How To Keep Ants Out of Your Kitchen, According to 5 Exterminators

I don’t know about you, but right now I have tons of ants in my kitchen. It doesn’t matter that I keep my kitchen sparkling clean, make sure my countertops are crumb-free, and ensure all bags and containers are tightly sealed. Every year (no matter where I’ve lived), when summer truly hits, so do the ants.

But this year, I’ve decided I can’t take it anymore—my days of spraying down counters and crossing my fingers are over. I decided to buck up and reach out to some exterminators to see what they recommend. To my great relief, all five gave the same advice. Here’s what they have to say about keeping your kitchen free of these tiny pests.

The Expert Exterminators

The Ant Evading Advice

Before I got to how to get rid of the pesky problem, I first wanted to understand why the ants are present in the first place. “Your kitchen offers the three things ants are always looking for: food, moisture, and warmth,” explains Napolski.

“Tiny crumbs, sticky spills, or even a single drop of juice on the counter can attract scout ants. Once they find a reliable food source, they leave a pheromone trail for the rest of the colony to follow, and that’s when the real invasion begins.”

It’s good to remember that it’s not only sweet stuff that attracts the little invaders—they actually love everything that contains carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, says Carpenter. Knowing this, Ellis suggests it’s important to keep floors and surfaces clean, and store food in sealed containers or the refrigerator to keep incidental food availability to a minimum.

Ellis also noted the importance of fixing any water leaks both inside the house and near hose bibs to reduce the attractiveness of the moisture because “ants are attracted to that, too.”

Already Have Ants?

Bossel says that ant baits, such as the Terro brand, are your best bet. “You want the ants to take the bait back to the colony,” he notes, adding that gel bait stations work best on hard surfaces like countertops or tile. “You can drop three stations within a 10-foot radius of the trail. If you see a surge of ants at the bait, that means it is working.”

As the bait is shared amongst the colony, it eliminates the ants that consumed it. Bagnara explains: “It may take a few rounds to ensure that the bait is spread amongst all of the colonies and makes it to the queens.” While it may not be the quickest solution, the experts assure me it is undoubtedly the best one.