Hello!

I went to put our breakfast dishes in our dishwasher this morning and discovered ants crawling all along the inside. We only ran the dishwasher probably two days ago so it’s only half full at the moment and we have never had this happen before.

Has anyone else had ants in their dishwasher and what do you do to get rid of them and keep them away?


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  • Vinegar in the dishwasher worked very well for me. Otherwise best ant killer product around is Amdro which can be purchased from Bunnings. Expensive but it really works unlike many other ant killer products. The ants carry the Amdro granules back to their nest and it kills them at their source.


  • I like the semolina tip ! I agree that ants like any crumbs and food rests, so I would make sure to pre rinse the dishes and undo them from access of food rests. Ants also don’t like vinegar and peppermint oil. After you did a dish washer circle I would try to apply some peppermint oil around the sealants your dishwasher.


  • I agree with mom93821,
    also seeing how you do not use your dishwasher every night you may like to leave a small amount of semolina in a container between washes. The ants carry the semolina back to the nest and feed the Queen and hopefully themselves, they can not digest the semolina and eventually die.
    Best of luck.:-)


  • yeah check the seals. they might have eaten their way in. plus when it is going to rain, they get in everywhere.


  • Where are they getting in? If you can work this out then try to poison the trail/entry point. Maybe talk to staff at a local hardware store. If all else fails, call a pest controller?


  • Also make sure their is no excess food debris on the plates and other items. Ants love crumbs and debris!


  • Never ever had ants in the dishwasher. Maybe check the seals and also give the dishwasher a good clean? May help?


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