How to Get Ants Out of Laptop [Easy Guide]

Is this something that happens every time you open your laptop? Are they crawling beneath the keyboard or perched atop it? If that’s the case, you’ll need to figure out “How to Get Ants Out of Laptop.” Because, you don’t want these obnoxious insects biting you, correct? Or worse, infect your laptop with a virus.

Ants are drawn to your laptop for a variety of reasons. These include a drop of sweet liquid leftover from eating (dubbed sugar bait), food waste, and even air conditioning vents.

Here are the 8 Best Ways to Remove Ants from Your Laptop.

8 Best Ways of Getting Ants Out of Your Laptop

1. Gently shake the laptop

Gently shaking and moving your laptop is one of the simplest methods for ant removal. Conduct this exercise in a secure location and avoid shaking while seated on a couch or bed. Otherwise, the ants will cause even more havoc.

Move the laptop at a slow pace to avoid damaging the components. We suggest wearing gloves and protective clothing that extends up to your elbow to avoid being bitten by ants.

While this method works for a smaller number of ants, some inside the laptop are likely to become scared and emerge.

2. Cleaning with a Vacuum

Utilizing a vacuum cleaner is an effective method of removing the ants. This will eliminate all ants from your laptop. Vacuum the bottom and side vents, the keyboard, the ports, and any other openings.

To ensure the safety of this method, the vacuum cleaner’s pressure must be moderate, not excessive. This is because the laptop is susceptible to damage due to its sensitive nature.

Additionally, you can vacuum the inside of the laptop after completely opening it to eliminate ants. Only attempt this procedure if you are comfortable removing the laptop’s back and vacuuming the internal components such as the processor, RAM, and hard drive.

Compressed air can be used as an alternative. Naturally, the air pressure must be kept low enough to avoid damaging any critical components on the inside.

Take note that this method necessitates some knowledge of laptop disassembly. If you are unfamiliar with the process of opening and rearranging a laptop’s case, we recommend seeking professional assistance. 

3. Maintaining a Properly Clean Laptop

Cleaning the interior and exterior of your laptop is one of the most effective methods of removing ants. It’s an easy job.

To begin, thoroughly clean the exterior of your laptop with a wipe to remove any food stains. Begin with the screen of your laptop and work your way down to the keyboard, touchpad, and the area beneath the laptop. Additionally, you can spray the wipe with rubbing alcohol to kill the ants. I recommend utilizing a unique wipe for each section.

Once the exterior has been cleaned, open the laptop and begin vacuuming the interior. Vacuum thoroughly each component, paying particular attention to vents, fans, ports, and other openings. However, exercise caution when using the vacuum cleaner to avoid damaging your laptop.

Alternatively, you can use compressed air to clear your laptop of dust and ants. The air pressure must be kept low to avoid causing damage to internal components. For the simple reason that they are extremely delicate.

Please keep in mind that this method necessitates the complete opening of the laptop. However, if you are unfamiliar with laptop components, it is recommended that you seek professional assistance. 

4. Utilize a Water Moat

The creation of a water moat is an intriguing method of ant control. The objective is to scare the ants away, which is accomplished by isolating them. Additionally, this method is free.

To begin, fill a large bowl or container nearly to the brim with water. After that, using cups or a bowl, create a platform in the container’s center. Whatever material you use to construct the platform, make sure it is sufficiently heavy to avoid floating. Additionally, it should be stable, not tipping or breaking.

Following that, carefully position your laptop onto the platform. Once again, ensure that the platform is stable and that your laptop will not tip over. Then you must use a wooden stick, spoon, pencil, or a thin piece of cardboard as an escape route for the ants. Now, shut down the laptop and leave it alone for the duration of the night.

This method is effective because an ant’s natural defense mechanism is to seek cover whenever it is above water. As a result, when they see the setup, they will immediately relocate.

Regrettably, this strategy was not always successful. While many were taken aback by the results, others deemed the method ineffective. Therefore, exercise caution when attempting to use this technique.

5. Utilizing an ant bait 

Ant baiting is a common and effective method of removing ants from your laptop. It’s a well-known fact that ants enjoy sweets and sugary foods. Thus, you can create a bait using borax and something sweet, such as sugar or honey. Ants will be out foraging for food in no time, and they will fall into your trap.

