The Effect of Garlic, Black Pepper, and Clove As Natural Insecticide Toward Ants

Abstract

Synthetic insecticide are proven to be very effective in killing ants instantly, however they have been arguably toxic to human due to accumulation of residue caused by constant usage and exposure to consumers. In this study, garlic (Allium sativum), black pepper (Piper nigrum), and clove (Syzygium aromaticum) were experimented on ants for their effectiveness in killing them as natural insecticide. The experiment tested the powder of garlic, black pepper, and clove in the form of aerosol liquid solution in their pure form, mixture of two solution, and mixture of all three solution, including commercial synthetic insecticide and each solution was tested in three trials with each trial containing approximately ten ants in a petri dish. The result indicated that commercial synthetic insecticide kill all ants upon immediate contact while natural insecticide tended to kill ants over longer period of time. Based on the findings, the mixture of clove, black pepper, and garlic solution are comparable to synthetic insecticide used with less detrimental effect from prolonged and continous usage and provide better alternatives to synthetic insecticide commonly used by consumers in Malaysia.