Having problems with ant infestation is a very common problem in most households. They may get all over your food or be a menace in general. There are many ways to get rid of ants, but today we are going to talk about if lysol is able to repel ants.
Does lysol repel ants?
Lysol does repel ants. They not only repel ants, but lysol is also harmful to them and works very well to eliminate them. It is also possible to terminate ant eggs with them. However, scented lysol will work better to repel ants than unscented lysol.
Table of Contents
But does it terminate all types of ants? Let’s get to know them.
Sugar ants:
They need to be in proper contact with lysol before anything starts to happen. Ants are animals which are required to always stay moist, but what lysol does to them is the opposite to that.
Lysol absorbs the water from the bodies of the ants and dries them out. The contents which are inside the lysol are responsible to choke and also block out the small breathing holes which are located on the side of the ants known as spiracles.
The chemical in lysol which is responsible for most of this is Pyrethrin which is a natural insecticide.
This compound is found from Chrysanthemum flowers based in Asia, Northeast Europe and Eastern Africa. It is also a common compound used to terminate mosquitoes and other insects.
This compound is responsible for affecting the nervous system in ants causing harmful toxic effects.
Coming into contact with this compound would mean that the ants would almost immediately get paralzyed. This is one of the main reasons why lysol is so effective.
When sprayed with lysol thoroughly, there is a good chance that the ants may get drowned in the lysol too instead of getting parayzed or just having their spiracles blocked. This means that they are also ingesting the lysol.
Lysol contains compounds like hydrogen peroxide, benzalkonium chloride, potassium hydroxide, and isopropyl alcohol, which are all lethal to ants but only if they are ingesting it.
Red ants:
Although red ants usually tuck themselves under soil or in grassy outdoor areas, there are times you will spot a couple in your home.
There are not many major differences between sugar ants and red ants other than the fact that red ants are much more aggressive than the sugar ants. They also sting much more.
Just like sugar ants, red ants also have pores down the sides of their body known as spiracles.
Upon red ants coming into contact with lysol, they cause similar reactions as sugar ants. The spiracles get clogged up and red ants get choked having problems with their respiratory system.
Red ants are just as likely as sugar ants to be drawn towards lysol, which as mentioned earlier includes compounds like hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl alcohol.
Those compounds are also harmful for red ants and would cause termination if ingested by the red ants.
Just like sugar ants, red ants also require moisture, which the lysol ends up absorbing causing the red ants to dry up and terminate them.
Do lysol terminate ants?
Indeed, lysol does terminate ants. It is actually very effective in doing so, you just need to make sure you applied your lysol properly. The ants need to be properly in contact with the lysol to make sure they are terminated.
As mentioned before, it is the pyrethrin which is lethal to the ants. As a common and natural pesticide, it also works on ants just as well as on anything else.
After applying the lysol on your designated spot, it would only take a couple of seconds before the lysol does its work and the ants are terminated.
However, it has to be liquid lysol if you want it to work on ants. Using lysol wipes will not be fit for something like the elimination of ants.
As it is required to soak the ants in lysol, using lysol wipes is not an effective method for it, instead using sprays would do a much better job.
How long does lysol take to terminate ants?
It is hard to state an average time for how long it would take to terminate ants, but when sprayed with this liquid, it is visually obvious that they immediately start to struggle. Which is probably due to the fact that they cannot breathe properly during that time and are getting dried out.
After a few seconds they would not be moving anymore, indicating that they got their nervous system affected by the natural pesticide compound known as pyrethrin.
Within a minute, lysol with 60-70% alcohol is most likely to have terminated the ants. This will differ from product to product, as not all of them have the same exact formulae used for them.
It is safe to assume that within a couple of minutes, the ants will be terminated due to the gradual breakdowns of different chemicals used in the lysol.
How to repel ants with lysol?
Before repelling the ants with lusol you need to know how to use it properly. Let’s find out the process.
Putting away pet bowls, eating utensils and food:
Before you actually start using the lysol on anything, it is important to put away things like pet bowls, utensils and food.
Having this like these around while applying the lysol means that they would likely catch it too, thus being harmful to you or your pet. This step is an easy way to avoid it.
Cleaning of trash, residual food:
When you are going to be luring in ants to use lysol on them, it is going to be easier if you have your home free of trash and residual food. Doing this would prevent the ants from being too scattered across the house.
Place sugar or something sweet as bait:
This next step involves baiting out the ants and hoarding them in a specific location. Ants are naturally attracted towards sweet sort of food. This will make sure that a huge portion of the ants in your home would now be inside your radius of extermination.
Applying the lysol:
Once they are all in a single spot, pour or spray them with lysol. Make sure that the ants are all soaking wet from the lysol for maximum effectiveness.
Cleaning up the ants:
Once you are done with applying the lysol on the ants, wait for them to be terminated. After that, feel free to now clean up the area filled with ants and ideally also clean up the floor which is soaked in lysol.
Repeat process:
Once you are done with all of the steps above, make sure to repeat them in order to get rid of as many ants as possible. Once you are done with the whole process, it will keep your home away from ant infestation for a very long time.
What other smells will keep ants away?
There are plenty of smells that ants cannot tolerate or which repel them other than lysol, some of which are pretty unexpected. We will be talking about a few of them.
Vinegar:
Ants do not specifically dislike the smell of vinegar, but what it does is that it erases the trails of ants which are known as pheromone trails. This prevents the ants from navigating to their destined location and communicating with each other.
Coffee grounds:
Coffee grounds may be a very compelling smell to us, but it is quite the opposite for ants. The reason is that coffee grounds are sources to various sorts of minerals for example magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus.
Smells of these are very off-putting for ants thus, they stay away from coffee grounds.
Peppermint oil:
Just like vinegar and coffee grounds, the scent of peppermint oil is another menace for ants. But it is not the only reason for repelling ants.
Peppermint oil has two compounds called the terpene and menthol, these two are natural insect repellents generated by plants which is what repels the ants.
Chalk:
Ants do not like the scent of chalk as it gets in the way of their pheromone trails, hence they feel discouraged to cross through trails drawn with chalk.
Final Thoughts
Therefore, lysol does repel ants whilst also being very good and effective at it. It is very harmful for ants and will also get rid of their eggs with them. Applying unscented lysol in order to repel ants is much less efficient than using scented lysol.