How To Get Rid of Ants In Car: 8 Easy Methods

For some folks, their car is their haven. Whether it’s a classic car they store in their garage all year long or a truck that doubles as their office, these vehicles have meaning. And, when someone (or thousands of someones) violates that meaning by setting up a colony or turning it into an all-they-can-eat buffet, it’s a terrible feeling.

But don’t freak out: In most cases, your car is going to be a-okay. All you need is a little advice on how to get rid of ants in car, and RiddaBugs is here to help.

Why do ants like cars?

Before we dive into how to kick those ants to the curb, we should look at the reasons why you might be finding them on your apple turnover on your morning commute.

It’s probably not an infestation

First, it’s important to understand that the ants you’re seeing probably aren’t part of an infestation. Instead, they’re probably an invasion. Doesn’t that sound better?

The difference between an ant infestation and an invasion has to do with activity. An infestation occurs when several generations of an insect are living within the same space or colony. In terms of ants, this means that there is an egg-laying queen present, and she’s producing offspring. An invasion is when insects spread out into new areas in search of something.

Guess what that is?

They’re looking for food

Most likely, the ants in your truck are looking for food. Whether it’s a spilled soft drink on the floorboard or the food crumbs in your child’s car seat, they’re looking for something to snack on. Once they find it in the glove compartment, floor mats,  or anywhere else they’ll return time and time again until it’s gone. Here’s how it works:

Ants of all sorts have extremely strong scent receptors, and they can smell food inside homes, buildings, and cars. When colonies need resources, they send scout ants to sniff them out. Once they smell the food, they’ll work diligently to get inside and eat. Once they eat, they’ll return to the main colony with the food, leaving a pheromone trail behind. Worker ants will then follow these trails back to the food, creating a super highway of bugs looking for a good meal.

Possible food sources may include:

• Food wrappers
• Stains from greasy foods
• Soda cans
• Coffee cups
• Candy wrappers

Even some empty bottled water in the back can cause ants if your car if they’re looking for a source of water. But, these ants aren’t likely to set up a colony or live in the car, especially once the food is gone.

It’s important to note that these items can attract bugs other than ants, as well. Sweet liquids and foods can attract honeybees, bumble bees, and carpenter bees, well as wasps, yellow jackets, and some flies.

Can ants damage my car?

Yes, some can damage your car. In fact, red imported fire ants are known to seek out wires and cables to chew. This can create a host of issues for your car, including:

1. Check engine codes
2. Failed headlights, tail lights, brake lights, or interior lights
3. Malfunctioning dashboard interface
4. A vehicle that won’t start
5. A vehicle fire

In most cases, however, there is very little risk to the car. As long as it’s handled quickly, the car (and the traumatized owner) should be able to recover quickly. However, if a fire ant bites you while you’re driving, you’re more likely to damage the car through distraction than they are from chewing wires. 

But wait, there is more to the story. These pests can attract other pests, particularly those that like to snack on them. This includes beetles, caterpillars, spiders (including black widows, brown recluses, and jumping spiders), snakes and lizards, and birds. Many of these pests have the potential to cause damage to the car, but can even harm the driver or passengers. 

What kinds of ants infest a car?

There are several ant species that can infest a car. Basically, any ant that smells the food has the potential to climb into the car and start snacking.

Common ants to invade a car include:

• Carpenter ants
• Sugar ants
• Pharaoh ants
• Red imported fire ants
• Pavement ants
• Argentine ants

Those are the common ant species that may invade the car, but other species may do it as well. 

How To Get Rid of Ants in Car: 8 Simple Methods

It’s important to handle that ant problem as soon as possible. The following sections describe 8 simple methods (in increasing aggressiveness) that you can use to get ants out of your car. There are other methods, but these are the easiest and least expensive.

