This is a cost effective, more convenient improvement of my previous fly killers.
Two squirt of food grade liquid soap, such as Dr Bronners, or just any soap/detergent. Mix with 40% or less alcohol. Vodka is 40%. You can find rice wine approaching that at a lower cost. Or you can just dilute with water cheap first-aid rubbing alcohol at 70% or 90% to 40%.
Ideally you need a spray bottle that can deliver a strong narrow conic stream at one to two feet. But most bottles will do.
Previously, a little soapy solution can stop flies flying, or they have to stop nearby. Diluted alcohol can do the same. So combining them is a good thing.
Previously, I find that only 70% alcohol can kill flies almost instantly. They are struggling a bit but cannot move far and will die soon. Diluted alcohol can also kill but seems to be slower. Adding soapy solution seems to increase the kill speed. I tried 40% but I think lower concentration will be sure kill too.
I woke up in a heat wave and killed 4 flies at the patio door.
Showing posts with label pest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pest. Show all posts
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Food grade instant insect killers for flying and crawling bugs
It is well known that diluted soapy solution kills ants instantly. It works well for other crawling insects. Spiders can't run away when it is slippery all around them. When bugs can't escape, it's up to you how to kill them. There are organic liquid soaps too so you can use food grade insecticides around food, pets and people.
I would think soapy solution works well for flying insects. But no. The first hit will slow down a fly a bit. You need a few more hits to ground them. They can recover once dried. So you have to kill them using other chemicals. 70% Rubbing alcohol is very effective. Just a drop or two you can see their body twisted into a mess in seconds. So a food grade killer will be Vodka. It doesn't smell like vinegar. It's easier to find than citric acid powders. No residue. It is actually a cleaner. It is also not new, just that I haven't come across it because I wasn't looking. I haven't yet find out how much dilution is still effective.
So for flying insects, I now use rubbing alcohol while not in the kitchen and Vodka otherwise. Also for spiders. Just one hit and you can kill them.
I used to spray lawn insect killers. Brain washed. There are no insects that eat grass that much. And if there are, they are most welcomed since I do not need to mow the grass that often. Ants don't live on lawns as long as it is regularly watered. They also don't get across lawns if there are no reasons to. Every year ants from the hills and neighbours all come to feast on the palm fruits/seeds. I don't bother anymore as I don't need them. If I remember I will cut and discard the fruits/seeds first.
They also come for the fruit trees. But my fruits are so big and the tree so tall I don't eat all of them. Some rots and some birds got them. Ants really don't consume that much in comparison. I don't even notice.
Fill cracks and voids with whatever you got, sand, lime, soil, glue, proper repair compounds. It is much more sensible than spraying. Anything that can be sprayed outdoors and claimed to be remaining effective outdoors for months are biochemical warfare that I won't touch. Even worse if the claims are indoors where I live.
I would think soapy solution works well for flying insects. But no. The first hit will slow down a fly a bit. You need a few more hits to ground them. They can recover once dried. So you have to kill them using other chemicals. 70% Rubbing alcohol is very effective. Just a drop or two you can see their body twisted into a mess in seconds. So a food grade killer will be Vodka. It doesn't smell like vinegar. It's easier to find than citric acid powders. No residue. It is actually a cleaner. It is also not new, just that I haven't come across it because I wasn't looking. I haven't yet find out how much dilution is still effective.
So for flying insects, I now use rubbing alcohol while not in the kitchen and Vodka otherwise. Also for spiders. Just one hit and you can kill them.
I used to spray lawn insect killers. Brain washed. There are no insects that eat grass that much. And if there are, they are most welcomed since I do not need to mow the grass that often. Ants don't live on lawns as long as it is regularly watered. They also don't get across lawns if there are no reasons to. Every year ants from the hills and neighbours all come to feast on the palm fruits/seeds. I don't bother anymore as I don't need them. If I remember I will cut and discard the fruits/seeds first.
They also come for the fruit trees. But my fruits are so big and the tree so tall I don't eat all of them. Some rots and some birds got them. Ants really don't consume that much in comparison. I don't even notice.
Fill cracks and voids with whatever you got, sand, lime, soil, glue, proper repair compounds. It is much more sensible than spraying. Anything that can be sprayed outdoors and claimed to be remaining effective outdoors for months are biochemical warfare that I won't touch. Even worse if the claims are indoors where I live.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Two step bug killing using organic ingredients
I had great success using soapy solutions to kill ants and a lot of other bugs. But I noticed that flies return to life after they are dried. And that big spiders are very much disturbed but not dying.
