2006-08-20 14:32:51 · 37 answers · asked by Nytro K 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
How would you know?Do you smell them?
2006-08-20 14:37:27 · answer #1 · answered by annie 4 · 2⤊ 13⤋
Some of the confusion here is due to the fact that some people can smell formic acid but most people cannot. For those of us who can it is NOT a subtle odor, but it tends to only be strong when the ants are agitated or crushed. For me it's so bad that one sugar ant in my drink renders it utterly uningestible. I have been woken up by the smell when I rolled over a couple ants it my sleep. It really is quite unpleasant and sharp, and it leaves a dusty, moldy taste on the back of my tongue that makes me want to spit.
2015-12-05 18:02:13 · answer #2 · answered by Mercurial 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When I smash one the nasty smells sticks to my fingers. Almost makes me puke. My mom and brother both insist they can't smell anything.
2014-05-02 18:20:33 · answer #3 · answered by Amber Reeder 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Smelly Ants
2016-10-30 21:33:27 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Here's the most detailed answer to your question from The Straight Dope archive:
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mantsmell.html
A preview of what you'll read...
"What you're getting a whiff of when you crush an ant are just a few of the more volatile components of the potpourri of chemicals ants produce. The body of an ant (depending on genus and species) has, on average, around ten glands producing different chemicals, serving a variety of functions including defense, communication, alarm, trail-marking, and antibacterial and antifungal purposes. The communication and alarm chemicals are generally the ones humans smell because they need to be volatile in order to work, and the alarm compounds are going to predominate when you're crushing and killing them. In most cases, the ants voluntarily release the alarm chemicals, but some alarm chemicals can only be released when the ant is being killed. Either way, these compounds, singly or in combination, warn nearby ants of trouble. Ants near the spot where another ant is killed suddenly become hyperactive and alert--some species fall into a blind panic, while others become aggressive to the point of suicide...."
2006-08-20 14:43:53 · answer #5 · answered by Jimmy 2 · 8⤊ 1⤋
Ants leave a smell trail wherever they go so they can find their way home when they go looking for food. They do this by leaving drops of a special liquid.
THe smell that you get when you crushed them is this liquid smell when you crushed them.
2006-08-20 14:41:25 · answer #6 · answered by choy_daniel 3 · 7⤊ 0⤋
because they probably have a fluid through their system that produces some kind of chemical that smells when it reaches it´s combustion point. I have noticed this myself, when I was a kid my parents used to take me to this farm where the farmer used to burn the ant hills so they wouldn´t harm the things he was growing, and it smells like peanuts. And there are some other kind of ants that smells like fresh lemon juice when you kill them with your hands.
I haven´t check this in any book or anything but I think for certain that it has to do with the body fluids the ants have.
2006-08-20 14:47:33 · answer #7 · answered by wisdom is my signature 4 · 6⤊ 2⤋
Because ants are filled with acid and once dead or killed, they elude an odor because they are decomposing. That is why they smell when they die or when you kill them. Never really smelled a dead ant before, but, if that is the case, then, that is your answer.
2006-08-20 14:39:10 · answer #8 · answered by uchaboo 6 · 8⤊ 3⤋
its not that we smell ants... i just noticed it the other day my house gets really bad ants in the spring/summer and i was smashing them off my desk cause they are annoying and i was tired of almost drinking ants that crawled on my pop can but after a minute i smelled something and noticed it was coming from the ones i smashed
2014-04-26 05:02:03 · answer #9 · answered by bloodlust420 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sense of smell is when airborne particles contact with the special sensors in our nose. If enough particles make it to our nose and are able to be detected, you smell that.
When you burn the ants, a lot of the stuff that makes their bodies is vaporized when the heat is applied. When the vaporized ant stuff reaches your nostrils, you smell the ant's burned stuff.
2006-08-20 14:45:32 · answer #10 · answered by Darcia 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
They do? (had to be said again lol)
Yes, it's the chemicals in their 'hind end'... sometimes when you pick them up they will even expel that same stuff on your hand.
While growing up I lived in an area where a lot of the big black ants were and they would actually have battles.. when they did it literally stunk up the neighborhood for a day.
2006-08-20 14:40:43 · answer #11 · answered by The::Mega 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