If ants are in your bed, there is definitely a reason why they are there. They will also end up crawling on you at night. To get rid of them, find out why they are in your bedroom. They will keep coming back if you do not eliminate what attracts them.
During the cold season, ants will crawl on your bed even if there is no food because they are looking for warmth. However, their main attraction is food. If you always eat on your bed, then ants will return even if you get rid of them.
Taking food to your bed will always attract ants. If your bedsheets and mattress are not cleaned regularly, they will find it warm and moist. This will be a good breeding place for Ants. They will nest in your bed and crawl on you when you are asleep.
Causes: Why are there ants in my bed?
Tiny ants in your bed may crawl on you while you are asleep because they are looking for warmth. This is common, especially when it is extremely cold and there is an infestation in the bedroom.
1. Food particles and soup
Ants will also crawl on you at night if you go to bed without washing your hands properly after eating. They have good food detectors which can pick the scent of food from quite a distance.
When you go to bed with food or soup droplets on your clothes, ants will come and crawl on you while trying to find that meal. They may come in large numbers. While you sleep and turn, they may bite you, thinking you are trying to attack them.
2. Old wooden beds
Old Wooden beds that are moist can attract carpenter ants to your bed even if there is no food. Carpenter ants will naturally dig into moist wood to nest and make a habitat. This does not mean they are feeding on the wood because ants do not eat wood.
In most cases, wooden beds provide a very nice hiding place for ants, especially at the joints. They will hide and nest in the joints, which is why ants may suddenly appear on your bed at night. This happens especially if you eat on your bed while watching a movie.
If they start nesting in large numbers, you will notice that there are wood particles on the floor. These are the ones they drop while making and creating more space for their expanding colonies.
3. Cracks and holes in the mattress
Ants can live in your mattress and make a nest in there, especially if your mattress is on the floor or if you have a bed that is made from metal. The mattress is always warm and moist. This will provide the best habitat to breed and lay eggs.
If you are not lucky, some ants can be deadly and will bite and sting you as you sleep. You should never ignore any sign of ants in your bedroom, bed, and bedding, especially if you also have young ones in the house.
How to get rid of ants in your bed
To get rid of ants in your bed, you must first identify their hiding places. Check your mattress and the bed to know exactly where to start.
To find ants in your bed, check the joints under the mattress, then finally look for any holes and cracks in your mattress. After that, use the following steps to get rid of ants in your bed:
- Remove all the bed sheets, duvets, heavy blankets, and the mattress
- Take the mattress out for aeration
- Wash all the bedding and ensure they are well dried
- Add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to a bucket of soapy water and use it to clean the bed
- Be generous on the joints and ensure they are well cleaned because that is where ants hide
- Clean the bedroom in general and remove dirty clothes
- Ensure the hidden dark corners are well moped and cleaned
- Leave the windows and doors open for aeration after cleaning
Ensure you leave the bedroom to be aerated for as long as possible. If you give it at least 6 hours, you will get the best results.
Repeat this after every two weeks until the last ant is gone. Even after they are all gone, always do this because it keeps other pests like lizards that feed on ants away from your bedroom.
How to prevent ants from your bed
After getting rid of ants in bed as described above, you need to prevent them from coming back to your bed by ensuring that you stop taking food to your bed. It doesn’t matter if it is snacks or sweets. Just stop eating on your bed, and you will not see any ants. Â
You should also avoid eating while putting on the same clothes you will sleep in. This is because food or soup can always spill on them, and when you take this to bed, they attract ants.
To keep ants out of your bed, mix 2 tablespoons of peppermint essential oil with 1 glass of water and use it to wipe the bed. Then spray the mixture in all cracks and holes on your mattress to repel ants.
The advantage of using peppermint for ants is that it will also repel other insects that may be living in your mattress and bed. Never use strong pesticides to get rid of ants in your bed or mattress because inhaling them throughout the night is not good for you.
However, there are also several other natural ways to get rid of ants, but you need to get the right one because some are unsafe for you to inhale. Always make sure they are well diluted so that even if the smell is present, it is not harmful to you.
Reference:
- University of Minnesota: Are essential oils safe?
- Stanford University: Weather and house ants invasion