GROUP NO.

_1_ BY _____________________

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Ants are pests that strangely, have become analogous to praise such as "hard-working',
"loyal", and "highly organized". While ants work all day to find food, respect the hierarchy of the
colony, and run organized work shifts, make no mistake about it. Ants are pests. Some varieties
of ants bite and sting. And all that hard work bringing food to the colony puts your household at
serious risk of acquiring deadly diseases. Therefore ants are the most dominant group of social
insects belonging to order Hymenoptera of class Insecta. Ants can contaminate and destroy some
agricultural products and stored foods. As its name suggests in our study "Odorous (red) house
ant are the type of ant emits a coconut-like odor. The odorous house ant loves to feed on sugary-
sweet food, fruits, and pet food. They can devastate plants and take over kitchens. The odorous
house ant breeds in places that offer plenty of moisture such as bathrooms. They are known to
breed under your toilet lid. Unless terminated, the colony of the odorous house ant can easily
reach 10,000 members.

To repel them by using synthetic repellent will be harmful to nature and poisonous to
man and pet animals. Therefore our study could be of great help to people looking for a bio-
friendly and affordable alternative for ant repellent solutions and will be beneficial to the
environment's Sustainability as it utilizes the use of renewable natural resources available in the
Philippines such as the lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), which will help decrease the over-
exploitation of the other resources in our natural forests that are used as ingredients for main
repellent. Poisons and chemicals are effective, but dangerous in the kitchen, a favorite ant
hideout, and around children and pets.
 The majority of ants can contaminate food when they enter a house, but odorous house
ants (Tapinoma sessile) are particularly notorious for doing so. This is not because they are more
attracted to food than other ants or because they are dirtier than other ants, but rather because of
the way they nest, which is opportunistic. They will build their nests practically anyplace. They
can easily build a nest within your pantry or in a wall close to a kitchen cabinet. Additionally,
they have no qualms about walking around in your kitchen garbage can before contaminating
food packages. Odorous house ants (Tapinoma sessile) are mechanical vectors for dangerous
bacteria, just like many other ants.

To lower ant populations and stop the spread of diseases they cause, various techniques
have been utilized, both chemically and naturally. However, it should be made a point to utilize
ant-repellent plants, such lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) , in ant control activities to prevent
harm to people and the environment. The study's objective was to ascertain whether lemongrass
(Cymbopogon citratus) extract might be used as an repellent by spraying it into ants with the
container that has one candy. To confirm the efficacy and usefulness of locally produced
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) as an ant repellent and adulticidal agent for the prevention
of ant-borne diseases.

Theoretical Framework

According to an article in New Tech Bio (2010), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) is

very popular and is used in pharmaceuticals, food, and ant-repellent products. Lemongrass
(Cymbopogon citratus ) is used in cosmetics, soaps, perfumes, dyes, fragrances, and thousands
of other products. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) has thin stems and flowers that are white,
cream, or green in color. In some cases, it grows up to about 8 feet tall, and in most species, it
tapers at 4 feet. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) is mainly found in tropical Asia such as
India, Ceylon, Brazil, Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Guatemala, Madagascar, Mauritius, New
Guinea, Africa, and South America. In the Philippines, it has a local name known as 'Tanglad'.

According to Johnson (2019) not everyone wants to use harsh chemical to keep pesky
ant's away. As such, many people want plant-based chemicals to keep ant's away. Lemongrass
(Cymbopogon citratus ) is commonly grown to deter ants.

This study is supported by the theory of Jean Antolijao (2019), that lemongrass
(Cymbopogon citratus ) contains no chemicals that can quickly irritate sensitive skin. Unlike the
Insecticide ant sprays, lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) is EPA-GRAS listed, so it's organic
and safe. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) has the main ingredient to be an alternative ant
repellent, that is a natural insect repellent. Because it is safer than the Insecticide ingredients, it
may reduce people's health concerns.
 According to the Weed Society of Pakistan (2019) it discussed the components of
lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) varied diverse with where they are planned. Therefore the
major constituents of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) are citral, geranoil, mycerence,
citronellal and limonene. From the article of homeguides safegate, lemongrass (Cymbopogon
citratus ) has a large amount of geranial and neral and small amount of geranoil and citronellal
are can be used for repelling ants.

This study is supported by the theory of John Daniel Gumban (2013), lemongrass
(Cymbopogon citratus ) was found to be an effective and alternative ant repellent. It is toxic to
the sensory nervous system of the ants antennae. For this reason, the candy will be treated with
the lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) that can repel ants due to its citral content. The citral is
the one of the component of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ), it has a phenomenon effect
when the ants smell it with their antennae.

According to Amerasinghe (2016), if measures were taken to prevent ant-borne

diseases, large health gains and significant development barriers could impoverish regions.
These ant repellents help prevent and control ant-borne disease outbreaks. Basically, repellents
are chemical or natural products that cause insects and other arthropods to avoid or leave sources
of repellents, and lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus ) can be used as a natural repellent for ants.

This study is anchored on the theory of Richland Pest and Bee Control's (2019) that
Red House Ants (Tapinoma sessile ) can transmit many other foodborne diseases such as
Shigella, Clostridium, Salmonella, Staph, Streptococcus, E. coli and various fungi. The ants can
gain access to the food (either in a pantry or even while you're eating) they can immediately
transmit bacteria.
 Conceptual Framework

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Ingredients  Wash and chop the
 Alternative ant repellent
lemongrass (Cymbopogon
 ¼ kg of Lemongrass lemongrass (Cymbopogon
citratus) sticks.
(Cymbopogon citratus) citratus)
 Leave the pulverized
(Extracted) lemongrass (Cymbopogon
 30 ml of Cooking Oil citratus) in the mortar and
 100 ml of Distilled Water grind it well with pestle.
 Add 30 ml of cooking oil.
Equipment
In the 100 ml of boiled
 Mortar and Pestle distilled water, add to the
 Strainer lemongrass mixture.
 Spray Bottle  Drain it using the strainer
and put it into the spray
bottle.

Figure 1: The Paradigm showing the Conceptual Framework of the study

Figure 1, this paradigm consists of the concepts from input, process, to output of the product. ¼
kg of sticks of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) must be washed and coarsely chopped. Keep the
ground-up lemongrass in a mortar and pestle, and grind it well. Then add 30 ml of cooking oil. Add to
the lemongrass mixture the 100ml of distilled water that has been boiled. Put it in t1he spray bottle
after draining it with the strainer. This experiment will produce an alternative ant repellent using
lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus).

Definition of Terms

Adulticidal - type of insecticide used to kill adult insects that spread viruses.

Analogous - similar or comparable to something else either in general or in some specific

detail.

Airborne Diseases - are bacteria or viruses that are most commonly transmitted through small
respiratory droplets.

Citronella - a fragnant natural oil used as an insect repellent.

Geranial - a fragrant oil present in lemongrass oil.

Geranoil - a fragrant liquid in some floral oils used in perfumery.

Hierarchy - a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked.

Mechanical vector - transmit deseases by transporting the causative agent from contaminated
material.

Neral - an oily liquid aldehyde having a strong lemon odor, that is the minor constituent of
naturally derived citral, used in perfumes and flavorings.

Notorious - famous or well know.

Odorous House ant (Tapinoma sessile) - a species of small ants that goes by the common
name odorous house ant.

Overexploitation - occurs when harvesting exceeds reproduction of wild plant and animal
species.

Qualms - an uncomfortable feeling when you doubt if you are doing the right thing.