The last thing I would want to witness is ants in my dishwasher, and I am sure the mindset of most dishwashers owners functions this way as well! You would think that dishwasher is the last place you would find those pesky creatures in, but in reality, the frequency for this occurrence is quite often.
Why Do Ants Love Dishwashers
Ants are not specifically obsessed with your dishwasher, and the only reason you would witness ants inside the dishwasher is that it functions like a supermarket for them. It is the only kitchen appliance that has everything they need ranging from leftover food particles, collected water, and sugary residues in one convenient spot. Otherwise, they would have to go multiple different places in search of it all. Therefore, a dishwasher succeeds in attracting ants the most.
If an ant breaks in your dishwasher and takes back food particles to its colony, it would trigger the whole territory into following her footprints the next time in order to get sufficient food and leftovers. And the next time, not one but ten ants would break into your dishwasher, and this is how it soon becomes their favorite spot to hang out in!
How Do Ants Get In A Dishwasher
Ants don’t need a proper pathway or an entire tunnel to travel and manage to sweep in through tiny cracks and crevices. There are plenty of gaps at the back of your dishwasher that ants could use as entry points to get in your dishwasher.
The plumbing hole is an entry point used quite often by ants to get inside the dishwasher. Invest a day and inquire about the entry point, which is providing access to ants to the dishwasher in your case, and then depending upon the entry point the ants in your home are using, you may use one of the below methods to wipe their colony off.
How To Get Rid Of Ants In Dishwasher
The dishwasher is by far an essential kitchen appliance, and each one of us would want it to perform at its optimum. The presence of ants in dishwashers does not only sounds annoying but also impacts adversely on our health as it results in general nastiness and also hinders sanitization.
Apart from that, if someday guests come over to your place and aunt sabra attempts to load dishes in your dishwasher as an act of courtesy to help you with the kitchen load. Imagine her opening the dishwasher and witnessing ants around the sink and dishwasher.
The idea of her freaking out already makes me fret, but you don’t need to worry as we have enlisted some easy and home-friendly solutions for you to get rid of those pesky little creatures in your dishwasher.
Use Vinegar And Baking Soda
The baking soda vinegar solution continues to be the best rescue for ants in dishwashers to date. This solution doesn’t specifically kill ants, but it eradicates their reason to enter the dishwasher. The smell of leftover food particles in the drain guides ants towards the dishwasher, and this solution works by masking the scent of food residue. It, therefore, serves to control ants in the dishwasher to a great extent. It is advised to run the dishwasher on an empty cycle after using the baking soda vinegar solution as it will wash those food leftovers away.
Search For Ant Nests And Entry Points
It is equally important to investigate the source of ants to prevent their colonies from invading your dishwasher. The two most common places entry points used by ants are from behind the dishwasher and through the dishwasher.
1- Ants Coming From Behind Dishwasher
If ants are coming from behind the dishwasher in your case, the most significant probability is that there is an ant nest inside your home. The nests can be found under the dishwasher, somewhere behind the walls, or under the carpet, if this is the case of black ants or carpenter ants in dishwasher.
These ants make it difficult for you to pinpoint and remove their nests manually, and the best approach to get rid of the ant problem, in this case, is to hire a pest control company. The pest control services can be your only rescue here since the nest for these ants can also be located inside the wood sometimes.
2- Ants Coming From Dishwasher
The ants coming in through the dishwasher indicate the presence of sewer ants. The plumbing areas attract ants the most in this case as there exists a buildup of food residue and grease in hoses and drains.
Here, you would need to manually clean the pipes and hoses to get rid of food residue and grease, and the best way to do it is to use baking soda vinegar solution since it helps to mask the smell of food particles to prevent ants. This should also be followed by a round of boiling water run down the drain, which would make the food particles sweep down the hoses.
3- Keep Your Kitchen Clean
A dirty kitchen serves as an invitation to ants and other insects to invade, and hence your kitchen should be kept clean at all times. Avoid stacking dirty dishes in the kitchen for long periods and scrape away any leftover food residue off your plates, dishes, and pots before piling them in the sink.
The dishwasher should also stay on top of general maintenance. The dishwasher filter should be cleaned regularly since a clogged filter contains leftover food particles that serve as an invitation to ants t invade the dishwasher.
How To Prevent Ants Into Dishwasher In Future
Your task does not end when you kill ants inside of your dishwasher because the real deal of work is done when you prevent ants from entering your dishwasher later and at all times. There are a few measures incorporating which into your daily routine, will ensure an ant-free dishwashing experience for you and your home.
