this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
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Is it the formic acid?
Has to be, it's got that same "bite" that other acids have, only a little more earthy
I cant smell ants but I can "smell" formic acid. Even diluted formic acid is so much more pungent and terrible then vinegar, so I doubt its that...
I went and read up on it, was going to edit in , but I'll just do it here.
Apparently it isn't the formic acid, it's other chemicals, and not all ants produce them. I have smelled what they're talking about, or at least three descriptions of one kind of ant smelling like funky cheese is something I have run into.
So you're totally right, and my assumption was wrong.
But damn, formic acid, even dilute, really is pungent. Nose wrinkling, sneeze inducing for me.
Yeah so i paid a team of experts to do my job