Coming from a long day of work, waiting all day to use the hot tub, and finding ants in your hot tub cover isn’t fun. But, don’t worry. We got a solution for you.
Based on my own experience, from having 10 different hot tubs, I will tell you exactly how to get rid of ants in a hot tub. Let’s check it out.
Do Hot Tubs Attract Ants?
Yes, hot tubs attract ants. Ants usually look for 3 things: water, shelter, and food. Your hot tub has 2 of these things, and that makes the hot tub a perfect place for the ants.
But, that’s not all. Based on your maintenance, your hot tub could also offer food to the ants. If you eat inside of the hot tub and don’t clean the surrounding of your hot tub base after you are done, then that can attract ants. The solution to this? Don’t eat food in your hot tub. Or if you do, make sure to clean it after you are done.
A lot of people say that ants eat wood or foam, but that’s not true at all. However, they can use the wood or the foam to build nests in it, which is even worse. So, if you have a wood hot tub base, then that can also attract ants.
Related Read >>> How To Get Rid of Spiders in a Hot Tub?
Is It Dangerous To Have the Ants Around Or in The Hot Tub?
Overall, ants aren’t dangerous, at least to you. But, they can cause a lot of damage to your hot tub.
Ants Will Damage Your Hot Tub Cabinets
If you have ants, especially carpenters ants around your hot tub cabinet, then the cabinets are getting damaged as time passes by. Most of the ants will create holes around your cabinet. That will lead to your hot tub leaking. The repair could cost you a few hundred bucks.
Other Leaks
Except for creating holes in your hot tub cabinets, ants can also create holes in your air blower. They will chew into vinyl airlines and block your spa pump. I have seen this happening before. It will cost you a lot to repair this.
How to Get Rid of Ants in a Hot Tub?
Now that we learned why do hot tubs attract ants, and why is it important to get rid of them, let’s learn how to actually do it. You will have to drain the hot tub for this.
Inspect Your Hot Tub
Don’t try to remove the ants, yet. The first thing you want to do is to closely inspect the hot tub. Try to locate any ant infestation, holes, or gaps. The ants could be using those holes or gaps to enter your hot tub.
You need to check outside of the hot, and inside the hot tub. Ants make holes everywhere, but when it comes to hot tubs, most likely you will find a hole inside.
Use Insecticide
If you didn’t find any holes or leaks inside your hot tub, then move to step number 3 (ant baits). If you found holes, then you need to use insecticide. Most likely, the ants have created a “little home” inside these holes, and to get rid of ants you have to destroy their “little home”. To do that you need to use insecticide.
The insecticide comes in 3 different forms: spray, powder, and ant baits. All of these 3 will do a good job, the choice depends on you.
Spray Insecticide: If you decide to use the spray insecticide then you need to spray directly at the entrance of the holes you found. The spray will immediately remove the ants. Once you spray wait a few hours and check again, if there are still ants then re-do the process.
You can also check the product container to know the exact procedure for that product. There are three types of spray insecticide: outdoor, indoor, or both. Check the container so you don’t get the wrong one.
Dust Insecticide: If you decide to use the dust insecticide then you need to apply the dust/powder around the entry of the holes you found. The more ants the hole has the better. The ants that get in contact with dust insecticide will carry the powder, and poison the other ants, including themself.
Ant Baits: This is the most inexpensive way to get rid of ants. But, it will take a while until you fully get rid of ants using this method. Ant baits usually come with a container that is filled with sweets (that attracts the ants). The “sweets” are basically poison that kills the ants slowly. But, they don’t know that, duh!
And that’s the good thing about ant baits. If ants find food, they usually leave a trail behind or go directly to their colony to let them know they found food. Just leave the ant baits near the holes you found, and the more ants find the bait the better. You can also follow the ants while they go back to their colony, which will help you find their source.
You have to only use one of these three methods– if you use ant baits with dust or spray insecticide that will repeal the ants. If you want to use the ant baits with one of these two methods, then make sure to use a non-repellent insecticide.
