Ants In Couch: How to Get Rid of Them
Sitting on the couch to relax after a busy day is the ultimate luxury. Yet, your sense of peace can quickly get shattered once you notice that you’re sharing a seat with ants. Getting rid of ants in the couch quickly is critical for preventing painful bites and enjoying leisure time at the end of a hard day.
Can Ants Make Nests In Furniture?
Most ants prefer to live outdoors, but they will invade your furniture if it provides them with the essentials for life. Certain species, such as pharaoh ants, are adapted to creating nests inside buildings, which can include them moving into your furniture.
Other types of ants may choose to create their nests nearby. Carpenter ants create colonies in rotting wood and other soft materials that often exist near couches. They could set up a colony there if your couch is made from large amounts of wood.
Figuring out where the ants are coming from requires investigation. If carpenter ants have nested inside of the furniture, then you might see frass or small pellets of wood on the floor. Alternatively, seeing a trail of ants moving to and from the couch indicates that they may be coming in from outdoors or living in a nearby wall.
What Attracts Ants to Furniture?
Most likely, you’ve enjoyed a snack or two while sitting on the couch, and that’s exactly what the ants are going for. Unlike you, they don’t care about your couch being a comfy place to rest. Instead, they will likely be more interested in using it as an easy food source.
Those little crumbs you find beneath the cushions are a treasure trove of nutrients for the ants, especially when they are sweet. Many household ants love to eat jelly, grease, and other types of food residue. Spilled drinks, such as soda and juice, might leave enough residue for ants to feed on.
Can You Use Ant Spray On a Couch?
The sight of ants crawling all over your personal sanctuary is enough to make you want to douse the whole couch in insecticide. While this will technically kill the ants, you’ll need to remember that the couch needs to stay safe for you and anyone else who sits there.
Ant baits can be placed around or beneath the couch to catch the tiny insects as they go from one place to another. You can also find safer organic sprays for humans and pets that might come in contact with it over time.
Even if you decide to spray, there are still important factors to consider. For instance, leaving ants inside nearby walls or just outside the living room area will only mean they’ll come back.
How to Get Rid of Ants In a Couch
Fortunately, you don’t have to kick your couch to the curb, and doing so will only lead to the ants going elsewhere in your home, anyway. Instead, you can work through a series of simple steps to eliminate ants at their source and go back to relaxing on your couch again.
Vacuum the Couch
One of the simplest things you can do right away is give your couch a good vacuuming. Sucking up the food crumbs and debris stops attracting new ants to your couch. You might also be able to pick up quite a few of the insects with the vacuum.
After you finish vacuuming, take out the bag or dump out the canister in a location that you can then take to the outdoor trash bins.
Doing so helps you to avoid transferring the ants to other places in your house. Keep in mind that this method won’t eliminate all ants, but it is a good place to start.
Remove Food Stains and Drink Residue
Some ant attractants aren’t so easy to suck up with a vacuum cleaner. The ground in dirt and liquid residue soaked into the fibers may still hold enough food for the tiny ants to find satisfying.
For this step, you’ll need to check the cleaning instructions for your couch. If necessary, arrange for professional steam or dry cleaning. Or, you might be able to wash the surface of your couch by hand. Either way, focus on getting the deepest cleaning possible to eliminate all possible traces of food.
Make Sure the Couch Stays Dry
Ants also love moisture, and carpenter ants frequently spend time around plumbing and other parts of your house that might be wet. Couches in dressing areas located near or in your bathroom are especially at risk for a carpenter ant invasion.
As you work on handling the ant problem, take a few moments to check for leaks and other water sources near the couch. Even a small drip inside a wall near the couch could contribute to the problem.
If the couch is wet, then consider taking it outside to dry. Or, use another drying method, such as a hair dryer, to remove the moisture.
Couches exposed to constant moisture may stay generally moist, and damp conditions increase the risk of wood rot. Consider venting damp parts of your house that have furniture in them, or use a dehumidifier to lower the overall humidity level in your home.
Clear the Trails
Ants make pheromones that serve as beacons to other members of their species that might be looking for their colony or food. Once you’ve removed the ants, you’ll need to make sure also to eliminate their trails so that they don’t come back.
Scrubbing or spraying the floor around the couch with vinegar and water solution can help to remove the trails. Many commercial cleaners also contain natural ingredients, such as orange oil, that help to deter ants while removing their pheromones.
Check for Cracks Around the Couch
Couches are often placed near doors and windows, which become one of the first things insects encounter when they enter. Give each window and door near your couch a good inspection to check for cracks you can seal.
As you do, remember to check along the baseboards. It is also possible that cracks have developed along the floor line or walls that allow ants to move into your house, where they find your couch.
Prevent Ants Throughout Your House
Practicing some good overall pest prevention strategies can help keep ants away from your couch and other annoying bugs. If ants are getting to your couch, it is also possible that cockroaches, rodents, bed bugs, or spiders might live there.
Plan to spray your house for bugs each season. Spraying in the spring and fall is especially helpful for stopping ants from entering your home during seasonal changes. Then, practice good sanitation and hygiene around your house.
While enjoying a snack while you binge on your favorite shows is perfectly fine, you’ll want to clean up any spills. Then, give your couch a good cleaning regularly to remove potential attractants and catch invasions before they disrupt your leisure time.