Imagine this – after a long day of work, you decide to take a relaxing bath. You turn on the bathtub faucet and step away for a few seconds to gather your self-care essentials, only to be met with a bathtub filled with ants. Yes, you have an insect invasion! Now, instead of enjoying a calming, warm bath, you’ll be questioning your reality and thinking, ‘are ants coming out of bathtub faucet?’
We’ve all seen a number of bathroom bugs, which we either wash away or squash at the moment. However, an ant infestation is alarming, and in fact, watching ants come out of your bathtub faucet, sink or shower head is a scene straight out of a horror movie.
So, what do you do now? Do you call pest control? Before you do that, here’s more insight into what’s happening in your bathroom.
Why Are Ants Coming Out Of Bathtub Faucet
You might think to yourself that since cleaning the bathroom is a part of your daily home cleaning routine, why is this happening? Particularly during the summer and dry seasons, ants require water to survive. Ants are continuously looking for a source of food and water, and your bathroom could be a prime target. Ants may be drawn to food particles in your bathroom.
They find their way into your plumbing system if there are faucet leaks or a crack in your plumbing system somewhere. While a leak is a concern for your entire plumbing maintenance, it’s also a concern for your bathroom hygiene as it acts as an entry point for other bathroom bugs.
In addition to that, there is always something inside the water pipes for ants and other insects to feed on, which is why they stay longer and may begin to nest in your plumbing system. When you turn your faucet on, because of the movement of the water, it finds its way into your bathtub.
How Do You Get Rid Of The Ants
Before you call in your plumber, you can use various kinds of home-made or natural remedies to try and solve the problem. Some of these natural remedies are:
Natural Remedies –
- Water and Vinegar
In a spray bottle, combine equal parts water and vinegar and spray the solution in your bathtub and in any other areas where you’ve noticed ants. Vinegar is not only a natural insecticide that successfully kills ants but also confuses and upsets their sense of smell, making it harder for them to move around. Additionally, the vinegar can also kill the ants. Click here to buy cleaning Vinegar from Amazon.
- Borax and Sugar
Borax is a common household cleaner that can also be used to kill ants. To prepare a cleaning solution, combine one part borax and three parts sugar. The ants are drawn to the sugar, and the borax kills them. Similarly, you can use a spray bottle to apply it to the ant-infested areas, and let it sit for a few days. Click here to buy Borax Powder from Amazon.
- Essential Oils
Essential oils like peppermint and tea tree have a strong scent that ants dislike. You can use a few drops of essential oil mixed with water and spray it in your tub to repel the ants from nesting. Click here to buy essential oils for cleaning from Amazon.
Chemical Remedies
There are also chemical solutions you can opt for to help with pest control if the natural remedies don’t seem to work. For instance –
- Ant Baits and Insecticides
Ant baits and insecticide sprays are effective for eliminating an ant infestation. Ant baits contain a poison that ants carry back to their colony, effectively destroying the entire colony. Place ant baits around the ant-infested locations and wait for the ants to carry the poison back to their nest. Spraying insecticide entails that you wait for the ants to die as well. However, insecticide sprays require you to be more careful as they can be poisonous and toxic for humans and animals as well. Choose Ant Baits and Insecticides from Amazon.
- Dust and Powders
Dust and powder insecticides give the same result. Sprinkling the dust in places where you’ve seen the ants and then wait for them to come in contact with the dust. A downside of this is that you’ll have to do a lot of cleaning up afterwards and in the meantime, be cautious that no one or no pets come in contact with the powder. Choose Dust and powder insecticides from Amazon.
Additional Pro-tips
Last but not least, you’ll have to look at your plumbing maintenance. Unfortunately, natural and chemical remedies aren’t a permanent solution to your ant infestation. This is when it’s best to call in your plumber. Ants entering your bathtub and coming out of the faucet mean that there is a leak somewhere.
For a more effective and permanent solution to pest control and preventing further insect invasions, you’ll have to get a professional to take a look at your system and upgrade your plumbing maintenance.
Have your plumber come in to inspect what plumbing repairs are needed and look into getting ant-proof covers for your faucets and drains installed. In the future, it’ll not only prevent ants from coming out of bathtub faucets but also help protect your bathroom hygiene.
