The big question I’m hearing lately is, “Why do I have ants in my bathroom?”. There’s really only one answer. They are hungry and thirsty.

Ants find their way into your home through cracks, crevices, plumbing, door or window frames, and rotting wood. If you’re seeing ants in your bathroom, they most likely have found their way in through the drains, window sill, or live nearby in the walls.

The most common ants found in bathrooms are the carpenter ant and odorous ant.

Carpenter ants create their nests in soft, moist or rotting wood. The odorous ant nest is located near moist areas. Both can have nests inside and outside. Their main colony nest may be outside but they create a secondary nest indoors to be close to food and water sources. These indoor nests can be under floorboards, carpet, in wall voids, or behind paneling.

Scout ants leave the nest in search of food and water. The bathroom and kitchen are popular hotspots for ants to forage in.

Thinking there may be food, ants can be attracted to the bathroom from the sweet smells of your body wash, lotions, and perfumes. They are attracted to any type of food but prefer sugary, fruity, and syrupy foods and drinks. They may not find food in the bathroom but that bar of soap looks good enough to eat. Yep! Ants will eat your bar of soap and toothpaste.

Ants can travel the length of a football field (100 yards) in search of food. Once a scout locates food or water it will send out a pheromone that tells other ants where she is and has found food. Worker ants will then come retrieve their feast and return to the nest.

Once the worker ants have returned to the nest with their findings, they regurgitate the now liquefied food and pass it to other members of their nest.

There is an interesting medical question that has some people making appointments with their doctor. Can having ants in your bathroom mean you have diabetes? This is partially false. Just because you have ants doesn’t mean you have diabetes. However, if the ants are attracted to the toilet area or spilled urine that hasn’t been cleaned up, it could be an indication that the sugar levels are elevated and the person should be checked by a professional to rule out diabetes.

If you don’t want to share your bathroom with ants, contact Safe Earth Pest Control today. We have affordable plans for all your lawn and pest control needs. 214-321-2847