Ants are one of the most common and irritating pests to find in your home. These tiny creatures find entry points into your house easily, and once they\u2019re in, they can be notoriously hard to eliminate.<\/p>\n
Ants spend their lives foraging for food sources to bring back to their nests, so they often wander into strange places. As a professional pest exterminator, I\u2019ve seen it all: ants in the kitchen cabinets, behind appliances, in bowls of pet food, and yes, I\u2019ve even found ants in the dishwasher.<\/p>\n
Getting rid of ants in your dishwasher involves a few key steps \u2014\u00a0thoroughly cleaning the appliance, using ant baits or natural deterrents, sealing entry points with caulk, and maintaining proper dishwasher hygiene.<\/p>\n
Below, I\u2019ll guide you through how to get rid of ants in your dishwater, in four easy steps. I\u2019ll also provide pointers on how to deal with problem areas, like under the dishwasher, and give tips for dealing with specific species.<\/p>\n
Why Ants Love Dishwashers<\/h2>\n
A dishwasher might seem like a very inhospitable place for an ant. After all, with all that hot water sloshing around, it seems impossible that a tiny insect could survive inside a dishwasher. However, finding ants inside a dishwasher is quite common.<\/p>\n
Like all living things, ants need water. Dishwashers provide a place where they can find it. Once the dishwasher finishes its cycle, there is often some water residue on the dishes or inside the machine itself, and ants will go inside to find that water.<\/p>\n
Also, dishwashers can have a lot of food remnants in them. The\u00a0food residue<\/a>\u00a0that washes off your dishes doesn\u2019t always make it completely down the drain, and this can attract ants to go inside and find it. <\/p>\n By design, dishwashers seal tightly to keep water in. Ants typically get inside a dishwasher when it\u2019s not fully closed. Maybe you opened the door slightly to let the dishes dry or maybe you didn\u2019t close it between running cycles. Either way, ants only need a tiny little gap to get inside.<\/p>\n If you leave that door open, even just a little bit while the dishwasher is not in use, ants can find a way inside. If you see an ant trail heading towards the dishwasher, it\u2019s because they\u2019ve left a scent trail to follow to this source of food or water.<\/p>\n To prevent ants from getting inside your home, or treat areas of your home that have ants, pesticides and other pest control products are often the go-to solution.<\/p>\n However, if the ants are already inside your dishwasher, you\u2019ll need to treat them differently. You can\u2019t spray the inside of your dishwasher with a chemical, after all. Instead, you can address the problem by following these steps:<\/p>\n First, you need to get rid of what\u2019s attracting the ants. That means getting rid of their food and water sources.<\/p>\n Here are the best practices for cleaning your dishwasher:<\/p>\n Clean out the dishwasher filter or strainer, making sure there are no food particles inside. Not only will this make your dishwasher less attractive to ants, but it will also help it to run better.<\/p>\n Drain flushing breaks up any food particles inside the drain where you can\u2019t reach them. Vinegar and baking soda are a good ecologically friendly way to do this, but there are also products formulated for cleaning the dishwasher drain without being dangerous to your health.<\/p>\n You could also try dumping boiling water down the drain to help flush it out.<\/p>\n There are lots of products on the market that can clean the inside of your dishwasher for you. But if you want to do it yourself, you can sprinkle a quarter cup of borax in the bottom of your dishwasher, then run an empty load. <\/p>\n The borax will break down any food residue and scour the inside of the machine, cleaning it up nicely. As a bonus, borax is poisonous to ants<\/a>, so if they eat anything contaminated with it they should die.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll probably need to remove the dishwasher kickplate to do this effectively. Any moisture beneath the dishwasher might indicate a leak. <\/p>\n The idea is to remove any source of moisture that attracts the ants.\u00a0Wet wood can also attract carpenter ants, so don\u2019t skip this step.<\/p>\n Treating for ants<\/strong> goes a long way to getting them out of your dishwasher once and for good.\u00a0For heavy ant activity in and around your dishwasher,\u00a0placing some\u00a0ant bait\u00a0stations underneath and around the appliance to kill the colony<\/strong> is your best bet. This is especially true if the ants are nesting inside your home.<\/p>\n On the other hand, if you have relatively light ant activity around the dishwasher, you may be able to deal with it by applying\u00a0diatomaceous earth\u00a0or Cimexa dust. These pesticides stay effective as long as they stay dry and are perfect for applying to wall voids such as underneath and behind the dishwasher. For instance, Cimexa stays active for ten years as long as it doesn\u2019t get wet.<\/p>\n Any ants that come into contact with the dust will be killed. This is a great way to kill any foraging ants before they find your dishwasher.<\/p>\n Further, if you prefer natural methods, I highly recommend using essential oils, such as peppermint or tea tree, as ant deterrents. All you have to do is add a few drops (5 to 10, ideally) into a spray bottle with water (or half water and half white vinegar) and apply as you would any other insecticide. A drop of dish soap makes the mixture more deadly.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve cleaned your dishwasher and got rid of the ants inside it, the best long-term solution is to do a little detective work. Look for any ant trails leading to or from your kitchen. If possible, follow the trails to see where the ants are getting into your home.<\/p>\n While some ant species can nest inside a building, most come from outside. Find where the ants are coming in and close the entrance<\/strong> to stop an infestation from ever happening again.<\/p>\n Treat all entry points with an ant-killing\u00a0pesticide, ideally one that has a residual effect that will either deter or kill any ants that try to cross it. This is your best bet to prevent future ants from getting in.<\/p>\n There are many ways to be vigilant against ants. The two most effective practices, in my professional opinion, are:<\/p>\n When there are dirty dishes inside the dishwasher, it\u2019s like a feast for ants. A properly sealed dishwasher door makes it impossible for ants to get inside. So keep the door closed tight to keep ants out.<\/p>\n Before adding dishes to the dishwasher, make sure there are no large food particles. These easily get stuck in the drain or strainer, where they often attract ants. Scrape plates thoroughly and consider rinsing them before they go into the dishwasher to keep as much food as possible out of the machine.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not always the inside of the dishwasher you have to protect from ants. Sometimes, you may find ants around the appliance.<\/p>\n Ordinarily, ants won\u2019t establish a colony underneath the dishwasher. It\u2019s too close to frequent human traffic, plus it vibrates and radiates too much heat.<\/p>\n Most species like odorous ants or any variety of\u00a0sugar ants\u00a0need soil or sand to build their nests. However, certain species of ants can make a home behind the dishwasher.<\/p>\n One of the species is the\u00a0Pharaoh ant<\/strong><\/a>. These tiny reddish-orange bugs can build a nest in just about any void space. They do this by building the nest out of their own saliva, so they don\u2019t need any other medium.<\/p>\nHow Do Ants Get into a Dishwasher?<\/h2>\n
Getting Rid of Ants in a Dishwasher: 4 Easy Steps<\/h2>\n
Step 1. Clean the Dishwasher<\/h3>\n
Get Rid of Food Remnants<\/h4>\n
Flush the Drain With Vinegar\/Baking Soda or a Commercial Cleaner<\/h4>\n
Scrub the Dishwasher Thoroughly<\/h4>\n
Check for Leaks, Cracks, and Other Damages<\/h4>\n
Step 2. Apply Some Ant Killers<\/h3>\n
Step 3. Track Ants Back to Their Point of Entry \/ Source<\/h3>\n
Step 4. Be Vigilant and Use Preventative Measures<\/h3>\n
Keeping the Dishwasher Door Closed<\/h4>\n
Pre-Rinsing Your Dishes<\/h4>\n
Dealing With Ants Under\/Behind a Dishwasher<\/h2>\n
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