Active Ingredients

The active ingredient (AI) is defined as the biologically active component of a product as compared to the inactive inert components. Active ingredients may be categorized in several different ways. The class of an active ingredient relates to its molecular structure and the specific biochemical mode of action it has on a pest.

A more practical categorization for pest ant control is how an AI affects ant behavior. Active ingredients can be either repellent, which are usually fast-acting, or nonrepellent, which are usually slow-acting. Ants are social insects and live in colonies made up of different castes, including reproductives (queens) and workers. Certain workers, the foragers, leave the nest to forage for food and after finding it, lay down a pheromone trail to lead other ants to the food. Fast-acting repellents and slow-acting nonrepellents have different effects on these behaviors and consequently on the degree of pest ant control.

Repellents

With ant control solutions, a quick fix is not always a long term solution. Generally speaking, fast-acting repellent products provide seemingly quick control but actually affect a limited portion of an ant colony. With this type of product, foraging ants sprayed during the treatment are killed so quickly that pheromone trails aren't laid from the food source to the nest to recruit more ants from the colony. If new foragers approach treated zones they are either killed quickly if they make contact with the zone or they are repelled, often sending them elsewhere to untreated areas of your property. These types of products tend to affect only those ants contacting the treated zone, having little to no effect on the rest of a colony. Once their effect wears off, reinvasion potential is high.

Nonrepellents

In comparison, nonrepellent, slower-acting products allow foraging ants to lay down pheromone trails and recruit new workers to the treated zone before they die. This results in a greater number of ants from the colony dying from contacting the treated areas. In addition, if the active ingredient has "transfer" ability, foraging ants that return to the nest before they die will transfer it to other ants they come in contact with, resulting in an even greater effect on the colony. Although slower acting, these types of products affect a greater portion of the ant population with less potential for reinvasion. Most ant baits are slow-acting and nonrepellent with transfer ability and only certain liquid spray or granular products have these characteristics.