Autumn is officially here, and with it can come a lot of unwanted visitors to our homes. From mice and rats to spiders, all can start to look elsewhere for warmth and shelter.
Another group of creatures which can head inside over the winter is ants - and it is unlikely you'll have just one or two. During the autumn months, colonies can relocate to find food, moisture and protected sites where they can build their nests over the colder months of late autumn and winter.
The Kitchen Sink Rule
The kitchen is often one of the first places they appear, but experts say a simple 60-second habit before bed could help make your sink area less appealing. Glen Peskett, DIY expert and Company Director at Saxton Blades Multi Tools, has highlighted a simple preventative habit he calls "The Kitchen Sink Rule".
Glen explained: "This is the time of year when you can still see ants popping up around the home. They’re looking for food and water, and as the weather starts to cool down, they’ll also be looking for warmer places to shelter."
"The kitchen is an easy target because there’s usually a combination of moisture, food traces and plenty of places for them to hide. The sink area can be a bit of a hotspot, even when it looks clean."
How to follow the rule
The idea is simple: leave the sink area clean and dry before going to bed. Rather than adding another big cleaning job to the evening, Glen recommends taking around a minute to clear away anything that could provide ants with food, water or a reason to keep returning.
"It’s really just a simple end-of-day habit," he advised. "If you leave standing water, damp cloths or bits of food around the sink, you’re making it an easy place for ants to find what they need. Spending a minute before bed drying everything down and clearing away any residue means there’s much less there to attract them overnight."
Glen recommends making these quick checks part of your evening kitchen routine:
- Empty and dry the sink rather than leaving standing water overnight
- Avoid leaving dishes soaking in the sink until morning
- Run hot water down the plughole to help clear away food residue
- Wipe around the taps and sink edges where water can collect
- Move damp sponges and cloths away from the sink area
- Clear away food crumbs and spills from nearby worktops
- Make sure the area is dry before you finish in the kitchen
He added: "It doesn’t need to turn into a full deep clean every night. You’re just trying to take away the easy sources of moisture and food that might make the area attractive to ants."
Why the sink attracts ants
A kitchen sink can provide several things ants are looking for in one small area. Even tiny traces of food or sugary residue can be enough to attract them, while dripping taps, standing water and damp cloths provide a source of moisture.
Ants can also leave chemical scent trails as they move between their nest and a food or water source. If other ants follow the trail, what started as one or two visitors can quickly become a regular route into the kitchen.
Glen added: "If an ant finds a reliable source of food or water, it can leave a trail for others to follow. That’s why you might notice them appearing in the same place over and over again. Keeping the area clean and dry removes some of the things that can encourage them to keep coming back."
