Ants in the House: Why They Come In and How to Clear Them

Ants are tidy, organised and surprisingly persistent. A neat line of them marching across your kitchen is not random, and the clues in that trail are the key to getting rid of them.

How ants find your kitchen

Scout ants wander out looking for food. When one finds a crumb, spilled juice or a bowl of pet food, it returns to the nest leaving a scent trail. Other ants follow that trail, and soon you have a stream of workers. The sooner you break the trail, the quicker it ends.

The ants you are likely to see

• Black garden ants, the most common visitor, which nest under paving, lawns and walls
• Flying ants, which are winged males and queens leaving the nest on a warm summer day to mate
• Pharaoh ants, which are tiny, golden and live inside heated buildings, where they are harder to control

Step 1: Follow the line

Watch where the ants come in and where they go. Entry points are usually small gaps around windows, doors, pipes or cracks in the brickwork. This tells you where to seal, and where to place bait.

Step 2: Break the scent trail

Wipe the route with warm soapy water or a diluted white vinegar solution. This removes the chemical trail the ants follow, so new arrivals lose their way.

Step 3: Remove the food

• Keep sugar, honey, breakfast cereal and sweet snacks in lidded tubs
• Mop up spills as soon as they happen
• Rinse out jam jars and juice bottles before they go in the recycling
• Lift pet bowls once your animal has eaten
• Take the kitchen rubbish out daily

Step 4: Use bait, not just spray

Sprays only take out the foragers on show, while the nest carries on producing more. A slow-acting bait is different: foragers take it home and pass it round, so the queen and the grubs get a dose too. Set stations beside the trail, keep insecticide spray away from them, and allow a few days for the colony to fade. Place bait where kids and pets cannot reach it.

Step 5: Seal the gaps

Once activity stops, close cracks around windows, door frames and pipes with a suitable sealant so that new scouts cannot get in.

When to call a professional

Call for help if ants keep returning, if you see several trails, if they are nesting inside a wall or cavity, or if you think they might be pharaoh ants. Our Abingdon technicians locate the nest, treat it and advise on prevention. Find out more on our ant and cockroach control page, or read about cockroaches in the home.