Having an ant problem is something nobody wants to deal with. Ants can be quite the pests by invading your house, your belongings, and your food when you least expect it. There are many reasons why ants will be indoors, but that can change if you don’t give them the perfect reason to enter.
Ants will appear many times on your desk if you leave food out, or have crumbs all around it. If there are damp or dark unmaintained spaces on your desk (behind your monitor/speakers) you are giving them a place to set up their camp.
Top Reasons Why Ants Appear on a Desk
1. You Have a Dirty Desk
A dirty desk with many dusty corners will provide ants with the correct signals for a clear passage. An unmaintained area means there is no one looking around, and to ants, this will signal a safe passage to transport provisions and eggs safely.
2. There Are Food Crumbs on Your Desk
Food on your desk does not always mean a forgotten hot dog sitting for a week or two, sometimes just by eating on your desk, little crumbs can fall apart and make their way to hidden places. While you may not see them, ants can sense and see them well, hence their presence.
3. Your Keyboard Is Filthy on the Inside
Ants can also be attracted to the dirt inside of your keyboard, you’d be amazed by what you can find inside a keyboard that isn’t cleaned for several months. Things like crumbs, dead skin cells (dandruff, psoriasis), broken nails, hairs, sebum, and others will transform your keyboard in a restaurant into many ants.
4. An Ant Colony Lives There
There are countless stories of ant colonies in the most unlikely places you could imagine. Your desk is no exception to that, many ants utilize desks as they can provide the best shelter possible for their colony.
5. They Need Moisture
Ants need moisture to live, if there is no source of water available nearby, they will look for places that can provide fresh supplies. If the room where your desk resides is high in humidity it might one of the reasons why ants are appearing on your desk.
Bonus: This is the great reason why ants are attracted to human sperm. 🤢🤮🤮🤮
How Do Ants Appear Out of Nowhere on Your Desk?
Ants normally come indoors in search of provisions and shelter. Even small pieces of food like crumbs or a fallen grain of rice is able to attract hordes of marching ants. They are one of the most successful animals out there (when compared to others).
They don’t waste resources high and low, if they are present, usually, there is something they can take back to the colony.
What Does It Mean When Ants Start to Appear on Your Desk?
Usually, ants start to appear when there is something going on. This can mean they already have a colony in the nearby space, or they are carrying provisions back to their outdoor territory. Either way, it means you have an ant problem, that is for sure.
Is It Normal to See a Few Ants in Your House?
Even if your house is fully clean, it is somewhat normal to see some ants. They are creatures who go to extensive lengths just to find resources for their colony. Sometimes bugs die in your house in unreachable places (like behind furniture), you may not see them, but ants will find them.
This is why you will always see ants here and there inside your house. If you see an ant in your house, definitely there is something going on.
Does One Ant Mean There Are More Coming to Your Desk?
Some people tend to dismiss the presence of one ant or two, and it’s agreeable that you will not spend a whole day seeing where they came from and why they are indoors.
But truth is, just seeing one ant, can be a strong indicator that in the near future you may have a big ant infestation. Just keep an eye on their progress and you’ll be fine.
Will Ants Eventually Go Away From Your Desk?
If you find the ant’s food source and clean it, there is a strong chance that all ants will go away. If it is a recurrent situation, ants will know that every now and then, there will be resources available for them. This gives them a strong indicator to stay inside and even bring more workers in.
Pro tip: This fantastic idea will get rid of ants from your PC or Laptop in a blink! 😮🤯🤯🤯
How Do I Get Rid of Random Ants on My Desk?
One of the best ways to get rid of random ants is by cleaning your floors regularly, but some products don’t eliminate food odors that well. For that, you should use a product that guarantees the elimination of all odors.
If you want to do something yourself, you can always mix 1 part of vinegar with 3 parts of water and spray it afterward. The smell will be strong to keep ants away for a while, you can always repeat it for future situations.
Does Killing Ants on Your Desk Will Attract More?
Yes, killing ants gives a strong signal to other ants in the colony. Ants communicate with each other using pheromones, they will produce different scents to indicate different signals, when you kill them, the alarm pheromone will be released and it will travel fast prompting other ants to act immediately.
Why You Should Not Squish Ants on Your Desk?
Squishing ants is not the best way to get rid of them, when they are squished they release a pheromone that smells like blue cheese. This ends up attracting other ants and now you have a problem on your hands.
Did you know: Ants can lift an entire car no matter its weight 🚚😮😮😮
How Do I Find Where Ants Are Coming From?
The best way to find where ants are coming inside is by finding their entry point. Ants leave a scent trail that will indicate to other ants where to go to. When you reverse this path it will lead you to where they are breaking in.
They can come from loose baseboards on the floor, unsealed holes that lead to the exterior, and even plumbing. Stay watchful and surely you will find it.
What Time of Day Are Ants Active?
Ants are most active at night, this is why you see lots of them in the morning. Workers leave the nest 15 minutes after sunset and they start searching the chemical trails that will lead them to food. Even if those signals are very far from the nest, they will get it there.
Do Ants Work 24 7?
Some species of ants like the carpenter ant and sugar ant, work around the clock. Other ant species will do power naps throughout their work cycle. They can take approximately 250 naps every day lasting about 1 minute each. This will bring a total of 4 hours and 48 minutes of sleep per day.
How to Get Rid of Ants That Appear on Your Desk?
The best way to get rid of ants from your desk is to keep it clean all the time. Clean it weekly and do at least one full clean-up once a month. It is also a good practice to keep your food intake only in the kitchen area. Follow these lines and you’ll be fine.
Conclusion
As we can see, there are lots of reasons why ants can appear on your desk. But you can get rid of them with a little care and some close inspections from time to time. Just keep things tidy and ants will have to think twice before setting up camp on your domain.
