My wife is reluctant to get a movie theater style popcorn machine because she is afraid it will attract ants.

Has any one encountered and ant problem with there popcorn machine?

And how often do you clean the machine, after each use, once a week?

Clean up spills and stray popcorn escapees and you should have no problem. :)
I would figure a greater risk for ants would be foodstuff spillage in the theater seating area. Popcorn machines do not attract ants any more than other foodstuff crumbs. I would think even "less" than sweeter foods, but, I could be wrong.

Your popcorn machine will draw about as many ants as your stove or pantry would, I have had mine for years and never had a problem, I clean mine every time I use it.

Now as far as drawing unwanted neighbors over from the smell of the popcorn cooking, thats another story ;)

I have had my popcorn machine for nearly a year now and have never had an ant problem with it. At times I have been known to leave popcorn in it for upwards of a week.

I have never heard of a person having an ant problem as the result of owning a popcorn machine. Ants are more attracted to sugary things like syrup, etc. I think if you have ants it's because you have an environment conducive to their colonies- damp, dark cool, etc. When my family moved into our current house we had a small ant problem and were able to get rid of them in two days using an inexpensive homemade remedy of sugar water and Borax:

http://www.ecologycenter.org/factsheets/ant_control.html

So if it does become a problem, you now have an easy way to get rid of them.

As for cleaning, you can wipe the machine with a slightly damp cloth after each use and do a more thorough cleaning when the machine needs it. Cleaning has been addressed on this forum a few times.

never a problem here!

My wife is reluctant to get a movie theater style popcorn machine because she is afraid it will attract ants.

Has any one encountered and ant problem with there popcorn machine?

And how often do you clean the machine, after each use, once a week?

I have constant ant problems in my house and have never had any ants in my popcorn popper no matter how long I leave the popcorn in the machine.

Perhaps the ants are trying to tell me something about the healthiness of popcorn and coconut oil...

Perhaps the ants are trying to tell me something about the healthiness of popcorn and coconut oil...

That is what she is worried about the the oil used to make the popcorn.

In the past we did have a problem with ants and candy. But that problem seams to be solved

Since I use the pre-measured popcorn packet with oil, there is no chance that any ants can get access to the popcorn or the oil used to make it.

Since no one else has mentioned it yet (I guess I am the only one that lives out in the country) I have not had any problems with mice and popcorn either (this should REALLY put her at ease!). We had a problem with mice in our basement last year but they never touched the popcorn machine. They did get into the box holding the popcorn and chewed through one of the packets, but they did not eat much and only chewed up the single packet.

Ants? Never a problem. Keeping my kids from eating it all? Big problem!

Cheers,
Jay

lol at jimhays comment