It is difficult to control the population of ants as they are prolific breeders and can get inside the home.
Does Eucalyptus Oil Kill Ants? You can use eucalyptus oil to kill ants by mixing it with dishwashing soap or rubbing alcohol. You can use pure oil or cotton balls to deter ants because of its unpleasant and irritating odor.
It is better to find suitable methods to remove nuisance pests at the initial stages before the situation gets uncontrollable. For example, you can grow eucalyptus plants indoors to keep ants away from the house.
Why does eucalyptus oil kill ants?
Eucalyptus oil has disinfection properties and kills harmful germs on the floor or other surfaces, reducing a risk of pest attack. I often use it to repel annoying crawling insects from the house.
It is effective against mild ant infestations as it contains repelling ingredients like eucalyptus that can keep your house free of pests, improving the home’s aesthetic appeal.
In addition, it contains citronella, commonly used in candles to repel mosquitoes, and can help get rid of ants from a desired location, which can be a countertop in the kitchen.
Specifically, it contains a pesticidal component, p-menthane-3, 8-diol, or PMD, which helps repel mosquitoes and other tiny creatures inside the house by masking chemical trails.
Furthermore, its insecticidal properties make it suitable for use against ants, and even the properties get enhanced when used in combination with soap or rubbing alcohol.
So, its overwhelming scent and ingredients make it insect-repellent and a potent killer for them.
How do you use eucalyptus oil to get rid of ants?
It is easy to use eucalyptus oil to repel ants away from different locations to avoid the risk of contamination and infestation inside the home.
You can prepare to repel solutions by mixing them with soap and alcohol, increasing their effectiveness many times and help keep the pests away.
Mix this oil with dishwashing soap
Dishwashing soap can kill insects by dissolving their bodies as the chemical bonds in the exoskeleton and the waxy layer begins to break off in a soapy solution.
Water holding ability of the cuticle or waxy layer keep their bodies moist, but moisture begins to lose in the absence of coating on the exterior side of their bodies.
Accordingly, you can mix this oil in the soapy solution to make an effective repelling and a potent killing solution that can destroy ant colonies.
You can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid in an equal quantity of oil to prepare a good mixture and pour it in around 1 to 2 cups of water.
Stir it thoroughly before transferring it to the spray bottle and shake it after shifting the solution into it for better mixing of ingredients.
This solution can be sprayed on the plant surface if there is an ant infestation or aphids hidden under the leaves. It can also help get rid of the aphids that are a primary reason for attraction to ants.
You can spray the solution on infested surfaces indoors, like kitchen countertops or areas close to the sink in the bathroom or kitchen, as moisture attracts them.
Additionally, the strong odor of oil and the killing effect of soap can help remove these annoying pests from the home and prevent future infestation until the oil odor remains.
Make a solution with rubbing alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is commonly used as a disinfectant in homes, but it has some insecticidal properties that make it suitable to be used against annoying ants.
You can mix eucalyptus oil with rubbing alcohol to make an effective killing solution.
Add 2 tablespoons of oil to 2 cups of rubbing alcohol and shift the solution to a spray bottle after stirring.
Accordingly, you can spray it directly on their trails to douse them or wipe out their trails, as it leaves an overwhelming odor that can suppress the odor of pheromone chemicals.
They can die due to drowning or lose their scent trails and begin to move randomly in opposite directions.
This way, you can remove them permanently by killing them or get success in keeping them away.
Use pure eucalyptus oil solution
You can use pure oil to apply on the leaves and prepare cotton balls; otherwise, mix it into a suitable amount of water or boil the leaves to get an extract.
Boil 10 to 15 leaves in almost a liter of water at medium flame for a few minutes until it gets boiled properly. Then, pour the hot water into mounds to kill the brood, queen, and workers.
The odor of eucalyptus keeps foraging workers away from the nest when they return to their home after collecting food as they feel danger and reach other areas.
This odor remains within the nest for at least a week or can keep insects away for almost 10 to 12 days at maximum if the oil concentration is higher.
Prepare cotton balls
Cotton balls effectively control undesired entries of these insects inside the house. These can remain viable for many days as insects stay away until they are wet.
You can dip the cotton balls directly into this oil poured into a bowl and allow them to soak. Additionally, you can soak these balls in dishwashing or rubbing alcohol.
A continuous pungent smell irritates the smell receptors of insects that are perceived as unpleasant, making them feel uncomfortable at a desired spot.
So, these insects do not try to reach such uncomfortable areas and run away toward safe spots when they feel the danger.
Put cotton balls in their paths or the possible entry spots to get rid of them. However, you have to replace them with wet ones as these get dried after every 3 to 4 days.
What type of ants can be killed using eucalyptus oil?
Eucalyptus oil can keep different species of ants away from home that is commonly present inside the house and pose problems for owners.
Most commonly, you can avoid garden pests like black garden ants, pharaoh, and argentine ants by spraying plants with this oil as it forces them to find another shelter and leave the place.
In addition, mixing the oil with other killing solutions can help remove the insects having tough exoskeletons as it dissolves their bodies and avoid the risk of nest mates getting attracted to dead.
The presence of natural repellents in the lemon eucalyptus plant can act as a solid defense against attacking little black or crazy ants trying to reach close to the plant.
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