Additionally, you can enhance the effectiveness of your bait trap by adding your own insecticide. The solution will begin to build up gas inside their bodies, which will act as an accelerant for their demise.

Furthermore, leaving the ant bait solution near your laptop at night is recommended, as ants are nocturnal, ” which means they are most active at night. Likewise, use a more potent solution, such as Terro T300B Liquid Ant Killer.

While this method is effective, it will not eradicate all ants from your laptop. The only way to thoroughly clean your laptop is to open it and clean it.

6. Consult a professional 

If none of the above methods work or you’re unwilling to take a risk, it’s best to visit a service center or repair shop. There, certified and professional technicians will open your laptop and completely eradicate the ants.

Carry your infested laptop in a suitable bag when visiting the service center to avoid ants emerging. While there will be a fee associated with this service, it will prevent you from losing your data and valuable laptop. 

 7. Sealing The Laptop

One of the most common methods for eradicating an ant infestation in your laptop is to place it in a plastic bag. Place your laptop inside a plastic bag and seal it with an electric bag sealer to remove any air. This will deprive the ants of oxygen and cause them to rip open the plastic bag, ejecting the eggs and larvae with it.

However, there is a possibility that the colony will simply perish inside your laptop. And, while this may appear to be another desirable outcome, any eggs contained within your laptop could hatch at any time, causing the same havoc as the previous colony.

To make this method work, you must open your laptop and thoroughly clean it to remove any ant eggs that may pose a threat of establishing a new ant colony.

8. Overheating Your Laptop

For the majority of living things, humans and pets alike, the heat becomes unbearable. Any high-end software or game that you run on your laptop will cause it to overheat. Excess heat will eventually drive the ant colony away from your laptop. While some recommend placing your laptop in direct sunlight to speed up the process, this is not a good idea because direct sunlight can damage your laptop!

Another method of heating up your laptop is to cover all of the exhausts on your laptop with a thick cloth or towel for a few minutes. This increases the internal temperature of your laptop, making it uninhabitable for the ants. The heat will then drive the ant colony from your laptop.

As with the water moat method, caution is required! It is not a good idea to allow your machine to overheat for an extended period of time. You should only heat it to the point where the ants flee; once they do, return your laptop to room temperature immediately, as overheating can be harmful.

Symptoms of an Ant Infestation Within Your Laptop

1. Ants scurrying around the perimeter of your laptop

A sudden appearance of ants on your laptop, especially if the table is clean and you weren’t aware they were there. Small ants may gain access to the laptop through the keyboard or ventilation holes on the sides and crawl onto the keyboard or the screen.

They will materialize from nowhere and crawl onto your laptop’s screen as well. Additionally, ants will nest in the joints and base of your laptop.

Even if you crush them while working on them, they keep appearing. If you see more than two ants in a 5-minute period, this is a strong indication that your laptop is infested with ants.

2. Unpleasant smell emanating from your laptop

Additionally, if your laptop has been infested by ants, you may smell a foul odour emanating from it. When the laptop overheats, it kills some ants, and their decomposing bodies emit an odd odour. If this smell is familiar to you, you should check to see if your laptop is infested with ants. 

3. Keyboard Ceases To Operate

Ants will prevent the laptop’s keyboard buttons from reaching the lower side when the infestation is severe, causing commands to be sent as you type. This means that if a keyboard contains a large number of ants beneath a letter or function key, the operation may fail.

As you type, you’ll notice that you’ll need to press harder on the keyboards. In exceptional cases, the keyboard may become completely inoperable.

Conclusion

You can expect ants to move into your laptop when there are food particles that have fallen over while you were snacking during a movie marathon. Alternatively, a few splatters of soda on your laptop could be to blame for the problem. As a result, it’s best to avoid eating or drinking anything near your laptop at all times.

Make sure to remove any food debris that falls onto the laptop if you’re snacking while using it. To avoid having to deal with ants again, take the above precautions before they become an issue.

The aforementioned tips have been shown to be effective for the majority of users, if not all. However, if the problem doesn’t go away, it’s best to get help from a professional.

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