Do you know that the gaps and cracks on the window frame and windowsill are one of the entry points for ants in your home?
Ants will exploit those crevices to sneak inside your house and cause an infestation.
In this guide, you’ll find out how to stop ants coming in through windowsill and frame.
You’ll find out the doable hacks you can implement to eliminate and stop ants from crawling through the windows.
Keep reading.
Why Do Ants Keep Coming Through The Windows
When the ant infestation in your outdoors skyrockets, ants look for new sources of food and shelter.
Ants coming through the windows signify that ants have discovered nesting places and food sources inside your house or that outdoor weather has become too hot and dry.
That’s when they sneak inside homes through crevices on the home’s walls and windows.
Ants can sneak inside the house in the form of ant trails. At times, a random solitary ant can also sneak inside.
The solitary ant is an ant on a mission to find new food sources inside the house. On finding one, the rest of the ants will follow it.
How To Stop Ants Coming In Through Windows
- Remove the vegetation, if any, near the windows
- Get rid of the ant infestation in your yard or garden
- Seal the gaps and cracks in the windows
- Keep ant traps on the windowsill
- Use ant sprays around the window
- Scatter insecticide granules along the perimeter of the wall
- Use natural ant repellants like cinnamon or vinegar on the windowsill
The seven steps above will ensure that ants avoid your windowsill and frame like the plague.
Let’s dive deep into each of these steps to find out how to implement them safely like a pro.
Remove Vegetation Near The Windows
Let’s face it. The plants, tall grasses, and shrubs near the windows act as a bridge for ants and many crawlies.
Insects and pests use them to crawl inside your home.
So, the first step to stop an ant invasion through the windowsill and frame is to remove the vegetation near the windows.
If overgrown ornamental plants, chop off the twigs and branches and ensure they’re at least half a foot below the windowsill.
And it would help if you do the same with the tree branches touching your home’s roof.
Many ants will reach the roof of your house by crawling on the tree branches and touching the roof. These ants will then sneak inside the house through the gaps and cracks in the roof shingles and gutters.
Tall trees and structures near multi-story houses or apartment blocks make it easy for ants to sneak inside homes through the windows on the second and third floors.
Ants, especially carpenter ants, are efficient crawlers. They can climb structures and sneak inside living spaces on higher floors if they can find a nesting place and a food source.
Get Rid Of Ant Infestation In Your Yard Or Garden
If the ant trail comes from the outdoors, it signifies an ant infestation in your yard or garden.
The often-ignored cause for ants and termite invasion in homes is that most of the time, the invasion begins from the yard.
If there’s an ant infestation in your yard, you’ll notice ant hills in your yard soil and the grass lawns.
These ant hills indicate ant colonies underneath the soil’s layer. Destroy those ant hills by pouring hot water into them.
However, wear shoes and trousers while doing so because if the ant hills belong to the red fire ants, they’ll bite and sting you.
Seal The Gaps And Cracks On The Windowsill And Window Frame
The ants move inside the house through the gaps in your home’s windowsill, window frame, and outer walls.
These crevices are entry points not just for ants but for many pests and bugs like termites, roaches, and spiders.
Caulk those gaps with a quality ant-proof sealant. Ants can’t chew through the caulk of ant-proof or silicone-based sealants.
If the windowsill is heavily damaged, then replace them. A damaged windowsill is an easy target for carpenter ants and termites.
You can also use weather stripping to close the gap between the windowsill and frame.
Keep Sticky Traps On The Windowsill
When ants crawl on the sticky traps, they get stuck on them. So, keeping the sticky traps at places where you’re noticing ant trails is vital to stop ants from sneaking inside the house.
Place the sticky traps on the windowsill.
You can also keep adhesive tape with the sticky side up on the windowsill. Keep a few sugar cubes on the adhesive trap to create bait for the ants.
When ants crawl on the sticky side of the adhesive tape, they’ll get stuck.
Use an ant spray to kill the ants stuck on the adhesive tape and sticky traps. Then dispose of the traps with dead ants outside of your property.
Use Ant Sprays On The Windowsill And Window Frame
Ant sprays kill the ants on contact. Also, the residual toxicity of the ant spray ensures that it remains effective in repelling ants hours after the spray.
Use a reliable ant spray on the windowsill, window frame, and the wall and soil underneath the window.
You’ll have to use the spray every other day to keep the ants from entering your home through the windows.
If you want to use something natural, then diatomaceous earth is your best option. Diatomaceous earth kills ants and also keeps them away.
Borax is also one of the ant killers and repellants that you can use to keep ants away from the windows.
Scatter Ant Granules Along Your Home’s Perimeter
Insecticide granules are a lifesaver when preventing pests that dwell underground.
Many ant species build their colonies underground in your yard and garden. When the colonies grow, they move inside your house, looking for food and shelter.
Insecticide granules work by sinking in the soil and creating a chemical barrier lethal for soil-dwelling bugs like ants and termites.
It kills the pests underneath the soil. And it remains effective for at least six months, preventing the soil-dwelling pest from coming near your house.
Dig a half-inch deep and a foot-wide ditch on the soil underneath the window. It’d be best to expand the ditch that covers the entire perimeter of your home’s exterior walls.
Scatter the insecticide granules in the ditch. And sprinkle water on it. Then cover the ditch with the soil.
That’s it. You’ve just created a solid barrier around your home’s perimeter that will stop ants from climbing on the walls and crawling inside your home through the windows.
Use Natural Ant Repellants On The Windows
The smell of many natural products like cinnamon, white vinegar, and peppermint repels bugs, including ants.
You can scatter a bit of cinnamon powder on the windowsill. Spraying peppermint spray or a mixture of white vinegar and water on the windows also works.
Chalk and baby talcum powder are also effective in repelling ants. So, sprinkle chalk powder or baby talcum powder on the windowsill to keep ants from coming through the window.
Final Thoughts
There are many bugs and flies that use windows to get inside homes. Ants are one of them.
During the ant season, ants use the windows as one of the entry points for invading your home.
This guide revealed how to stop the ants from exploiting your windows to sneak inside.
However, you’ll also need to ensure that you make your home unappealing for ants.
And you can do that by ensuring that your yard is clean, there’s no ant infestation in your outdoors, there’s no excessive moisture and dampness on your property, and there’s no food waste in your home and yard.
Hiring a professional exterminator is your best option to control ants if there’s a severe ant infestation in or outside your house.
Nang Chen is an Entomologist and Arachnologist who is associated with Vienna’s museum of natural history. He’s also a consultant with real estate groups, insecticide conglomerates and law enforcement groups as a forensic entomologist. Nang Chen holds an M.S. from South China University and he’s a regular contributor to our site.