Clean Your Car

You’ll need:

• Vacuum
• Garbage bags
• Cleaning Solution
• Microfiber cloth

It doesn’t matter what methods you try if you don’t clean the car first. It’s important to get rid of the food source, whether it be a french fry, a soft drink, a forgotten candy bar, or even that double-mocha venti latte cup you left on the back seat of the car last weekend. These items have to go, and with the car clean, you can move to the next steps.

Use a vacuum cleaner to remove any crumbs from the floorboards, seats, and other crevices. Wipe any spills, grease, or sticky residues away with an all-purpose cleaner and a microfiber cloth. Take note if you find ants and their activity during this process, especially if you can’t find the food source right away. 

For ants underneath a car, consider taking the car to a car wash and paying for the ultimate wash. This should include high-pressure jets underneath the vehicle and heavy, thick foam, both of which should be effective.

Move Your Car

You’ll need:

• A new parking spot

Arguably the easiest option to deter ants is to move the car. Moving the parking spots will disrupt the pheromone trails, preventing them from finding their way back and forth from the ant hill. Move the car to a different parking spot, away from trees and shrubs. If possible, consider parking in the middle of paved areas such as a pavement parking lot for a few days rather than bringing the car back into the driveway.

Also, there is a chance that you simply parked on top of a few active ant hills. If you move the vehicle away, your issue may subside quickly.

Note: This option only works if the food is removed from the vehicle. Otherwise, you’ll just be moving the car to another area to feed another ant colony. You’d basically be a food truck.

Use Diatomaceous Earth and a Vacuum

You’ll need:

• A vacuum 
• DE powder

Sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the seats, carpet, door pockets, and other areas of the vehicle and leave it for a few days. Diatomaceous earth is made up of crystallized sea organisms, and when they walk across them, the crystals cut their exoskeletons and cause dehydration.

Leave the DE powder for a few days (preferably over a weekend) before vacuuming. Suck up any DE powder, dead ants, or other bugs which may have walked across the dust.

Note: DE powder is generally safe for humans and pets. However, if you sprinkle it on your dashboard and then activate the defrost vent, it may kick up dust and cause throat and eye irritation, so it’s best to avoid these areas, as well as the vents. 

The added benefit of keeping DE powder on hand is that it works for wide range of infestation. It can work for spiders, stink bugs, and can even help treat termites to a degree.

Park in the Sun

You’ll need:

• A hot day

If you have a darker vehicle, try parking in the direct sun for a few hours. Most insects can’t survive past temperatures of around 120 to 130 degrees, which a dark vehicle with closed windows can easily reach on a hot summer day in less than an hour. If you’d like to speed things up, start the car and turn up the heat for a bit. Just make sure not to sit inside it while you do.

This method can kill all the ants inside the car, but if there are more ants, it may not be effective for those in the vehicle’s ventilation system, engine bay, wheel wells, or other areas. 

Try a Steamer

You’ll need:

• A steamer
• A vacuum
• A microfiber cloth

Potentially more effective than parking in the sun, a steamer can produce enough heat to kill ants. Though you’ll have to concentrate efforts with the nozzle, if you can pinpoint where they are hanging out, the 210-degree temperature water requires to turn to steam will curl those little bugs up and kill them. 

We wrote a round-up on the best bed bug steamers, and those machines would be more than effective on ants, as well. 

Once the ants are dead, vacuum them up thoroughly. As a bonus to this method, the steam will also provide a deep clean on the vehicle, preventing any further ants from moving in looking for food. Keep a microfiber cloth on hand to wipe surfaces down after steaming them.

Use a DIY Bug Spray

You’ll need:

• A spray bottle
• Dawn dish soap
• White vinegar
• Water
• Essential oil

If you’d rather not use a harsh chemical or pesticide to prevent ants and the problems they create in a car, consider using a DIY bug spray solution. This may be the best solution for eco-minded folks. Here’s how to do it:

1. Mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle
2. Add one tablespoon of Dawn dish soap
3. Add two to three drops of essential oils per cup of spray
4. Stir solution
5. Spray the entire interior of the vehicle with the solution, including seats, carpets, dashboard, doors, and other areas where they may be hanging out or accessing the vehicle. The spray itself will kill an ant as well as break down pheromone trails. The Dawn creates a barrier that can repel ants.

