Ants are found worldwide, both inside and outside the home. Any part of the home containing food will attract ants, and these insects can squeeze through even the smallest cracks and crevices.
If you find ants in your bed, something about the area has caught their attention. You may have left crumbs or leftover food in your bedroom, or the room may be humid, as ants love moisture.
Sweat, hair oils, bodily fluids, and discharge contain proteins that ants like eating. Leaving dirty laundry on your bedroom floor and not washing sheets and pillows adds further temptation.
While ants rarely bite or sting hard enough to inflict pain, they live in substantial colonies. Just one ant on the bed suggests that others may be nesting nearby or have a means of entry.
If you find ants on your bed, strip and wash all bedding, clean the rest of the room, and seal any holes. If this doesn’t resolve the problem, get expert assistance from pest control.
Why Do I Keep Finding Ants in My Bed?
Pulling back the bedsheets to find ants crawling on your mattress can be a horrifying experience.
Ants usually prefer to live in the kitchen or pantry due to their near-constant search for food. If you find ants in your bed, one of the following explanations will be responsible:
Unsanitary Living Conditions
Ants won’t be attracted to meticulously clean, well-organized bedrooms. They’re most comfortable in terrain with many hiding spaces and food sources.
Ants are drawn to unwashed bedding and clothing. Any fluid released from the body, whether urine, mucus, or sweat, contains proteins that ants consider food.
An ant colony will see used tissues or unwashed laundry on the bedroom floor as a food source.
Consider how often you wash your sheets if you find ants in your bed. If it’s less than once a week, they’re likely attracted to the scent of human sweat and bodily fluids.
Food Crumbs And Leftovers
Anybody who has ever attended a picnic knows ants are drawn to food. If you eat in your bedroom and leave crumbs or plates behind, expect ants to seek food scraps.
Sugar and sweet snacks attract ants. Sugar is an energy source for ants, so they’ll do what it takes to gain access. Never leave coffee cups lying around because ants will smell the sugary remnants.
Ants also love protein, salt, and fat, which they need for physical growth and development. If you’ve eaten potato chips, meat, or eggs in your bedroom, ants will seek out any meal remnants.
It only takes one ant to locate food in your bedroom. Ants leave a chemical trail of pheromones behind them to announce that the terrain is safe and a good food source.
Excessive Moisture
If a bedroom is humid, it’ll appeal to some ant species. For example, the common black garden ant is sometimes called the “moisture ant” as it relishes damp environments.
Check your bed and the surrounding space for water. Many ants will arrive if you’ve spilled a drink, a radiator pipe needs tightening, or the roof leaks.
Damp bedsheets can attract ants, especially if they attach to your bedding while drying on the line. Never put sheets or pillows on a bed until they’ve dried completely.
Safe Hiding Places
Ants are low on the food chain and always seek a safe place to establish a new colony. The more ants live in your bedroom, the likelier you are to find them in your bed.
Ants find safety in numbers, so they rarely travel alone. If a message that your bed has food, water, and darkness is communicated to a colony, others will inevitably arrive.
Bedrooms hosting damp closets or hot water tanks will most appeal to ants. They offer the moisture ants seek, and the dark corners will be the ideal places to build a nest without human detection.
Is it Safe to Sleep in a Room with Ants?
If ants are in and around your bed, you should temporarily sleep in another room.
Will Ants Bother Me in My Sleep?
Ants do their utmost to avoid humans, as we pose a greater threat to their safety.
If ants can access your bed and think that food will be available, your presence won’t deter them. Ants may crawl over your prone body as they search for food remnants.
If the scent of your sweat or bodily fluids appeals to ants, they’ll consider this a food source.
Ants may also crawl inside your nightwear, especially if you release a discharge.
Ants may be drawn to your face if you sweat and release skin oils onto your pillow. Clean your ears before bed to minimize the small risk of ants attempting to consume earwax.
Will Ants Bite You in Your Sleep?
All ants can bite, but their diminutive size means that humans rarely feel the impact of a single bite. Ants rarely bite humans without cause but frequently crawl over us for food.
Bites or stings from ants can result in itchy red bumps on the skin, similar to mosquito bites.
If you get more severe symptoms from an ant bite, like headaches, fever, nausea, or difficulty breathing, you’re experiencing an allergic reaction.
If you have pain and swelling after an ant bite, reduce inflammation with an ice pack and take an antihistamine. Apply an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream if you’re in pain.
If the pain persists for more than 24 hours, consult a medical doctor.
Will Ants Lay Eggs on My Bed?
If ants like your bedding, they’ll build a nest. If your mattress has a hole, this could be ideal as it’s warm, secure, and has easy access to the rest of the bedroom for foraging activity.
Queen ants can lay up to 800 eggs per day. The eggs will hatch within 2 weeks. In warm and moist conditions, it could be 1 week. It doesn’t take much time for the problem to spiral out of control.
Will Ants Attract Other Insects to My Bedroom?
Ants live in large groups, which may attract other bugs to the home, like spiders.
Spiders will follow ants as they’re a food source, so the presence of arachnids may reduce the ant population. Unfortunately, you’ll need a lot of spiders to keep on top of an ant colony.
How Do I Get Rid of Ants on My Bed?
You must remove all ants on your bed and nearby sleep space. Then, you’ll need to prevent a recurrence, which may require a professional pest control service.
Removing Ants from a Bed
If you observe just one ant crawling on your bedsheets, assume others are nearby.
Run a vacuum over your bedding. Then, strip sheets, pillowcases, and mattress protectors from the bed. Wash this bedding on high heat because this will kill ants and their eggs on the bed.
Clean the rest of your bedroom while your bedding is in the wash.
Run the vacuum over every surface, lifting all furniture and leaving nothing unturned. If you can tolerate doing so, spray Raid or other bug-killing spray everywhere and open the windows for ventilation.
Look for an easy entrance point for ants. Even the smallest crack in a wall will suffice, so use tape or a sealant gun from a hardware store to remove access to these entry points.
Killing a Colony of Ants in A Bedroom
You can buy ant bait stations if you prefer to address the problem yourself. Ants will be drawn to them as they contain food, which will be taken to the nest. This food will slowly kill the ants that consume it,
It can take up to a week before ant bait stations yield results, but the workers will bring this poisoned food to the colony’s queen, killing many ants.
A faster way to kill ants in your bedroom is to lay down powder to kill insects. Don’t use this product if you have pets (cats, dogs, rabbits, etc.) because it’s deadly to animals.
Pest control companies will usually resolve your issue quickly. You’ll likely need somewhere else to stay while the work is completed, as professionals use industrial-strength, toxic insecticides.