Related Read >>> How To Get Rid of Flies in a Hot Tub?
Wait
Once you applied the insecticide, you have to wait. Make sure to keep your children away from the hot tub while this process is happening.
Related Read >>> How To Get Rid of Snakes in a Hot Tub?
How To Get Rid of Ants In Your Hot Tub Cover?
Having ants in your hot tub cover is different from having them around your hot tub. You can get rid of ants in your hot tub cover without having to drain and re-fill the hot tub (if you are lucky enough).
Wipe the Ants!
The very first thing you need to do is to wipe out the ants you just found in your hot tub cover. Take a cloth and wipe the ants and their eggs away.
Here’s what I do: I mix 9 parts of water with 1 part of bleach. I soak the cloth into the bleach solution I just made and start getting rid of the ants manually. You should clean the entire hot tub cover, even the surfaces where you don’t see ants or ant eggs.
Note: Using bleach in your hot tub isn’t recommended because it messes up your water chemistry. But, using bleach is better than any other cleaning solution. Plus, the bleach kills the ants, kills the nests, and gets rid of the smell. Once you are done fully with the process, it’s recommended to check your water chemistry.
Related Read >>> Can I use Salt Water in my Hot Tub?
Remove The Ants Manually
If you had ants in your hot tub cover, most likely you will have them in your water too. Most of these ants will be dead, but you don’t want to share the hot tub with them, do you? You can use a hand skimmer, or brush to manually get rid of those ants.
Related Read >>> How To Fix a Frozen Hot Tub?
Change Your Filters
Some of the ants you missed are in your hot tub filters. It’s recommended to completely change your hot tubs with new ones. But, if you don’t want to do that, then you should clean your hot tub filters.
Clean The Hot Tub Cover
You can’t get rid of all the ants manually, you must have missed some. Most likely there will be more ants inside your hot tub cover. That means you have to fully clean the hot tub cover.
Take the cover off the hot tub, and use bleach to clean it. You can use a soft brush to clean the inside parts of the cover. Once you are done, rinse it with water. You don’t want to have more bleach in your hot tub.
Check the hot tub cover to see if the ants have made any holes in it. If you find holes, you need to patch them before you re-use that cover again. If the holes are large, you will have to buy a new hot tub cover. Hot tub covers with large holes won’t protect your hot tub.
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTbUBE1XCnM”]
How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants in a Hot Tub
Carpenter ants are by far the worst kind of ants you can have in your hot tub. But, there are a few things you can do to prevent and get rid of them.
Carpenter ants are attracted to your hot tub wood parts. If you have rotted wood, it’s recommended to change them, or at least cover the wood to prevent the carpenter ants to damage it.
If you have your hot tub outside, then make sure to not have any of the hot tub wood parts wet, that can attract the carpenter ants. If that doesn’t work, then use our method (the one above) to get rid of carpenter ants with insecticide.
Related Read >>> Do Hot Tubs Attract Frogs?
How To Keep Ants Away From Your Hot Tub?
After you get rid of ants, you need to know how to keep them away from your hot tub. Doing some simple things can make your life easier.
Use Ants Bait
Even if you got rid of all the ants, it’s still a good idea to keep ant baits near your hot tub. The ant baits do no harm to you. They will passively help you keep ants away– once you place the ant bait you don’t have to touch them anymore.
Place them near places you think ants will be. It will slowly kill all the ants around your hot that you might have missed. Plus, ant baits don’t cost a lot of money.
Don’t Eat Inside The Hot Tub
I get it– hot tubs are used to relax your body, and sometimes eating inside a hot tub relaxes you even more. I have done it too. But, I don’t recommend doing that often.
When you drink and eat inside the hot tub be sure to clean after you are done. Don’t clean just the hot tub, clean the surroundings too.
Check For Any Leaks
Ants use holes in your hot tub to get inside and outside. Inspect your hot tub and see if you have any holes. If you do, make sure to seal them.