Someone suggested to add vinegar to the soapy solution to kill flies. It worked. But unfortunately I used to aim at flies like AAA. So the whole area smell of vinegar after the battle.
It dawned on me that I can use two steps to get the best of both worlds. The bugs aren't going away after the first.
The first step is to immobilize the bugs using soapy solution. I use Dr Bronner's organic liquid soap. 1 tsp to 1 cup of water. I just have it and it should be safer than dish washing liquid. You can use a more concentrated solution for big spiders, and less concentrated for ants.
The ants still dies. Flies will be grounded and struggling.
For step two, you can put a few drops of anything strong to kill the bugs. A few drops of 70% rubbing alcohol will kill flies in seconds. Alcohol are safe on most surfaces and skin. You can also use vinegar, hydrogen hydroxide, or citric acid.
Someone suggested to add vinegar to the soapy solution to kill flies. It worked. But unfortunately I used to aim at flies like AAA. So the whole area smell of vinegar after the battle.
It dawned on me that I can use two steps to get the best of both worlds. The bugs aren't going away after the first.
The first step is to immobilize the bugs using soapy solution. I use Dr Bronner's organic liquid soap. 1 tsp to 1 cup of water. I just have it and it should be safer than dish washing liquid. You can use a more concentrated solution for big spiders, and less concentrated for ants.
The ants still dies. Flies will be grounded and struggling.
For step two, you can put a few drops of anything strong to kill the bugs. A few drops of 70% rubbing alcohol will kill flies in seconds. Alcohol are safe on most surfaces and skin. You can also use vinegar, hydrogen hydroxide, or citric acid.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Two step approach organic insect killer spray
Soapy solutions kill ants instantly. It also immobilize larger insects but normally don't kill them.
Someone adds vinegar to diluted washing liquid to kill flies. It worked.
Flies are a different matter. If you don't want to wait until they rest on somewhere close, you have to spray a lot in the air and everywhere just to stop one fly. Even diluted washing liquid isn't that safe.
So for flies the first step is a wide angle spray bottle filled with diluted organic soap. Soap from soap nuts are certainly organic - food grade. I think Bronner's soap is organic too, at least the ingredients are. I just have some for the bathroom and they are good to be diluted.
The organic soap still stop ants at the spot and kills them. Flies have to find a place to land if you hit them. Water may work to some extend but you can see that they have difficult walking in the soap.
When the fly is grounded, you can move in for the kill - with drops of vinegar, lime or lemon juice. Totally organic. Even better, I have citric acid crystals. So I can make very concentrated lemon juice if some insects need that. Dry crystals can be stored much longer than juices.
The two steps also work for spiders. First they are caught in their own net with the soapy solution. Then the acid kills them.
I have no cockroaches to test. But I guess you have to have a very sticky solution to trap them, and a very strong acid to penetrate their defence. I got both.
Someone adds vinegar to diluted washing liquid to kill flies. It worked.
Flies are a different matter. If you don't want to wait until they rest on somewhere close, you have to spray a lot in the air and everywhere just to stop one fly. Even diluted washing liquid isn't that safe.
So for flies the first step is a wide angle spray bottle filled with diluted organic soap. Soap from soap nuts are certainly organic - food grade. I think Bronner's soap is organic too, at least the ingredients are. I just have some for the bathroom and they are good to be diluted.
The organic soap still stop ants at the spot and kills them. Flies have to find a place to land if you hit them. Water may work to some extend but you can see that they have difficult walking in the soap.
When the fly is grounded, you can move in for the kill - with drops of vinegar, lime or lemon juice. Totally organic. Even better, I have citric acid crystals. So I can make very concentrated lemon juice if some insects need that. Dry crystals can be stored much longer than juices.
The two steps also work for spiders. First they are caught in their own net with the soapy solution. Then the acid kills them.
I have no cockroaches to test. But I guess you have to have a very sticky solution to trap them, and a very strong acid to penetrate their defence. I got both.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Ant blocking materials for house repair
Surprisingly, I have been battling ants most of summer, everyday. It wasn't that bad at all. In the past, I filled a few big holes so the ants cannot come in the house. Now since I have the ammunition, I can't tolerate ants crawling into the space between the house and me, even though they may not bother me at all.
Mostly I use my lime sand mix for filling big holes and for the underside of things, typically around the damp proof course. Lime shrinks a lot so sometimes one application will still leave holes when dry. Also there may be tiny holes and spaces in between applications.
The other main thing is wood stabilizing glue, because it is cheap. Typically around gaps on vertical wood frames and fences, and any holes on the ground. It is quick and easy, but cannot apply on the underside of things and don't stay long that way. So when all the masonry holes are filled, the ants start to come at the door frames and wooden fences. They don't walk into the doors though. They may not last long and they attract dirt, but they can be painted on or removed. It doesn't matter if I can't see the spots.
The other thing I use is clear caulk adhesive. It's just as easy and a little more expensive. It's for the places that I don't want it to look bad. It last but easily removed.
Mostly I use my lime sand mix for filling big holes and for the underside of things, typically around the damp proof course. Lime shrinks a lot so sometimes one application will still leave holes when dry. Also there may be tiny holes and spaces in between applications.
The other main thing is wood stabilizing glue, because it is cheap. Typically around gaps on vertical wood frames and fences, and any holes on the ground. It is quick and easy, but cannot apply on the underside of things and don't stay long that way. So when all the masonry holes are filled, the ants start to come at the door frames and wooden fences. They don't walk into the doors though. They may not last long and they attract dirt, but they can be painted on or removed. It doesn't matter if I can't see the spots.
The other thing I use is clear caulk adhesive. It's just as easy and a little more expensive. It's for the places that I don't want it to look bad. It last but easily removed.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Non-toxic bug killer sprays
So I settled for the bug killer sprays:
Dish washing liquid diluted several times - for spraying around the kitchen and eating surfaces.
Multi-surface cleaner diluted several times - for floors that should not be slippery, and for other surfaces that do not need to rinse or wipe. The one I use is Green Works with grease formula for kitchen, that only need to wipe clean.
Multi-surface cleaner neat - for large bugs such as flies. I use diluted spray to shoot flies down, immobilize them and move in the big guns for the kill.
The soapy solutions really do not kill by toxin. Once the solution dries, the ants come back in no time if they can get in. When I kill the flies with undiluted solutions, their corpse attract plenty of ants.
Dish washing liquid diluted several times - for spraying around the kitchen and eating surfaces.
Multi-surface cleaner diluted several times - for floors that should not be slippery, and for other surfaces that do not need to rinse or wipe. The one I use is Green Works with grease formula for kitchen, that only need to wipe clean.
Multi-surface cleaner neat - for large bugs such as flies. I use diluted spray to shoot flies down, immobilize them and move in the big guns for the kill.
The soapy solutions really do not kill by toxin. Once the solution dries, the ants come back in no time if they can get in. When I kill the flies with undiluted solutions, their corpse attract plenty of ants.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Perfectly safe effective fly spray
Oh yes, it's soapy water again. From the web, it can even kill roaches instantly.
Flies cannot fly long distance. That's why they are annoying. My problem is not their invasion as all my windows have insect screens. But once a group got inside, it's hard to let them fly outside again, even though they want to.
To get rid of flies instantly you need fly swatter. Any other weapons at hand will repel them before reaching them.
A soapy spray is easier. You may stop them in mid flight by spraying them. You are only spraying hand soap diluted. However, they resting place is very easy to follow and not far away. You just need to spray them when they are resting. One spray and they cannot fly, hardly crawl. You can allow them to die slowly and fall off the wall. Or you can add a spray or two to kill them in seconds.
And there is a soapy solution for everything. For glass. For bathroom. Multi-surface. While hand soap is completely safe, it got residues and slippery. The Nature's Choice that I got is not there anymore. I got the Nature Works for grease. It's a multi-surface that you do not need to rinse. And I only need some mild cleaner for the kitchen. Any other place I have the CRL biodegradable.
Flies cannot fly long distance. That's why they are annoying. My problem is not their invasion as all my windows have insect screens. But once a group got inside, it's hard to let them fly outside again, even though they want to.
To get rid of flies instantly you need fly swatter. Any other weapons at hand will repel them before reaching them.
A soapy spray is easier. You may stop them in mid flight by spraying them. You are only spraying hand soap diluted. However, they resting place is very easy to follow and not far away. You just need to spray them when they are resting. One spray and they cannot fly, hardly crawl. You can allow them to die slowly and fall off the wall. Or you can add a spray or two to kill them in seconds.
And there is a soapy solution for everything. For glass. For bathroom. Multi-surface. While hand soap is completely safe, it got residues and slippery. The Nature's Choice that I got is not there anymore. I got the Nature Works for grease. It's a multi-surface that you do not need to rinse. And I only need some mild cleaner for the kitchen. Any other place I have the CRL biodegradable.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Soapy water kill ants instantly
I used up my enviro friendly biodegradable acidic mixture pretty fast. So I just add my cheapest liquid soap and dilute it. It kills instantly just the same. I wash my hands many times everyday with it undiluted, so it can't be toxic.
Just don't spray on smooth footpath - it's slippery. When the sprinkler turned on, it re-energized the dried soapy solution. Ants can't walk on it without dying. In contrast, they just cross solid piles of ant barriers as if nothing.
It's so wonderful that if ants get into anything in the house, there's a soapy solution for that. For example, carpet shampoo! Hardwood floor cleaner! Liquid detergent even for vegetables! In the past I use wide cellulose tape.
If you do need to plant anything that ants will attack: Keep all your areas at least lightly irrigated and ants will not live. Ants will only come from outside.
Ants always walk on dry hard flat surface if they can, rather than soil and turf. I'm not sure if they will cross a trench of water. But if you add a little liquid soap, they will die crossing. And soap will stay when water evaporates.
Forget about ant repelling plants. My lavender doesn't work. The ants are happy to climb the thick branches. Those dense ground hugging covers may work, as ants are forced to crawl over it.
I would cut cheap black waste pipes in half, which is pretty easy with a jigsaw with any metal blade. They will surround a fruit garden or a fruit tree. You just to top up with water from time to time. Soap will stay a log longer. Soap may or may not repell mosquito eggs. You can add an 1" block of chlorine bleach for swimming pools.
Just don't spray on smooth footpath - it's slippery. When the sprinkler turned on, it re-energized the dried soapy solution. Ants can't walk on it without dying. In contrast, they just cross solid piles of ant barriers as if nothing.
It's so wonderful that if ants get into anything in the house, there's a soapy solution for that. For example, carpet shampoo! Hardwood floor cleaner! Liquid detergent even for vegetables! In the past I use wide cellulose tape.
If you do need to plant anything that ants will attack: Keep all your areas at least lightly irrigated and ants will not live. Ants will only come from outside.
Ants always walk on dry hard flat surface if they can, rather than soil and turf. I'm not sure if they will cross a trench of water. But if you add a little liquid soap, they will die crossing. And soap will stay when water evaporates.
Forget about ant repelling plants. My lavender doesn't work. The ants are happy to climb the thick branches. Those dense ground hugging covers may work, as ants are forced to crawl over it.
I would cut cheap black waste pipes in half, which is pretty easy with a jigsaw with any metal blade. They will surround a fruit garden or a fruit tree. You just to top up with water from time to time. Soap will stay a log longer. Soap may or may not repell mosquito eggs. You can add an 1" block of chlorine bleach for swimming pools.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Instant kill homemade biodegradable ant killer
For most current updates, see label "pest".
Summary: dilute soapy solution kill ants instantly. There are even organic liquid soaps on the market if you want. Soapy solution will kill or immobilize crawling insects. Alcohol will kill flying insects like flies almost instantly. First-aid alcohol is good but Vodka spray is safe around food, pets and people (for non-alcoholics). Ants don't live in wet places like regular watered lawns. Must fill cracks so ants don't live. Protect fruit trees with soapy water trench on the ground or up the trunk.
I'm consolidating the number of chemicals used in our house. Basically several types of cleaners contain similar chemicals. Even if they are optimized for different uses, you save a lot of hassle keeping so many, with so many labels to read. Basically a strong organic acid (biodegradable) is all you need for degreasing, lime scales, bathroom, toilet, sinks, stinks, to tires and wheels. (Some surface are not acid safe, but that's stupid.)
It dawned on me to try spraying ants with strong acid cleaners. My CLR biodegradable is an instant kill, better than the insect and ant killer that I'm using that is safe for lawns. As CLR is about the most expensive bottle of household cleaner, I tried
Nature's Choice,
general purpose cleaning agent
ingredients - mostly biodegradable natural plant extracts, probably organic acid
It's instant kill. I diluted to half and then quarter strength, it is still instant kill. I just search the net and am surprised to see that people mentioned soapy solution, but not in a big way so as to put ant killers out of business.
You may find you best and cheapest soapy solution and see how diluted it can be. But mine is good enough. It biodegradable, multi-surface cleaner. It already comes with a spray bottle in case you are in a hurry. That's the reason I tried it in the first place. There are no resides and you don't need to rinse it after surface cleaning. Basically I'm cleaning while killing ants at the same time!
Also I doubt if a diluted plant extract cleaner will do any harm to plants. I do spot spraying only so I rarely need to spray on plants and lawns. You do not need to spray on lawns because ants do not live in wet soil.
I used to use an instant kill ant killer. They took it off the market, perhaps because of safety concerns. I remembered somebody said that some chemicals use kills like nerve gas, and it works on ants as well as humans, which is much bigger.
To consolidate chemicals, I only use an outdoor spray, safe for lawns. Otherwise I need three.
Basically if you live near to some open space, and you have ant problems, you need to live with it. Ants just need some shady dry place to make a home, and accessible to water and food, which is plenty.
Ants don' t eat that much plants so there's not much reason to get rid of all ants outdoors. Ants like fruit. You better harvest before they come, or share with them. Experienced gardeners will cut off the palm tree fruits before they ripe.
Keep everything outdoors watered and ants will not live near you.
To keep ants out of your landscaping, the same method applies regarding the house.
Most importantly, you have to stop ants invading your house. Ants invade your house for many reasons - to find food and water, and to find dry shelter. Whatever they lack outside they will try to find inside.
I have seen enough insect terminators fail for ants. The latest terminator offered to spray once every month instead of three, compensated with safe chemicals they claim. This is the wrong approach as there is an unlimited supply of ants.
The only way is to block all access into your house for ants. If you live in a single family / detached house, that's easy. When a lot of ants invade your home, from the outside find ant trails. Follow the ants and you know how they get into the house, even the hole is tiny.
Fill the hole with you favorite. Transparent caulk adhesive. Specking material. Or just repair the outside surface properly. My favorite is of lime, sand and water mix - the cheapest and safe (don't breath the dust). The main advantage is that it does not dry easily. The paste will stop ants instantly, and it will dry completely in a couple of hours. Paintable too. But the unused paste will takes weeks to dry up if you put a sealing cover on. It's completely safe so you can rinse your tool in the sink. It's not waterproof though. You can mix in a little cement for that, but it drys fast.
When one hole is blocked, they may find the next best one. That's why I don't kill them. They help me to find all the holes fast. When they have no where to go they just disappear, looking for other houses perhaps.
Ants come from the ground so its rare that they invade inside via air ducts and window seam drain holes, which are high up. They don't get through window insect screens either.
If ants invade your apartment, it's a bit tricky. It's hard to trace where they enter your apartment. But as long as you can move around your furniture, you have a good idea.
Here's how soapy solutions work, I think.
Soapy solutions have something called surfactants, I think, which prevent oils from sticking to surfaces. Ants can survive in water for a long time. These surfactants changed the game. They mess up the water surface tension, so this become a powerful force to destroy the ants. Firstly the ants cannot move in an instant, as in prison. I think they look like drowned, if not the chemicals in the cleaners kill them in seconds. I think their "nose" and "mouth" are messed up the same as their limbs. They can't move and can't stop water and chemicals coming in. And perhaps water blocks their air passage. So the look dead instantly and stay that way. For my cleaner, when it drys the dead ant will fall from the wall, needing no more action from me. (It's a no reside no rinse formula.)
Ant killing chemicals claim that they have residue to control ants for months. Obviously it wont' work for outdoors, and even if true you don't want it indoors.
Imagine that, I lived so may years and nobody told me that. And it's not just me. It's so vague on the web. And our neighbors all hired insect controls for ants. I bet they still do.
Summary: dilute soapy solution kill ants instantly. There are even organic liquid soaps on the market if you want. Soapy solution will kill or immobilize crawling insects. Alcohol will kill flying insects like flies almost instantly. First-aid alcohol is good but Vodka spray is safe around food, pets and people (for non-alcoholics). Ants don't live in wet places like regular watered lawns. Must fill cracks so ants don't live. Protect fruit trees with soapy water trench on the ground or up the trunk.
I'm consolidating the number of chemicals used in our house. Basically several types of cleaners contain similar chemicals. Even if they are optimized for different uses, you save a lot of hassle keeping so many, with so many labels to read. Basically a strong organic acid (biodegradable) is all you need for degreasing, lime scales, bathroom, toilet, sinks, stinks, to tires and wheels. (Some surface are not acid safe, but that's stupid.)
It dawned on me to try spraying ants with strong acid cleaners. My CLR biodegradable is an instant kill, better than the insect and ant killer that I'm using that is safe for lawns. As CLR is about the most expensive bottle of household cleaner, I tried
Nature's Choice,
general purpose cleaning agent
ingredients - mostly biodegradable natural plant extracts, probably organic acid
It's instant kill. I diluted to half and then quarter strength, it is still instant kill. I just search the net and am surprised to see that people mentioned soapy solution, but not in a big way so as to put ant killers out of business.
You may find you best and cheapest soapy solution and see how diluted it can be. But mine is good enough. It biodegradable, multi-surface cleaner. It already comes with a spray bottle in case you are in a hurry. That's the reason I tried it in the first place. There are no resides and you don't need to rinse it after surface cleaning. Basically I'm cleaning while killing ants at the same time!
Also I doubt if a diluted plant extract cleaner will do any harm to plants. I do spot spraying only so I rarely need to spray on plants and lawns. You do not need to spray on lawns because ants do not live in wet soil.
I used to use an instant kill ant killer. They took it off the market, perhaps because of safety concerns. I remembered somebody said that some chemicals use kills like nerve gas, and it works on ants as well as humans, which is much bigger.
To consolidate chemicals, I only use an outdoor spray, safe for lawns. Otherwise I need three.
Basically if you live near to some open space, and you have ant problems, you need to live with it. Ants just need some shady dry place to make a home, and accessible to water and food, which is plenty.
Ants don' t eat that much plants so there's not much reason to get rid of all ants outdoors. Ants like fruit. You better harvest before they come, or share with them. Experienced gardeners will cut off the palm tree fruits before they ripe.
Keep everything outdoors watered and ants will not live near you.
To keep ants out of your landscaping, the same method applies regarding the house.
Most importantly, you have to stop ants invading your house. Ants invade your house for many reasons - to find food and water, and to find dry shelter. Whatever they lack outside they will try to find inside.
I have seen enough insect terminators fail for ants. The latest terminator offered to spray once every month instead of three, compensated with safe chemicals they claim. This is the wrong approach as there is an unlimited supply of ants.
The only way is to block all access into your house for ants. If you live in a single family / detached house, that's easy. When a lot of ants invade your home, from the outside find ant trails. Follow the ants and you know how they get into the house, even the hole is tiny.
Fill the hole with you favorite. Transparent caulk adhesive. Specking material. Or just repair the outside surface properly. My favorite is of lime, sand and water mix - the cheapest and safe (don't breath the dust). The main advantage is that it does not dry easily. The paste will stop ants instantly, and it will dry completely in a couple of hours. Paintable too. But the unused paste will takes weeks to dry up if you put a sealing cover on. It's completely safe so you can rinse your tool in the sink. It's not waterproof though. You can mix in a little cement for that, but it drys fast.
When one hole is blocked, they may find the next best one. That's why I don't kill them. They help me to find all the holes fast. When they have no where to go they just disappear, looking for other houses perhaps.
Ants come from the ground so its rare that they invade inside via air ducts and window seam drain holes, which are high up. They don't get through window insect screens either.
If ants invade your apartment, it's a bit tricky. It's hard to trace where they enter your apartment. But as long as you can move around your furniture, you have a good idea.
Here's how soapy solutions work, I think.
Soapy solutions have something called surfactants, I think, which prevent oils from sticking to surfaces. Ants can survive in water for a long time. These surfactants changed the game. They mess up the water surface tension, so this become a powerful force to destroy the ants. Firstly the ants cannot move in an instant, as in prison. I think they look like drowned, if not the chemicals in the cleaners kill them in seconds. I think their "nose" and "mouth" are messed up the same as their limbs. They can't move and can't stop water and chemicals coming in. And perhaps water blocks their air passage. So the look dead instantly and stay that way. For my cleaner, when it drys the dead ant will fall from the wall, needing no more action from me. (It's a no reside no rinse formula.)
Ant killing chemicals claim that they have residue to control ants for months. Obviously it wont' work for outdoors, and even if true you don't want it indoors.
Imagine that, I lived so may years and nobody told me that. And it's not just me. It's so vague on the web. And our neighbors all hired insect controls for ants. I bet they still do.
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