Ant Prevention in your Plumbing System in the First Place
While it may appear to be a minor issue, ants in your plumbing system can cause more serious issues such as clogs, leaks, and even water damage. So, what can you do to address this issue? There are various quick and effective methods you can try to prevent an ant infestation in the first place.
Cleaning and Plumbing Maintenance
You might be very cautious about your home’s cleaning and bathroom hygiene; however, it’s easy to forget about the internal mechanics and overlook your plumbing. Your plumbing maintenance is key to pest control and preventing ants or any other insects from coming out of your faucet.
One of the most efficient strategies to prevent an ant infestation is to keep your plumbing system well-maintained. When you have a hunch that there might be a clog in your pipes, use a drain cleaner or a cleaning solution to clear it out. Doing so will also get rid of any other insects you might have nesting in your pipes or any debris that might lead to a clog.
Repairing Plumbing Cracks
Cracks in the pipes are one of the most common ways for ants to infiltrate your plumbing system. When there is a faucet leak or crack in your pies, ants find their way in. Leaks or cracks can occur due to time and rusting, or poor installation. It is critical to diagnose and seal any cracks in your plumbing system with silicone caulk or plumbing tape.
Proper Food Waste Disposal
Food ending up in your bathroom sounds like an unrealistic scenario, but it can happen. Keeping your bathroom clean and free of any food particles should be a regular part of your home cleaning and bathroom hygiene maintenance.
Ants are drawn to food particles and crumbs, so leaving them in your bathroom may attract these nasty visitors. Make sure to check the cracks and corners of your bathroom, which might go unnoticed at times.
Moisture Control and Dehumidifying
Ants are drawn to moisture, and a damp atmosphere might serve as a perfect nesting environment. To keep ants from crawling out of your bathtub faucet, keep your bathroom as dry as possible. Try by giving it a sweep after every use or at the end of the day, opening the windows, or putting a fan in your bathroom to ensure that your bathroom is well-ventilated. Additionally, a dehumidifier can also be used to reduce moisture in the air. The humidification process helps keep undesirable moisture out of the bathroom.
An ant infestation or other bathroom bugs can reverse your plumbing maintenance. Minor faucet leaks or pipe cracks all contribute to encouraging an insect invasion and make home cleaning more time consuming and challenging than it has to be. So, for effective pest control and ant prevention, don’t hold back on the necessary plumbing repairs and take the steps to protect your home and bathroom hygiene.
FAQs
Can ants really come out of a bathtub faucet?
Yes! It sounds like an unlikely scenario and something that only exists in your imagination, but ants can come out of a bathtub faucet when they’ve built a colony in your plumbing system or found a way in through cracks in search of food and moisture.
Why would ants be coming out of a bathtub faucet?
Ants are attracted to the moisture that exists in your plumbing system and pipes. Especially during the summer, they’re more likely to enter your pipes and also feed on food particles that might have found their way into your plumbing system.
How can you prevent ants from getting into your bathtub and faucet?
The permanent solution to an ant infestation is to make plumbing repairs like sealing off any gaps or cranks, upgrading your pipes that might have corroded over time, and using covers on your faucets and drains. Before that, you can also try natural and chemical remedies to prevent an infestation.
Can ants cause any damage to the bathtub or faucet?
Yes! When ants build a colony or if a large number of ants infest your pipes, especially if the pipes are plastic, their weight can damage the pipes and even create clogs.
What are some natural methods to deter ants from the bathtub area?
Natural remedies include vinegar and water solutions, borax and sugar solutions, essential oils, and diatomaceous earth.
Can the ant infestation spread to other parts of the house or plumbing system?
If your problem goes unattended for too long, it’s very likely that they will continue to expand their colony and spread to other parts of the house or plumbing system. Eventually, you’ll have the ant infestation spread all over the kitchen, where the main source of food is, other pipes and faucets, and so on.
Written By James Wayne
James is a plumber and handyman hailing from the southwest with over 20+ years of experience in his field. He has incredible knowledge on all the brands in the market and how to perform installation, maintenance and repairs of anything you need in the kitchen.