What kills ants immediately?

What kills ants immediately on direct contact includes several household products and commercial sprays, but killing ants immediately does not eliminate the colony and can make infestations worse if used alone without baits. For immediate contact kill, commercial ant killer sprays containing pyrethroids like bifenthrin or permethrin kill ants within minutes when sprayed directly, as do many kitchen cleaners. Household products that kill immediately include soapy water made from one tablespoon Dawn dish soap and one quart water sprayed directly on ants, which breaks down their outer waxy coating and suffocates them within seconds, 91 percent isopropyl alcohol sprayed directly which dissolves their exoskeleton, and white vinegar undiluted sprayed directly which can kill some on contact due to acidity. Boiling water poured directly on an outdoor ant mound can kill hundreds immediately, though it rarely reaches the queen deep underground. Windex and other glass cleaners also kill on contact due to ammonia. However, pest control professionals warn that immediate kill of foragers alone is not effective for long-term control of odorous house ants and carpenter ants, because colonies contain thousands of workers and a queen hidden in walls or outdoors, and killing only visible ants does not stop new ants from following pheromone trails to food. Worse, repellent sprays can cause budding where surviving ants split into satellite colonies elsewhere. The best approach for permanent control is to use slow-acting gel baits containing fipronil or borax that workers carry back to kill the queen within days, combined with soapy water to wipe trails.