Reach For A Bottle Of Windex If You Have An Ant Problem

Having a double duty-product on hand is a welcome addition to many households. When it comes to Windex, widely used as a glass cleaner, even some exterminating companies recommend using it as a way to eliminate ants. Don't spray a puddle and expect the ants to be attracted to it, however. They won't walk through it accidentally or be compelled to ingest it due to the scent. In order to actually kill them, you need to saturate a trail of ants thoroughly by spraying them with the liquid. This will smother them very quickly, and all you'll have to do is wipe up the Windex and the dead ants along with their scent trail. Yes, the pheromones they emit are how ants know to follow one another to a food source and then back to their nest.

Some homeowners prefer using Windex for stopping ants in their tracks because, while it's not completely non-toxic, it is far less noxious than spraying many other types of chemical-based insecticides indoors. Even so, take care to avoid contact with your skin and eyes, and store it in a safe spot to keep it out of the reach of children and pets, according to S.C. Johnson, the manufacturer of Windex. With some care, you can have clean glass while cutting down on annoying ants using the one handy product.

Now you know that Windex can help you get a grip on an ant problem in your home, but you may be wondering exactly how it works. Ants breathe through small holes in their bodies called spiracles, and when those are blocked with Windex, the pests are then smothered. The ammonium base in Windex also acts as an ant killer. When you spray Windex on ants and then wipe away the residue, you also have the added benefit of cleaning away the pheromones they leave behind. That's one reason why squishing ants isn't a good idea, since those chemical substances they release will just attract more ants.

Is Windex the end-all solution for ants? Probably not. Unless you kill the queen, an ant colony won't truly die out. You may end up needing to add bait to your ant-eliminating repertoire to completely get rid of them, according to NC State Extension, and if that fails, contact a pest control professional. Nevertheless, Windex is a good, readily available product to use in getting an ant problem under control without spraying insecticides inside your home.