Repellent effect of peppermint and ginger extracts on the imported fire ant

• (1)Suha Najm Obeid ,(2)Rafid Abbas Ali

  Author

: Ants are important insect pests that can cause economic and environmental damage, increasing the need for safe, natural alternatives. Aromatic plants such as Mentha spicata and Zingiber officinale contain bioactive compounds that affect insect behavior and reduce their attraction. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the repellent efficacy of extracts from Mentha spicata and Zingiber officinale using three types of extracts: alcoholic, cold aqueous, and boiled, at different concentrations, and to study the effect of exposure duration on repellent efficiency. Methodology :Worker ants were collected from three areas in the Kerbala Governorate. The study extended from December 2025 to March 2026. Plants were collected from local markets in the province, and the experiment was conducted at the Core Laboratory in the Saif Saad area of Kerbala, Department of Biology, College of Education, University of Kerbala. The study adopted an experimental approach to evaluate three types of plant extracts: alcoholic, boiled aqueous, and cold aqueous, at four concentrations: 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. The ants' response was monitored after 10 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, and 24 hours. The repulsion and attraction rates were measured, and the differences were statistically ,analyzed at a probability level of 0.05, Results: The results showed that both extracts possessed varying degrees of ant-repellent activity, with the percentage increasing with increasing concentration and exposure time, while the attraction to ants decreased. The alcoholic Mentha spicata extract recorded a repellent activity of 87% at a concentration of 20% after 24 hours, followed by the boiled water extract at 84%, and the cold water extract at 81%. Zingiber officinale, on the other hand, recorded the highest activity at 79%, followed by the boiled water extract at 77%, and then the cold water extract at 75%. Conclusion: Mentha spicata showed higher activity than Zingiber officinale, and the alcoholic extract was the best of the extracts. It could be a promising natural alternative for ant control and reducing reliance on chemical pesticides.                     Ants are significant insect pests that can cause economic and environmental damage, necessitating the search for natural and safe alternatives to control them. Plant extracts such as Mentha spicata and ginger (Zingiber officinale) are promising alternatives to chemical pesticides due to their content of effective compounds with repellent properties.

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