We have seen ants moving inside the drawers of desks or crawling on the upper surface, but a few people think about why these insects are present there.
Why Are Ants Attracted To My Desk? Ants are attracted to desks due to the presence of food crumbs, stains, scented candles or flowers, dirty dishes, humidity, dirt, darker spaces, and dirty bins.
Ants can reach places when they find suitable spaces to hide, like areas behind monitors, headphones, speakers, printers, etc., and sometimes get inside the hollow devices.
They can set up a camp at all possible spaces meeting their criteria of darkness, warmth, and damp environment that are considered ideal for reproducing.
Why do ants come to my desk?
Several attractants can grab the attention of ants and draw them to desks, including particles of food and dirt, stains of juices, and beautiful flowers in pots.
Food crumbs
Some people eat snacks while doing work as this munching on food keeps their brain active and helps maintain interest in work. The food crumbs can fall on the desk unintentionally while eating.
They can attract ants searching the surrounding areas for food to overcome their hunger and regain energy to perform bodily functions.
In addition, the crumbs from biscuits, wafers, chips, bread, and other food items can also fall on the workstation and keyboard, bringing hungry insects to your table.
Dark spaces
Ants prefer to live in darker environments and naturally build their nests under the ground, so they try to find suitable dark places to build their nests.
Accordingly, they can reach your desk for favorable shelter, providing safety and darkness. They can hide within drawers and other narrow places covered and filled with dust.
Such areas usually remain dirty because people do not bother cleaning the narrow spaces. So, these spots are favorable for the survival of these insects, where they can live without interference.
Dirty bins
You are responsible for inviting ants to your desk if you do not empty the trash cans frequently. Bins filled with wrappers, papers, and other types of trash are enticing for them.
They can get inside the bin to explore the material and find the trash that can become a food source. Wrappers of chocolates and biscuits having a few sticky particles can allure them.
It is better to keep the bins clean and empty them regularly; otherwise, expect to see these tiny insects enjoying the feast on chocolate wrappers if you drop them at night.
Moreover, it does not take time to crawl from the bins to the table, so deal with the root cause to remove these nuisance pests from homes.
Dirt and stains
The presence of dirt and dust particles on different desk parts can be alluring for ants because it makes them feel at home. Fresh or even dried stains of juices and other drinks can invite them.
These tiny insects feed on the juice stains and prefer to consume liquid juices as they are easier to digest.
I used to spill juices on my desk often, which happens entirely unintentionally, but the stains can draw ants. Wiping out the stains quickly can help prevent these insects from reaching there.
Scented candles or flowers
Some beautiful scents from candles or fresh flowers can attract insects that usually follow pleasant odors by relating them to a food source.
I was confused about the presence of ants on my desk, mainly when there was no food for them, but then I got to know that the odor of candles on the table attracted them.
They like rose, jasmine, lily, sunflower, gardenia, peonies, dahlias, and many other flowers or floral scents commonly used in candles.
Candles on the tables can keep your mind fresh while working, but they can also pose a risk of ants’ attack, so you have to choose odors like lavender that are repelling for them.
Plant pots
Fresh plant pots containing soil can become a spot for building nests as ants like to build their nests within soil close to plant roots.
You have to be careful of the infestation if there are small pots of plants on your desk or close to it. Cling from the nearby nests in pots takes less time to the table.
Keep the potted plants away from your table to avoid attack risk; otherwise, grow ant-repellent plants with strong scents like lavender and mint.
Rotting or decaying wood
Sometimes, it becomes difficult to understand the cause for ants to be present on the desk if there is a clean surface, no stains, and food particles are not present apparently.
You have to look at the wooden desk carefully in such a case because decaying wood can probably be the reason for drawing these insects.
Rotting wood can become a suitable nesting spot as it is hollow from the inside and allows these tiny insects to chew the inner wood material efficiently.
You have to fix the issue by removing the decaying part of the table and replacing it with a new one or getting a new desk for you, as the old one keeps attracting insects.
Dirty dishes
Many people leave dirty dishes and cups on the table and start doing their work after having lunch or tea during break. These dirty dishes can have some leftover food and tea.
These can invite ants to navigate the indoor areas for some nutritious food particles. They can get food from the kitchen or pantries, but this uncovered food is more inviting.
They have to make more effort to get inside the kitchen cabinets and find their way through boxes to reach the food, but these dirty dishes in the open areas require less effort.
How do you keep ants away from desks?
It is better to keep ants away from the desk if you want to avoid the bites and stings from these insects. They can also contaminate surfaces and get inside the packed food in drawers.
Put some repelling ingredients in the drawers, like garlic and cinnamon, because their strong odors can keep these insects away. Seal the spaces in drawers to avoid their entries inside them.
In addition, try to find out the root cause of the problem to solve the problem of infestation as they keep coming until you stop placing dirty dishes, plants, scented candles, flowers, etc., on it.
Reduce the humidity level so they can get inside the room and look for hiding spots to live there. Regular cleaning of the desk can also help prevent them due to the absence of dirt and stains.
What type of ants are attracted to desks?
You have to deal with many species of ants on the desks because this open surface area provides no barrier for these tiny insects to access the space.
The crazy ants can easily reach the top surface or other tiny gaps by climbing the table’s legs. Moreover, the tiny pharaoh and ghost ants also try to reach the scented objects and food.
Carpenter or wood ants attack decaying wood and chew the soft material to build nests within it. You can detect their presence if you see sawdust on the floor, as they do not eat chewed material.
Furthermore, the acrobat, crazy, and many other ants’ species can come for the electrical devices on the desk, like keyboards, printers, scanners, and other instruments.