The best Ant sprays, compared.
Top pick: Raid Ant & Cockroach Killer, pack of 6 Best value: Doff Ant & Crawling Insect Killer Spray 1 litre – About £6.00 for 1 litre, the lowest price per litre, with indoor hard surfaces and outdoors stated, at 4.4 from 734 reviews. Updated October 2026.
An ant spray is a ready-to-use insecticide in a trigger bottle or an aerosol, including a lacquer that dries as a film, for ants on hard surfaces in a UK home or just outside it. The usual insect on a sweet trail in warm weather is the black garden ant. A contact spray, a residual band, and a product meant to be carried back to the nest are different jobs, and none of them is a bait for the queen. You tell a suitable can from the label. The active should be named. Use should be marked indoors, outdoors, or both, with surfaces you must not treat, such as food-contact areas, soil, and soft furnishings. Read whether any residue is meant to last, keep children and pets off until the surface is dry, and ventilate. An authorised biocide label should not sell itself as non-toxic. Pharaoh ants, ghost ants, and a nest inside a wall are a professional job. How those label fields sort a trigger, an aerosol, and a lacquer is in the [ant spray buying guide](/hub/pest-control/ant-spray/sub/ant-spray-buying-guide).
An ant spray is a ready-to-use insecticide in a trigger bottle or an aerosol, including a lacquer that dries as a film, for ants on hard surfaces in a UK home or just outside it.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What should the listing show?
The Raid six-pack at £21.09 is six 300 ml aerosols, and amazon.co.uk shows 4.7 from 795 reviews, the highest star line in this set. The title and a bullet say indoor use, and the pests named are ants, cockroaches, and spiders, with “long lasting protection for the home” as the residual line. Reviewers associate skirting-board and floorboard spraying with fewer ants, and some say a result on flying ants and ordinary ants shows within a few minutes. The saved listing does not print an active ingredient, and the item weight of 500 g does not match a stated 1,800 ml six-pack. Delivery outside mainland UK may be refused until checkout confirms it. Child safety, smell, and wasps are asked on the page and not answered. One-line reviews dominate the first 50 texts, so the 4.7 is a thinner story than the star number suggests.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want an indoor aerosol for ants, cockroaches, and spiders, and you accept £21.09 with no active named on the listing.
Less suitable: You need to treat a patio, or you want the insecticide printed before you buy.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this pack for indoor use?
Yes. The title and a bullet say indoor use. The listing does not describe outdoor use.
Can it kill wasps?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. The bullets name ants, cockroaches and spiders, not wasps.
Is it child-safe?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. No child-safety line is printed in the bullets.
The Raid twin pack at £8.30 is two 300 ml cans, and amazon.co.uk shows 4.5 from 845 reviews. The saved listing names ants and cockroaches, prints the colour as red, and stops there: no place of use, no active ingredient, and no residual or nest line. Several reviewers say ants are gone after one application, and some describe insects dying as soon as they are sprayed, with less mess than ant powder. The smell is the repeated limit. Reviewers mention ventilation or a mask, and one compared it to concentrated furniture polish. Others kill the ants they hit and see more the next day, and one said ants walked through until the same brand’s powder was used. A spray button that would not produce a spray appears in the problems, and the title spells the word as “Intant”, with model number 12345. Rank 5 in Ant Control is not a reason to treat this thin card as the indoor six-pack.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a small red Raid pair for contact kill on ants you can see, and you will read the can for indoor limits the listing omits.
Less suitable: You need a named active, a nest claim, or a listing that states where the can may be used.
Specifications
Common questions
Can it be used indoors?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. Indoor or outdoor use is not in the bullets.
Does it kill other insects?
The listing asks this and does not answer it. Target species names ant and cockroach only.
Is it child-safe?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. No child-safety line is printed in the bullets.
The Deadfast trigger at £6.00 holds 750 ml, and amazon.co.uk shows 4.5 from 741 reviews. The listing names lambda-cyhalothrin, claims a microencapsulated residue for up to 3 months, and says workers carry the poison to the nest. Reviewers describe house trails gone by the next day after they spray the entries, and some patio nests quieter a week later. The smell indoors is the complaint that comes back: they keep children and pets out of the room until it fades. Ants also return on a different route, so a spot treatment is not a permanent barrier, and garden paths need another spray every few weeks. The saved listing does not say whether the bottle is for indoors, outdoors, or both, and it does not answer the pet question. It is the top pick in this set when you want a named active and a nest-transfer line at this shelf price. A fast knockdown in a review is not the two-to-three-week nest timing on the maker’s page.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a ready-to-use spray at £6.00 whose listing names the active and a nest-transfer claim, and you will leave the room while the smell fades.
