspartame.

You can mix the powdered version of this with apple juice and leave it out. Since ants are attracted to sugar, they will come towards it.

This juice will poison all of the ants and their colony.

Hunt Down the Nest

If you tried using all of these above-mentioned efforts and did not work, hunt down the nest. This is the source of the infestation and where it all begins.

You can follow the trail to look for the ants. However, this is easier said than done, which is why you should call a professional.

Call the Exterminator

When everything else fails and you still have an ants problem in your apartment, it is time to call reinforcements.

Call an exterminator when you have tried all of these methods and none of them worked.

This might mean that the problem is bigger than you expected it to be. Hence, you should let the professionals handle it.

It is best to inform your landlord beforehand. This way, you can discuss the best way forward and any costs incurred.

You should also find out from other tenants if they all have this issue. This would be a sure sign that there is a nest nearby.

What’s the Fastest Natural Way to Kill Ants?

The quickest way to get rid of ants is to spray them with a white vinegar solution. White vinegar contains acetic acid, which is toxic to ants.

To make the solution, mix 1 part white vinegar with 1 part water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray it directly on the ants. The vinegar will kill them instantly.

You can either pour the vinegar directly on the ants or put it in a spray bottle and spray it around their entrance points.

What Smells Do Ants Hate?

Ants have a very keen sense of smell, and there are a few things that they really dislike.

Peppermint oil is one of the most effective at repelling ants -just a few drops placed strategically can send them running.

Cloves and cinnamon are also excellent choices; while citrus oils like lemon or grapefruit are less effective, they can still help to keep ants away.

You can try spraying these essential oils around the areas where you see ants, and hopefully, they’ll stay away!

Why Do Ants Suddenly Appear in the Apartment?

There could be a number of reasons why ants might suddenly appear in an apartment.

One possibility is that they’re attracted to something sweet or sugary that’s been spilled, like a soda or juice.

Another possibility is that there’s a leak somewhere in the apartment building, and the ants are coming in from outside looking for food.

Finally, it’s also possible that the ants have been nesting somewhere in the building and simply haven’t been noticed until recently.

If you’re finding ants all over your apartment, the best thing to do is try to locate where they’re coming from and take steps to get rid of them.

You can either DIY or hire an exterminator to do it for you.

Final Words

An ant infestation can be quite difficult to manage. If you don’t take the necessary measures in time, it makes matters worse.

Ants multiply rapidly. Hence, you should take all the aforementioned measures to get rid of them at your earliest.

When nothing works, bring in the professionals. They have the necessary tools and expertise to efficiently and permanently eliminate the ants.

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