Can Ants Drink Alcohol?

Many people use alcohol as a disinfectant to repel or kill ants, as there are some commercial products, like rubbing alcohol, that can help get rid of these insects in a few minutes.

Can Ants Drink Alcohol? Ants can drink alcohol which contains a high content of sugar, and produce a sweet odor that is perceived to be pleasant. They get attracted to whiskey and wine and get instant energy. A drunken ant takes a few hours or even a day to recover. Highly concentrated ethanol or rubbing alcohol is toxic for these insects. 

Alcoholic beverages can attract crawling insects due to their sweet odor as they produce a fruity aroma and helps fulfill their dietary requirements.

Why do ants drink alcohol?

Ants can get attracted to alcoholic beverages due to their odor, as they smell like berries, cherries, and plums. In addition, they have cocoa, caramel, and buttery odors and flavors.

These beverages are usually prepared from fruits, like cherries and plums, that are used as natural sources of sugar. These fruits give a mild sweet taste and fruity odor to drinks.

In addition, the natural sugar gets converted into ethanol after fermentation when microorganisms break the molecules into simple compounds.

The presence of carbohydrates and sugars is a matter of interest to insects, which can make them drink these beverages. Almost 0.7 to 0.9g of sugar is present in 100g of wine.

Its sweet odor can grab the attention of these tiny insects and force them to reach spilled drops on the floor or a glass of red wine on the countertop.

In addition, a large quantity of sugar is present in coffee liquor, as 100g contains 45g of sugar. Whiskey has 0.15g of sugar, while Vodka and beer are pure alcoholic drinks.

These insects can get addicted when exposed to wine multiple times. This addiction changes their food preferences as they begin to choose ethanol-based food and rotting fruits.

So, aroma, natural sugars, and carbohydrates are responsible for bringing these insects to the alcohol and making them drink liquid to enjoy the mild flavors.

What happens when ants drink alcohol?

Alcohol has different impacts on the behavior and activities of ants, depending on their species, concentration of the solution, and frequency of exposure to it.

They can also feel drunk after having a few sips, as it affects their physical activities in the same way as yours. Their mental state gets altered and makes them feel paralyzed.

Some species of these insects lose their balance and forget the route to their nests. In addition, it leads to shaky or wobbly movements because they cannot maintain a better grip on the ground.

Additionally, it can affect their performance because a few of them lie down on the floor after consumption after losing control of their bodies.

However, it can positively affect a few insects that have been exposed multiple times and get addicted to it. Continuous exposure makes them resistant or tolerant of the impact.

Their productivity improves after the consumption of high calories, providing extra energy. You can find drunken insects actively burrowing in the soil or walking around the nest.

These hyperactive movements can make them die quickly sometimes as their working efficiency improves many times and leads to exhaustion.

Therefore, the amount of ethanol and tolerance of insects to the solution determines whether they will become hyperactive or slow down.

Is alcohol toxic to ants?

The toxicity of alcohol depends on its concentration, as it can become an effective killing solution if it contains an increased amount of ethanol.

Most commonly, ants avoid concentrated form because of their strong odor, making the solution an effective repellent to keep them away.

Rubbing alcohol is deadly for these tiny creatures because it is a concentrated solution containing almost 88 to 90% ethanol, while the remaining 10 to 12 % is water.

A commonly used home ingredient, white vinegar, is also an alcohol-based product but used as a deterrent to keep these insects away from the desired space.

However, other products like beverages are not highly concentrated, like whiskey and Vodka containing only 45 to 50% ethanol.

Ethanol concentration gets reduced in wine and beer, which contain almost 9 to 11% and 2 to 5%, while the remaining is water, making it less toxic for these tiny creatures.

The amount of ethanol determines its impact on these tiny insects as their productivity can be increased to maximum, or they can die sometimes.

So, ants can drink only less concentrated beverages as these are safe for their tiny bodies because these fermented fruit juices are not difficult to digest.

How long does an ant take to recover after drinking alcohol?

Most commonly, ants feel drunken or intoxicated when exposed to alcohol for the first time and drink a few sips to get energy.

Carbohydrates and sugar can provide them energy to perform tasks, but it does not happen to all these insects as some feel sluggish and lie down on the floor.

Moreover, the hyperactive insects begin to perform nest activities efficiently and work like robots without any breaks. As a result, it leads to an adverse effect on their health and makes them die earlier.

A few of them have to face death due to overworking behavior before returning to their normal state. While others need a few hours to days, depending on their species.

In addition, their tolerance level determines the time for recovery as the newly exposed insects take more time to normalize their mental state.

However, addicted insects usually take less time and begin to work at the same rate within a few hours to a day. Furthermore, the quantity of wine consumed also affects the recovery time.

Increased ethanol consumption is deadly for these tiny insects as their bodies cannot tolerate excessive ethanol. In addition, it can cause dehydration and dissolves their waxy outer layer.

What type of ants drink alcohol? 

The spilled whiskey and wine on the table or floor equally allure the species of ants that get attracted to sugary foods and fruits or juices.

You can find house odorous, crazy, and sugar ants’ trails moving towards the drops of wine on the table because they all have a special attraction towards sweet food items.

It is interesting to observe them when they come back after consumption. It seems great fun to see drunken ants and analyze their behavior.

Moreover, it can make argentine ants and pharaoh ants productive or hyperactive by increasing their working efficiencies many times higher than before.

Furthermore, some other sugar-loving and dehydrated species can also drink alcohol to get energy and moisture, as it contains ethanol produced from a natural form of sugar in fruits.

Related Articles:

Why do ants walk on the carpet?

Can Ants Change Gender?