Why Are Ants Attracted to My Car?

Because they have smelled the presence of food crumbs in your car.

You could have dropped pieces of food in the car as you were snacking. The kids could have dropped food on the floor of the car or the seats as you left for a picnic. Or you could have forgotten a half-eaten pizza on your dashboard. There are several ways through which food finds its way into your car. At times, ants are attracted to grease, which is common in the moving parts of your car.

Ideally, ants will leave your car as soon as they have exhausted the food sources in there. That is a temporary invasion. At other times, they get in and find that the food source is reliable, so they just stay on. In pest control circles, that is known as a permanent invasion. The only way to make sure that these ant infestations don’t become a recurrent problem is simply to keep your car clean and free of food crumbs at all times. Rarely will an ant infestation in your car require an intervention; common sense and hygiene will do the trick.

Not all ants invade cars; most ant species tend to stay out of the way, either burrowing beneath tree logs or nestling away in their colonies or mounds. Those that invade cars include pharaoh ants, thief ants, pavement ants, and carpenter ants.