1- Boric Acid And Vinegar Spray
If you want to control ants in the dishwasher, one should combine boric acid with vinegar and use the latter as a spray to wipe the insides of the dishwasher after every wash cycle. Boric acid is an agent which helps to kill ants inside the dishwasher to a great extent and can also be sprayed on the area around the dishwasher and sink. This would help to get rid of ants around the sink and dishwasher.
2- Cloth Soaked In Vinegar
Every time after using the dishwasher, it is advised to wipe the insides using a cloth soaked in vinegar, and that would ensure that the smell of food is masked and would, in turn, help to control ants.
3- Diluted Peppermint Essential Oil
Diluted peppermint essential oil can be used to sanitize the insides of the dishwasher as the odor of peppermint helps to keep ants away and, in turn, control them.
4- Set Up An Ant Bait
An ant bait provides an easy solution to ants in the dishwasher. It is a mixture of boric acid and powdered sugar and can easily be prepared at home by mixing them in the 1:3 ratio. Such an ant bait should be placed under your dishwasher, and at any possible location, ants could exist.
As soon as the ants carry the ant bait to their colony and ingest it, their whole territory will die. This is an efficient approach to get rid of ants under the dishwasher.
Types Of Ants Found In Dishwasher
1- Argentine Ants
Argentine ants generally occur in small and medium sizes and are found in relatively cooler regions. They are attracted by food sources and you can easily prevent Argentine ants by keeping your kitchen free of dirty dishes, leftover food particles, and grease buildup. They can also contaminate your food if they get access to it which would be hazardous to your health.
2- Pharaoh Ants
Pharaoh ants are tiny, about 1/16 inch long, and are easily recognizable because of their appearance, making them unique. They are yellow and dark brown in color and have two pedicels. They live and dark and narrow places and can be found in cardboard boxes or the plumbing holes of your dishwasher.
The use of an ant bait is the preferred treatment in the case of pharaoh ants, as an ant bait not only kills the ants present on the spot but also does the work for those at home.
3- Black Ants In Dishwasher
Black ants are usually black in color and have two varieties. Investigate the size of black ants in the dishwasher, where smaller sizes would indicate tiny black ants and large black ants would indicate carpenter ants in the dishwasher.
The color for tiny black ants ranges from dark brown to black, and they usually feed on oil and grease. If you have a case of tiny black ants or giant black ants in the dishwasher, you should refer to one of the aforementioned solutions to kill and control tiny ants in your dishwasher.
4- Carpenter Ants In Dishwasher
Carpenter ants are giant black ants that prefer moist environments, and so they would usually be found in the area around the sink and dishwasher due to left-on water residues. These giant black ants are typically dark brown or black in color, and their nests are found in wood.
The only solution to get rid of large black ants or carpenter ants in dishwashers is to locate their nests and get them removed which can easily be done by a pest control company. These can increase significantly in numbers quickly if proper attention is not paid and pest control services are not hired instantly.
5- Sugar Ants
Sugar ants are attracted by sugary residue and sweet products and will most commonly enter your dishwasher if there is a juice cup or something sweet left unattended for too long. The best approach to get rid of sugar ants in your dishwasher is a thorough cleaning.
Through away any chunks of leftover food items which might be attractive to ants. Clean the garbage bin and get rid of debris buildup. Remove any possible food items which might be an attraction to sugar ants.
6- Odorous Ants
Odorous house ants are typically found in all parts of the country regardless of the climate and other weather terms. There color usually ranges from brown to black and they are most often medium-sized. Just like sugar ants, odorous house ants love sweets and sugar and will be there in nothing more than an hour if you leave your sugar container opened on the kitchen counter.
Will Ants Damage My Dishwasher?
This is a genuine concern by many of the dishwasher owners and let me tell you that no, ants would not, in any way, damage your dishwasher because they are more of a nuisance than actual damage to the dishwasher. But carpenter ants are an exception to this generalization since they excrete sawdust material to rapidly grow their population, which can pose a severe threat to your dishwasher.
Anything that threatens the dishwasher indirectly is a threat to our independence as well because if the dishwasher stops working someday, we would be back to where we started from. Spending hours on the kitchen countertops manually washing dishes and missing on your favorite drama being aired in the background. None of us would want that, right?
But little do we do to prevent it all from coming to life, and I want you all to take the utmost care of your dishwasher by regularly cleaning the dishwasher air gap and staying updated on the maintenance of the dishwasher filter.
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