Ever bitten by an ant when driving your car, or not by an ant, but by ants? Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of situation that car owners find themselves.
Ants do strike anywhere, but cars are just simply assumed as one of the last places these tiny creatures want to colonize. Just why are ants in your car, and how can you get rid of them?
These questions trigger your curiosity as it is an unusual event. Now, we have something to discuss.
How to Get Rid of Ants in Car
What You Will Need to Expel Ants in Your Car?
Food is the ultimate reason why ants go everywhere. There are two common reasons why ants invade your car. One is that they are only looking for food. Two is that they have sent workers to get their food because they already have found some.
Let’s say for instance if you happen to have parked on an ant hill or close to a tree full of ants. The scouting ants have just identified your vehicle as a sustainable source of food. They are now ready to send in a battalion of workers to collect the food they have found.
In this case, if they don’t find any source of food in your car, they would just leave voluntarily without your intervention. Here are the things you need for the process:
1) Ant Traps
You may consider placing some ant traps inside your car to kick out those remaining ants that are very tough to expel.
2) Ant bomb
You may also purchase an ant bomb. These treatments are typically used if bait traps are not effective.
3) Insecticide
If cleaning didn’t provide you enough good results, then it’s time to get rid of these ants with the use of chemical pesticides.
4) Vacuum
This is a basic need for car maintenance. You can also use this in getting rid of ants and other pests in your car.
Effective Ways on How to Make Your Car Free of Ants
As I’ve pointed out earlier, ants are not very likely to set up a nest in your vehicle. But if your car has shown traces of food, then that could be enough for these species to establish a colony.
So it is all about eliminating food source, and once you get it done, they will just lose their interest by leaving your car alone.
1) Moving Your Car
Consider moving your car to another parking area even before worrying about food. This may not always be an available option depending on the parking situation in your place. However, consider trying it if you live in an apartment complex where there are many parking spaces.
You may also try moving your car far enough as possible so that other ants could not trace fragments of chemical pheromone left by ants on your car.
2) Remove Food Traces
If ants persist when you move your car, or moving it is not a viable option, the next best thing to do is to clean up your car. Throw away those food sources such as leftovers, drinking cups, wrappers, and all the mess that needs to be trashed.
This option can be enough to prevent ants from coming back depending on how clean your car is and the type of ants you are kicking out. If all is still not well, then now is the time for you to consider the next option.
3) Vacuum the Upholstery
It is the time for you to push through with the cleaning of the entire potential food source if trashing of larger piles of food seemed never ending. So require yourself to thoroughly vacuum the upholstery.
This way, ants can be drawn out of the fabric or foamed surfaces. Make sure you hit every corner of your car where the insects can reside.
4) Chemical Treatment for Tires
You should think about treating the tires first because it is the only part of a car that is in direct contact with the ground. So tires serve as ants’ walkway in and out of the car and applying some chemical treatments on it would turn the ants away once they smell it.
5) Inside and Outside Treatment
Aside from tires, you may consider placing some traps inside your car to kick out those remaining ants that are very tough to expel. The best place for traps is under the seats as it is kept away from your feet and ensures the ants will not have a hard time finding them. Also, this is to prevent it out of reach of your children and pets.
You may also purchase an ant bomb or an aerosol insecticide. These treatments are typically used if bait traps are not effective. Before you proceed with the bombing, you need to tape off your car accessories like the stereo. You should also remove first all your belongings from the rack and other parts.
You can have at least 12 to 24 hours to air out after you set the bomb off. When airing out after the required time, wait for another 15 minutes before cleaning your car’s interior. Don’t forget to wear a mask. Read the do’s and don’ts before ant bombing.
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Conclusion
Now, we have come to the end of our tutorial. You now have the idea that eliminating ants from your car is never easy. It is a daunting task which is mixed with a trial and error approaches.
If you don’t succeed with an option, you can move on to another option and so on and so forth.
So take this tutorial as your step by step guide to keep your car free from any team of swarming ants. You may share this tutorial if you like. For comments and suggestion, please feel free to reach us back.