Less suitable: You need an indoor-only aerosol you already know, or a dried lacquer film the listing says survives rain and mopping.
Specifications
Common questions
Can it be used indoors?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. Indoor or outdoor use is not stated in the bullets.
Does it kill ants on contact?
The listing asks this and does not answer it. The bullets do not use the words “on contact”. They do say the formula is microencapsulated and remains effective for up to 3 months.
Is it safe to use around pets?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. The only safety line in the bullets is to use biocides safely and read the label.
The Doff pump at £6.00 holds 1 litre, about £6 a litre, and amazon.co.uk shows 4.4 from 734 reviews. Reviewers describe ants gone the same day in a kitchen, a porch, or a flat, and some spray the skirtings once a season and still have liquid left. The pump offers a spray or a stream for crevices, and the bullets cover indoor hard surfaces, including floors and countertops, plus patios and gardens. The saved listing does not name the active ingredient, so that figure has to come from the bottle you receive, not from this page. Leaks are a repeated complaint: the nozzle cover arrives missing or pushed in, and the bottle discharges in the parcel. One reviewer in a confined space had a streaming nose and sneezing for about two hours. Rain washes an outdoor treatment off, and in hot weather some people spray every few days.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the most liquid per pound for hard surfaces indoors and on a patio, and you will read the bottle for the active before you spray.
Less suitable: You need the insecticide named on the amazon.co.uk page, or a film that the listing says stays put after rain.
Specifications
Common questions
Can it be used indoors?
The bullets say indoor hard surfaces, including floors and countertops, as well as patios and gardens. The listing prints the question and does not add a separate answer.
Does the listing say it kills ants?
Ants are named in the bullet list and under target species. There is no separate answer under the question “Does it kill ants?”.
Is it safe for pets?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. Nothing in the bullets states a pet rule.
The Dethlac can at £7.90 holds 250 ml of insecticidal lacquer, and amazon.co.uk shows 4.2 from 5,593 reviews, the largest file in this set and the lowest star line. The listing names pyrethrins and deltamethrin, says indoor and outdoor, and claims a weatherproof film through rain, mopping, and foot traffic. Some reviewers do not see ants again, and some describe the film as still working months later, including on woodlice at a doorstep. Others needed a heavy, wet coat before ants died, and white marks stayed on door and window frames for months. A few report an instant kill that did not stop ants returning, or no effect at all. The bullets say pet safe, while the pet question on the same page has no separate answer. At about £32 a litre it is the dearest liquid here, and the 15 g item weight on the card is not a credible full-can weight.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a dried film on hard surfaces the listing says can take rain and mopping, and you will test a small area for white marks first.
Less suitable: You need the most liquid per pound, or you plan to spray soil, grass, or uPVC.
Specifications
Common questions
Can it be used on carpets?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. The bullets describe trails, entry points and hard surfaces such as skirtings and door frames, not carpets.
Does it kill spiders?
The saved listing asks this and does not answer it. Spiders are not in the bullet pest list.
Is it safe to use around pets?
The bullets say pet safe. The same listing also asks the question and does not give a separate answer. The bullets do not say pets may stay on a wet surface.
Five amazon.co.uk listings are scored from the star line and the review count, whether the page names an active, a place of use, and a residual or nest claim, what the reviews report, and the shelf price against millilitres. Shelf date 19 October 2026. There is no laboratory knockdown test. An active, a place of use, or a nest sentence counts only when that listing prints it. The top pick is the highest score. Best value is the lowest price per litre with a stated place of use, because the highest score is already the £6.00, 750 ml bottle.
Amazon evidence
35%The star line on amazon.co.uk, then the review count. A high star line with a large count scores up. The lowest star line scores down even when the review file is the largest.
Listing fit
35%A named active, a stated place of use, and a residual or nest sentence score up. Silence scores down. A field counts only when that listing prints it.
Review outcome
20%A result that matches the stated job scores up. Points come off for a repeated leak, a smell that clears the room, white marks on paint, or ants back the next day.
Value
10%Shelf price in GBP against millilitres and a job the listing names. The 1 litre at £6.00 scores highest on this block. A small can at about £32 a litre scores low.