The best essential oils to rid ants from a car or space include peppermint, citrus, lemon, and tea tree oil. 

There are several added benefits to this approach. For one, it’s safe for everyone including children and pets (and it’s a good thing since important to keep ants away from pets). It also smells great and it’s an excellent cleaning solution for removing stains like stink bug poop and other pest messes. And, it’s less expensive per ounce than an over-the-counter bug spray. Finally, you likely have all the items on hand considering their common household use products.

Try Traps, Baits, or Sprays

You’ll need:

• Ant traps
• Ant baits
• Ant spray

You can try traps or sprays to get rid of any ants in the car as well. Traps are overly effective, but they can be placed under a seat, and vehicle occupants don’t have to worry about breathing them in.

Ant baits can be more effective than traps, as these products’ composition attracts ants who then eat it, bring it back to the colony, and die. However, it’s better to place an ant bait along a known travel route, and not inside the vehicle. Placing the bait inside the vehicle may attract ants before it begins to work. Instead, place ant bait stations under the vehicle or nearby where the ants travel.

For to get rid of ants with sprays, it’s best to apply the spray to the majority of the surface in the vehicle and let it dry. Do so with the windows down, and leave the windows down for hours after to allow as much of the airborne insecticide to dissipate. Keep in mind that pesticides are never entirely safe, so if you’re uncomfortable, we suggest calling a pest control professional. 

Note: Be sure to keep these products away from children and pets. 

Use a Bug Bomb – With Extreme Caution

You will need:

• Bug bomb
• A tarp or vehicle cover
• Weights to hold the cover in place

As a last-ditch effort, consider using a bug bomb to kill the ants inside the vehicle. Some folks park in their garage, close the garage door, open the vehicle’s doors, engine compartment, and trunk, and set the bomb off in the garage. This method is fine for detached garages with no one upstairs, but it’s not ideal for an attached garage.

Rather than bombing in the garage, set up a make-shift bombing booth outside. Roll one of the windows down and use a large tarp from a hardware store or vehicle cover to drape over the vehicle. For oversized traps, place weights on the ground to hold the tarp relatively taught. Lift the tarp, activate the bug bomb, and place it on the center console. Leave the car covered for 4 hours, then uncover and allow it to air out for several more hours.

This method does not come without risks. When you bug bomb a car, the ventilation ducts are coated with the bomb’s pesticide contents. This means if the user turns on the heat or air condition before it dissipates, they could breathe in these chemicals, and they could have harmful effects on them. Also, the whole vehicle has to be aired out for several hours afterward, as this is a confined space and climbing inside after bug-bombing can make you sick. 

This is a last-ditch effort, and if it sounds a bit too sketchy (it can be), it may be better to call a professional pest control expert to handle the ant issue in the car.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are ants in my car?

The most probable reason for ants getting in your car is they’re searching for food or water. Their scent receptors are much more powerful than ours, so they can smell food through a closed door. If they find that food, they create a pheromone trail on the way back to the nest that tells other ants how to get to the food sources. 

Another possibility is ants coming into the vehicle on produce boxes or grocery bags. In this case, they won’t stay long, but you can use the methods above to rid the car of them. 

Will ants in my car go away?

Usually, they will go away over time. These aren’t ant infestations but ant invasions. They’re there for food sources, not to reproduce and start a new colony. If the food source runs out, they’ll leave, but that can take a while.

Does heat kill ants in car?

Heat can kill ants in your car. Parking a car in the middle of a hot parking lot on a summer day can bring the interior temperature of a dark vehicle over 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Coincidentally, that’s the same temperature at which most ants die. 

Can ants build a nest in a car?

No. Ants prefer rotten tree stumps, wall cavities, and underground nests. Many ants in your car is more likely a series of foraging ants (usually workers) bringing food back to the actual ant nest.