Ants in My Closet--on My Clothes--Everywhere

ivey · ‎03-10-2010

For several days, I have been fighting ants in my closet and bathroom. I found them in a stack of clean laundry--there were a bunch of them. Today, I put on something that was hanging, and there were 2 ants in the dress!

So, I went to Lowe's and armed myself for both inside and outside. I have a big closet with a bunch of stuff (including books, all kinds of items) and didn't want to pull it all out yet and maybe spread them to the entire house because they seem to be "contained" in those 2 rooms. So I've sprayed and used baits. I bought the no odor, no staining spray obviously. I've tried to get to all the places. According to the internet, they love clothes, even clean ones. There is protein they sense on our clothing. I can't find where they come in, but I think they are seeking water from the hot days.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Honestly, I wanted to sit in the middle of the closet and cry, but decided I'm a big girl.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

4 years ago we had this problem - though your sounds worse than ours was - they were in the dirty laundry hamper but not the clean clothes. Anyway , we chose an insect spraying service - they were totally gone after the first visit. IMO - living in Florida - it is best to have a contract with a service. They check regularly for any signs of termites etc.

LDOlvr · ‎06-05-2012

Clean your entire house and store everything you can in Lock n Locks. Caulk around floorboards...

I lothe ants!

ivey · ‎03-10-2010

On 8/25/2014 LDOlvr said:
Clean your entire house and store everything you can in Lock n Locks. Caulk around floorboards...

I lothe ants!

One positive thing so far--I haven't found any in the kitchen. The rooms are on opposite ends. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that.

ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

It's been 100+ here for several days in a row and I just started seeing a few scout ants in my bathroom. This is my first summer in my new apartment and I'm on a second floor, so I was hoping I wouldn't see them. I've eliminated the scouts (3 in a day) and mopped the floor with vinegar to eliminate the scent trails they leave for their friends to follow.

The baits are good. They take longer to work than the sprays, but they allow the ants to take the poison to the nest and do a better long-term job than sprays. The bait should attracts any ants left on your clothes, but you might also want to take any clothes you don't need to wash right now and give them a good shake in the yard. You can also put any clothes you won't wear for a while in sealed plastic bags and leave them sealed for 2 weeks. That's one way to treat lice, but it should also work for ants. That will kill them and then you can shake the dead ants off when you remove the clothing from the bags.

If you can find the place they're entering, you can have that patched and stop them from coming back. If you're in a house, you can also make plans to call the exterminator and maybe schedule him for the future to come out in the hottest or coldest months to get to the ants before they get inside. (I've had ants in the bathroom when it's very hot, very cold, or very wet for more than a few days at a time.)

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gardensla · ‎03-09-2010

You don't say where you live and I'm getting this is a new problem? When I lived in CA this was ant season as they were crazed from the drought, heat, and general aridness and looking for a cool place to get away from it all. What I'm saying is that this might be a temporary problem and you might just want to ride it out.

If not, you can use baits and traps but I went natural with a boric acid and sugar solution. If you have pets, this might not be the best solution.

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chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

I'm pretty sure that an exterminator would be the way to go....lol

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

They come every august, stay for about a month, then leave. They are only in the kitchen, so I just wipe them into the sink and drown them. I do not use chemicals anywhere inside or out. You might try Skin so Soft sold through Amazon, as it does repel ants, and is useful for about a hundred other tasks.

JeanLouiseFinch · ‎10-03-2011

They haven't come in the house (yet, anyway), but we found several ant hills on our paver patio and spots out in the yard. We used Terro and it seems to be keeping them at bay.