Start with the label, not the colour of the can. An amateur ant spray has to match the job: a named active, a place of use, and whether you need contact kill, a residual band, or nest transfer. Food surfaces, pet beds, and open fish tanks stay untreated. Captured shelf prices run from about £6.00 to about £21.09. The top pick and the best value are both about £6.00, for different label jobs. Nothing on this page is a knockdown test in a lab.
An ant spray, in this comparison, is a ready-to-use insecticide in a trigger bottle or an aerosol, including a lacquer aerosol, for ants on hard surfaces in a UK home or just outside it. Buyers are usually facing black garden ants on a sweet trail in warm weather and want the ants they can see to stop. A knockdown spray does not replace a bait if the job is the queen. A pet-safe bullet, or a banned phrase such as non-toxic, is not a reason to skip the re-entry line.
Food-contact surfaces, pet beds, and open fish tanks stay untreated. Keep children and pets off until the surface is dry, and ventilate. An aerosol is extremely flammable, and leftover liquid does not go down a drain.
A residual band mopped the same day was not given time to work. Spraying a trail that already has bait fights the bait. A council garden-ant sheet says not to combine a spray with gel. The British Pest Control Association treats a general spray as a knockdown that can leave the colony standing.
HSE tells authorisation holders not to claim a biocide is non-toxic, harmless, or natural. A pet-safe bullet does not mean a pet can stay on a wet surface. A lacquer does not belong on soil, grass, or uPVC, and an indoor aerosol does not belong on the patio.
Amateur, on-label use only. The Health and Safety Executive authorises GB biocides and tells holders not to say non-toxic, harmless, or natural. A professional-only can is not an upgrade. Indoor only, outdoor, or both has to match the job. In this set the Raid six-pack title says indoor use. A Tesco page for a 300 ml Raid aerosol adds indoor only, no soft furnishings, and a bat warning under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. That text is not on the two amazon Raid cards here.
The job is contact kill, a residual band, or nest transfer. Deadfast’s listing describes a microencapsulated residue for up to 3 months and says workers carry the poison to the nest. The maker’s timing is about two to three weeks, not the first minute. The British Pest Control Association treats a general spray as a knockdown that can leave the colony standing. Do not quote a nest effect for a can whose listing is silent. Do not treat food-contact surfaces, pet beds, or open fish tanks.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want the insecticide named on the page, plus a line that workers carry it to the nest, and you will leave the room while the smell fades. Deadfast Ant Killer Plus Spray 750 ml at about £6.00 is the top pick: lambda-cyhalothrin, a residue claimed for up to 3 months, and 4.5 from 741 reviews. The saved listing does not state indoor or outdoor use. Skip it if you need that place printed before you buy.
You want the most liquid per pound for hard surfaces indoors and on a patio, and you will read the bottle for the active. Doff Ant & Crawling Insect Killer Spray, 1 litre, at about £6.00 is the best value, with 4.4 from 734 reviews. The saved page does not name the active. Reviewers report leaks in transit and sneezing after heavy use in a closed room.
You already use a red indoor aerosol and you will not take it onto the patio. Raid Ant & Cockroach Killer, pack of 6, at about £21.09 states indoor use for ants, cockroaches, and spiders, with 4.7 from 795 reviews. The active is not printed, and the item weight does not match a six-can pack. Skip it if you need a patio treatment or the insecticide named on the page.
The top pick is Deadfast Ant Killer Plus Spray 750 ml, at about £6.00. It is the highest score: the listing names lambda-cyhalothrin, claims a microencapsulated residue for up to 3 months, and says workers carry the poison to the nest, with 4.5 from 741 amazon.co.uk reviews. The saved page does not state indoor or outdoor use, and reviewers keep children and pets out until the smell fades. A fast result in a review is not the maker’s two-to-three-week nest timing. The best value is Doff Ant & Crawling Insect Killer Spray 1 litre, at about £6.00, about £6 a litre, with 4.4 from 734 reviews. The listing states indoor hard surfaces and outdoors and does not name the active. Doff and the Raid six-pack tie on the comparison score. The value award goes to Doff because it leads on millilitres per pound and the six-pack does not. None of these scores is a laboratory knockdown test.
Doff Ant & Crawling Insect Killer Spray 1 litre
About £6.00 for 1 litre, the lowest price per litre, with indoor hard surfaces and outdoors stated, at 4.4 from 734 reviews.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures captured for these five listings. Last checked 19 October 2026.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are the UK listing lines captured for these five products. We did not run a laboratory knockdown test.
