Ants are one of the most common insects that you may find infesting your home. They live in colonies because they are social insects. They need each other to survive and continue their generation. Despite their tiny stature, they can inflict serious damage to your home and other properties. One of the things they can infest and may damage at your home is your laptop. There are many types of this species – carpenter, fire, velvet ants, black, red wood, argentine, and many more. But all of them can enter your laptop and cause damage. So today, we will talk about the reason why they love your laptop, how to get rid of them, and prevent the infestation from happening in the future.
Do Ants Enter Your Laptop
Yes, ants can enter your laptop. Ants travel around in search of food and a place where they can build their nests. When your laptop smells like food, it can attract ants to go to your laptop and look for food. This can happen when you eat near your laptop and leave crumbs all over your laptop. Additionally, the heat and warm temperature of your laptop are other reasons why ants love laptops. Ants want to build their nest in warm and dry places. Therefore, they will go through your laptop to build their nests and lay their eggs, resulting in more ants inside your laptop.
Damage Ants Can Cause to Your Laptop
Ants are so tiny, but they can damage your device. It is possible for ants to chew some of your properties. Once ants are inside your laptop, they may chew electrical wirings inside the laptop. After they damage these wirings, your laptop may short circuit, resulting in a defective, slow, and malfunctioning laptop. These damages will also bring about an expensive fee to get it fixed.
Moreover, ants can black the keyboard of the laptop. They may hide under your keyboard, and you will find it hard to use your keyboard. If you try to type, the keys may fail to register because there are ants that are blocking them. Additionally, the intense heat of your laptop may kill some ants, and deceased ants will emit a foul odor.
How to Get Rid of Ants on Your Laptop
If you suspect or find out that there are ants infesting your laptop, you may now wonder what you should do to get rid of them as soon as possible. Vacuuming your laptop is deemed to be the most effective to remove the ants inside your laptop. However, some areas of the laptop may be hard to reach. If you are doing this step, you should not point the vacuum towards any electrical parts of your laptop as this may cause further damage or an electrical shock to you. You may also gently shake your laptop to scare the ants inside your laptop. This may not be as effective as vacuuming, but if successful, you may find some ants coming out of your laptop. Another option you have is to call a professional pest control company. They would know what to do to get rid of the infestations and prevent them from happening in the future.
Preventing Ants From Entering Your Laptop
Whether you have already removed the ants from your laptop or haven’t experienced any ants inside your laptop, it is best to prevent this situation from happening in the future. Below are the steps you may take in order to prevent ants from infesting your laptop.
- Cleaning – Clean your laptop occasionally using a damp cloth. Gently wipe this damp cloth on your laptop to remove any dust or dirt that may attract ants toward your laptop. Make sure that the crevices of your laptop are clean as well.
- Remove food crumbs – As much as possible, avoid eating around or near your laptop, as you may drop food crumbs on it. This can attract the ants as well. However, if you still opt to eat around your laptop, make sure that you will not leave any food crumbs by cleaning them after you eat.
- Spray Ant Repellent – Boric Acid and Peppermint Oil spray are good ant repellents. Spray them around or near your laptop to ensure that ants will not come anywhere near your laptop. Boric acid is not toxic to humans but rather to ants. Once they come in contact with this acid, they will die eventually. On the other hand, peppermint oil can confuse ants by blocking their communication. On some occasions, this spray can also kill ants.
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