Content Updated: March 18th, 2025

Ants in the kitchen can be an unpleasant sight when you’re just looking for an afternoon snack. Ants are attracted to food and will flock to spills, unsealed packages, and food left out on the counter. They may also carry pathogens and if they’re crawling all over your food or food prep surfaces, they can leave illness-causing bacteria behind. Here’s how to get rid of ants in your kitchen and make sure they don’t come back. keep reading to learn about the value of comprehensive ant control.

Why are ants in your kitchen?

Simply put, ants are attracted to food and water sources, both of which are readily available in kitchens. Unsealed food packages, overripe fruit left out on the counter, or even the smallest crumb or missed spill can attract ants—and they come in groups.

In addition to food, some ants are on the lookout for water. Even just a minor leak around a faucet or a dishwasher that doesn't always drain completely may leave your kitchen vulnerable to tiny ants.

Ants can vary in size, but they are all small enough to fit through tiny cracks in baseboards, door frames, and windowsills. They also leave a chemical scent trail behind so more ants can follow in their path. Sometimes, you might notice them emerge from under appliances where food debris may have accumulated.

The most common types of kitchen ant

The tiny ants discovered foraging in your kitchen are often lumped together under the name "sugar ant." And while it's true that sweet, carbohydrate-rich foods can be irresistible to virtually any ant, sugar ants are a very specific type of ant. In fact, their true name is the "banded sugar ant," and the species is native to Australia. Therefore, the ants you're seeing in your kitchen are likely not actual sugar ants.

The common household ants lurking in your kitchen likely belong to one of five species of tiny ant: the little black ant, the pharaoh ant, the odorous house ant, the pavement ant, or the Argentine ant. All five ants are very tiny, with workers averaging around one-eighth of an inch in length. Each of these species of ant are also extremely opportunistic and may establish colonies indoors.

How to help get rid of ants in your kitchen

To help get rid of tiny ants in your kitchen, you need to first identify the species of ant you're dealing with, which will likely require a trained professional for proper identification. This will help you determine what is attracting ants in the first place. Next, do a thorough cleaning to wipe up spills, sweep up any crumbs and sanitize areas that usually get missed like inside cupboards and under the sink.

Some DIY methods include using natural repellants like cinnamon, lemon, and vinegar to deter ants from entering your home and kitchen. The problem with these methods is they are temporary and can even attract other pests like fruit flies.

Professional ant control is much more thorough than DIY methods. A Terminix ant control expert can inspect your kitchen and pinpoint any issues that need to be corrected. Next, they’ll treat the area for existing ants and set up ant traps for any lingering ants. They’ll also check the outside of your property for ant hills or signs of a larger ant colony that may be making their way inside. They’ll recommend any further ant control treatments to prevent ants from infesting your kitchen in the future.

Preventing ants from coming back

The best way to prevent ants is to make everything you did to get rid of them an everyday habit. If you keep up with these things, ants are a lot less likely to return:

  • Seal all entry points: look for any gaps or cracks around windows, doors, and your home’s foundation and seal them up.

  • Clean diligently: Eliminate food sources so ants have nothing to eat.

  • Store food in airtight containers: Don’t leave ants an opening to sneak into your food supply.

  • Clean pet food bowls: Ants aren’t picky—they’ll eat pet food too. Make sure to wash pet food bowls every day.

  • Maintain the outside of your home: Don’t give ants the opportunity to enter your home in the first place.

  • Professional ant control: If you want expert help, Terminix can offer the right approach to protect your home long-term.

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