Are Ants Attracted to Urine?

Most ant varieties are attracted to urine as it is a rich source of glucose, mineral salts, nitrogenous wastes, and even protein.

The proportion of these components in the urine can vary often from person to person, which influences how much ants will be attracted to their urine. Medications and underlying illnesses can change the urine composition of an individual and make it more attractive to the ants.

For example, ants are generally found to be more attracted to urine samples when they contain an abundant amount of glucose.

There are even several detailed accounts of identifying diabetes in people after seeing ants unusually highly attracted to their urine.  The disease was named “honeyed urine” then.

Why are Ants Attracted to Urine?

Urine is a rich reservoir of multiple kinds of nutrients ranging from mineral salts to nitrogenous wastes.

The majority of urine is just water. However, it also contains a wide range of minerals like potassium, sodium, chloride, sulfate, and phosphate. There are also always traces of sugar (glucose) present in the urine.

All these nutrients as a whole make urine a lucrative and nutritious food option for ants.

Hence, it is quite common to find ants gravitating toward the toilet or pools of urine. You can even find them lining up in your laundry basket of dirty underwear owing to the presence of sweat and traces of urine.

Related Article: Are Ants Mammals?

Can Ants’ Attraction to Urine Reveal Diabetes?

Since ancient times, ants have been used to diagnose high sugar-level issues associated with diabetes. Diabetes is actually one of the oldest diseases known to mankind.

The word ‘diabetes’ was actually invented by a Greek physician named Appollonius at around 200 BC.

So yes, ants are often found to get attracted to the urine of diabetic patients. When the glucose levels in the body rise above the normal level, the excess amount of sugar starts getting excreted through the urine.

However, the presence of sugar in the urine or the fact that ants are attracted towards your urine is not always an indicator of diabetes.

The presence of excess sugar in the urine can happen during the use of certain medications or due to some other health issue like benign glycosuria.

If you are on some medication or concerned about the issue, you can consult with your doctor about this.

Related Article: Are Ants Attracted to Coffee?

Why are Ants Attracted to the Children’s Urine?

Ants can get naturally attracted to urine for a variety of reasons. Ants in the urine are not always an indicator of high blood sugar.

Consuming too much sugary food can sometimes result in discharging the excess sugar via the urine, which may cause ants to be attracted to children’s urine.

Furthermore, it may not be the case that they’re specifically attracted to children’s urine. Children usually have less control of their bladders. So, there’s often more spills and mistakes involving children’s urine.

Are Ants Attracted to Toilets?

Ants love being in moisture-rich places, so they are naturally attracted to the bathroom. Besides this, there are often plenty of food sources available to them in the bathroom.

Dirty sweat filled laundry, trash can items containing your saliva, sweat, or blood, sugary medicines in the closet, hair residues stuck in the drain, traces of urine in the toilet, and a variety of other factors can keep ants coming back in your bathroom.

Related Article: Are Ants Bugs?

Some tips to minimize their attraction to bathrooms, consider:

1. Avoid having dirty laundry stored for days in the bathroom.

Ants love to dwell on sweat so having dirty laundry in the bathroom is a big No-No. Make sure you keep them in a sealed bag and never leave them out in the open.

2. Make sure there are no leakage issues and no cracks in the walls.

Ants love moisture and if you have lots of ant trouble in the bathroom chances are high that you have loads of cracks in the walls along with water line and drainage issues. So, after you find the entry routes of these little insects you should seal them up properly. Replace the broken tiles and fix the pipelines.

Leakage issues in the bathroom provide ants with suitable hydration so it’s good to try to come up with ways to keep the bathroom well aerated and dry.

Always keep the drains clean to ensure that it’s not blocked by any fungal growth that may provide the ants with additional nutrition.

3. Use strongly scented items to keep ants away.

Ants have extremely sensitive sense of smell that are far more sophisticated and superior to that of humans.

They dislike being in places with strong scents as that affects their ability to pick up pheromone trails of other ants and presents a communication barrier for them.

So, it will be a great idea to regularly use ant repellant scents that are safe and family and pet friendly. This may include essential oils of peppermint, lavender, lemon, and other varieties.

You can put multiple of these oils in a spray bottle with water and use it on a weekly basis to spray all around the bathroom. You can also experiment with vinegar and pepper. But make sure you follow the instructions on the label and only use approved repellants in your area.

FAQ

Are ants attracted to pet urine?

Ants can be attracted to the urine of dogs and cats Like human urine, pet urine can also contain traces of sugar, nitrogenous wastes, and loads of mineral salts. Ants (like most other organisms) derive energy from glucose and hence love sugary food sources.

Nitrogenous wastes also provide them with suitable nutrition as it is produced as a by-product of protein breakdown.

You can buy urine test kits online to test your pet’s urine for excess sugar. If you want a more thorough check-up, contact a vet.

Are ants attracted to urine during pregnancy?

Yes, ants can be attracted to urine during pregnancy. During pregnancy, the glucose level in the urine can get naturally high and it may again go back to normal post-delivery.

A variety of medications are used during pregnancy which can further alter the urine composition, and hence there is a chance that ants can be more readily attracted to urine with traces of medications in it.

If you have any doubts, it is always a good idea to consult with the doctor and get checked regularly.

Conclusion

Even though the majority of urine is water, a small portion of urine is rich in mineral salts, nitrogenous wastes, and glucose. Hence, it is no surprise that ants will get attracted to such a lucrative food item. 

However, if you find ants getting attracted to urine on a regular basis and is something that is only recent, then it can be a good idea to get yourself checked for diabetes, just to be sure. The best way to keep ants away from the bathroom is by making sure that you keep your bathroom clean, well scented, and well aerated.