Ants like to live in moist places like shoes. Therefore, it is challenging for many people to keep these insects away from their shoes.
Why Are Ants Attracted to My Shoes? Ants are attracted to shoes due to the presence of sweet crumbs, mud, and sweat. In addition, they are always looking for shelter, and it can be a good place for them to live. You should clean your shoes with essential oils, soak them in hot water, and dry them completely in the open air to prevent ants.
Making a habit of cleaning your shoes regularly to prevent ants. Keep them high from the ground and dust them even if they are not in use.
Why are there ants in my shoes?
Several reasons make ants attracted to your shoes. You need to identify the actual cause of their accumulation in a specific area before removing them. Find out the cause and take action accordingly.
Sweet food on shoes
Ants need water, food, and a safe place to live in a house. They come to your shoes when they smell something sweet on them. Sometimes some sugar falls onto them when you cook something sweet in your kitchen.
They need food to fuel them like human beings, so they do not miss any chance of getting food. Its particles remain on your shoes, and they attract the ants.
They rush and gather to consume these particles when you do not clean them. Therefore, you should clean them with the help of a duster when you come out from your kitchen.
In search of shelter
Ants remain in search of shelter to keep them hidden and to survive extreme weather changes. They need a warm place to live in winter, so they wander around the whole house searching for such a place.
They find the hot environment suitable for living in winter. Their holes attract them, so they consider it a safe shelter to stay.
You will notice a lot of ants marching towards them to stay. This is because they live and call the whole colony to this place to stay.
Due to mud on shoes
Ants like to come on dirty things like dust particles and filth. So they frequently come towards your shoes when you come home from a garden on a rainy day.
It is because they become the muddy and favorable spot to enter. They love moisture and get attracted to dirt and clay when it mixes with moisture.
They also gather around dead insects to take their share of food. Do not panic by looking at several ants inside your old shoes. Instead, check if a dead insect is inside and immediately remove it to get rid of them.
Due to the smell of sweat
Ants have a natural ability to move toward anything which has salt, sugar, and moisture. They attract in no time when they smell such a thing and move to find its source.
Sweet food contains all these components, so they like to move toward such food.
You should keep them in sunlight for some time after use to minimize moisture content and the expected entry of ants.
They smell its odor from a far distance and attract more frequently towards it because they find less salt in their environment compared to sugar. It makes it dry and reduces bad odor as well.
It protects them and saves you money to repair the damage caused by them. Your sweat contains more sugar than a normal human being when you are a diabetic person.
They like your shoes if they find such a high concentration of sugar in your sweat.
How to keep ants out of shoes?
Sometimes you never know the exact reason for hundreds of ants in your shoes, and you want to get rid of them. You can try any method out of several others to prevent them.
You need to take a standard-size bottle and fill it with a dishwasher and water. Keep in mind that water should be double in amount to the water. Shake the bottle to mix them well and spray it over the ants. They will suffocate by inhaling the spray and immediately fall to death.
Spraying vinegar water on them is the easiest way to avoid them. You can also reduce their movement towards your shoes if you let them dry completely. Sometimes they look dry, but they are not dry from within, and you feel this moisture after wearing them.
An easy approach to get rid of them is to wash them using hot water and soak them for 5 to 10 minutes. Rub it by using a microfiber brush.
This method will also remove all kinds of dirt and sticky material caused by the ants. Read the instructions carefully before soaking them in hot water because their washing method varies according to the material.
Some manufacturers do not allow soaking them in hot water because it can damage their material. Gently rub it with a soft wet piece of cloth if there is a risk of damage from soaking it in hot water.
Using essential oils is an effective way to avoid them because they do not like certain fragrances. For example, they do not get attracted to peppermint and citrus fragrances.
Apply 2 to 3 drops of these essential oils to repel them from coming into your shoes. You can increase its amount when you notice they are still coming to your shoes.
Make a habit of cleaning them with a soft brush or cloth after use. It can be an extra duty for you, so you can do this weekly or at least monthly.
You can also use a shoe rack to prevent their entry because they provide ventilating space and remain out of reach. In addition, it reduces the possibility of their entry because it is much higher than the ground.
Completely dry them after washing because ants like moisture. Place them in the open air to let them dry, and ensure they are dried when you pick them up.
Related Articles:
