Why does DEET kill ants?

1.02K views

I have DEET bug spray for mosquitos. From what I read, it interferes with the way that mosquitos smell, causing them confusion and preventing them from smelling the individual wearing it.

Recently, I’ve started spraying ants in my home with it. They all slow down substantially, walk strangely, and then die. And they don’t seem to come back where I’ve sprayed, for days.

Why is this? Why would a chemical which causes mosquitos to just not be able to smell cause ants to act strangely and die?

In: Chemistry

4 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Ants breathe through tiny pores in their bodies. If you coat those pores with a poisonous oil like DEET, the ant’s got a serious problem.

You are viewing 1 out of 4 answers, click here to view all answers.