If you’re working on your laptop and suddenly see an ant crawling across the screen, don’t panic! So, what to do if ants are in your laptop? There are a few things you can do to get rid of the ant and prevent future ants from getting into your laptop.
First, try to gently brush the ant off of the laptop with a piece of paper. If that doesn’t work, you can use a can of compressed air to blow the ant away.
Signs Of Ant In My Laptop
The first thing you need to be on alert about is the sign of ants living in your laptop or computer. It could happen that you see a few ants around your laptop, but does that indicate an ant infestation? It could be. You can never be too sure or too careful.
The most obvious sign is spotting a bunch of ants around your laptop, screen, or desk where you keep the laptop or charger frequently. This happens because they smell pheromones or other ants around your laptop and rush to it to find them.
Another sign could be ant feces around the laptop. As it happens, ants living inside the laptop throw out their feces which comes out of the laptop vent, and you will find it lying around.
Do Ants Harm Your Laptop?
Yes, ants can cause damage to your laptop, but what kind of damage can ants inflict? They have the ability to damage and destroy the laptop’s physical components.
If you discover that your system is acting strangely and ineffectively, and you’ve seen ants near your laptop, it’s time to see if it’s infested with ants.
The initial giveaway of an ant infestation is decreased performance and unusual system behavior, with higher temperatures in the laptop being the primary cause.
Occasional abrupt system restarts can also indicate an issue with your laptop’s electrical contacts, which could be linked to a large number of ants inside laptop. Be sure to act swiftly if you spot ants around your laptop.
Don’t wait for things to get out of hand before acting; else, it will be too late. If ants cause internal damage to your laptop, repairing it can be highly costly, if not impossible.
Because all of your data can be permanently erased, this is not a problem that can be put off until tomorrow.
Why do ants get into the laptop?
In most cases, ants are attracted to leftover food crumbs in your home that we leave around our laptops. It’s also possible that ants are drawn to the laptop’s magnetic field and heat, but this has yet to be verified.
Most of us consume snacks and munchies while watching movies, working, or playing games on our laptops. These can spill over your laptop, and some can even get inside of it.
Ants may detect food even within your laptop, so try to avoid eating right above it to avoid ant infestations in the future.
How To get rid of ants in laptop?
The most important thing to do before asking the question of what to do if ants are in your laptop is to remain calm and have patience.
Understandably, the thought of ants inside the laptop or ants in laptop keyboard could make you panic, but if you panic, you might end up doing something that would worsen the situation.
So I need you to take a deep breath before you proceed further on how to get ants out of laptop.
A few things you can do to handle the situation are:
Disposing of the ants
Shaking your laptop is the simplest technique to get rid of ants. These actions should startle the ants, and at least some of them will emerge to investigate the situation.
That should help you get rid of at least some of your ant problems. This method, however, is insufficient because you can never be certain that all ants have been expelled from the interior of your laptop. Some additional actions are required.
Vacuum properly
Vacuuming ants are incredibly effective because all vacuumed ants die in the end. However, you can’t vacuum ants inside the laptop without opening it completely.
You can try vacuuming the vents on the sides or bottom, but you must be very careful when vacuuming over components like RAM, CPU, or GPU if you open your laptop.
Also, don’t turn the vacuum cleaner’s pressure up too much; keeping it at a moderate level is sufficient. Everything within the laptop is quite delicate, so take special care not to harm anything.
Keeping Your Laptop Clean
The only way to know for sure if your laptop is free of ants is to open it and clean it. As previously said, computers are quite fragile, and there are several parts and connectors that must be handled with care.
Something can easily be ripped or broken. If you prefer to do it yourself, you should watch a few YouTube tutorials to learn how to open and clean your laptop, or else it is highly recommended to take the laptop to a professional.
Construct a water moat
Making a water moat is an unusual way to get rid of ants. According to this method, the goal is to scare the ants away, which will be accomplished by isolating them. This method also does not necessitate the purchase of anything.
Fill a big dish or container with water almost to the top. Then, using cups or a bowl, make a platform in the center of the container.
Make sure that whatever you use to build the platform is hefty enough to prevent it from floating. It should also be stable, not falling over or breaking.
Take your laptop and carefully lay it on the platform after that. Ensure that the platform is stable and that your laptop will not tip over.
Then use a wooden stick, spoon, pencil, or a thin piece of cardboard as an escape route for the ants to get away from the laptop. Now put the laptop away for the night.
This strategy works because an ant’s natural defense is to run for cover whenever it is above water. As a result, they will instantly migrate when they observe the setup.
Unfortunately, this strategy did not always produce beneficial outcomes. While many people were left amazed by the outcomes, others believed the procedure was unsuccessful. As a result, exercise caution when attempting this procedure.
Ant Bait in Close Proximity to the Laptop
Borax bait can be made by mixing it with anything sweet, like sugar or honey. Ants will come out to forage for food and water at some point, and they will come upon your trap.
Stronger insecticide baits can also be used. Because the combination of borax and pesticide is strong enough to kill an ant, this bait can assist you in fixing this issue, but bait alone can be insufficient till you decide to open and clean your laptop.
Seeking Professional Assistance
If you are unfamiliar with DIY methods or simply don’t want to take a chance, don’t attempt to tackle this problem on your own. Calling a professional to open your laptop and clean it of ants and their eggs is the best solution for you.
When compared to the prospect of a laptop being completely destroyed in the hands of an untrained individual, paying a few bucks to an expert is nothing. It’s sometimes just smarter and better to stay out of it and recognize that you can’t accomplish everything on your own.
How To Prevent ants from entering the laptop?
All of us have made the mistake of eating around our laptops because we think that it won’t amount to anything. To begin with, we could be more careful in order to prevent ants from entering laptops.
Other than that, make sure to keep your laptop clean by wiping it from time to time and using a brush to clean in between the buttons on the keyboard as well.
Summary
It might be difficult to comprehend a situation wherein ants infest your place and laptop, but it is not the end of the world. The situation can be managed by carefully following the tips I have mentioned.
However, if you feel like it is not something you can handle or you do not know what you are doing, you need to step up and seek the help of a professional.