Why do fleas, or ants, die easily with detergent and water?
I sometimes have a flea problem in my house, so I would catch the fleas and put them in water. But they often jumped out! So I put a drop of detergent inside, and realized the fleas would quickly die. Now, I have an ant problem, so when I have a dish of food that got swarmed with ants, I would place it in my sink and fill it with water. Most of the ants were still alive and well! So i tried putting some detergent into the water and the ants all died, from what it appears, instantly! What exactly is the mechanism of destruction that is going on here?
