Poison Ant Diy Hack: Make It Easy For The Ants To Find
Waiting for these guys to crawl up into the medicine cap was taking too long. If you are like me and dont want to wait too long for the ants to discover the cotton ball, skip putting the cotton ball in the medicine top.
I decided to make it easier for them by placing the cotton ball directly on the floor. I was in such a hurry to see them eat the poison and head back to their colony to share with all their friends, that I didnt think to grab some wax paper to put the cotton ball on.
Make sure to place your cotton ball near where the ants are currently hanging out/traveling. This could be on the floor, although it also works on the kitchen counter or near the sink. The faster they can find it, the faster this poison ant DIY will work.
How To Keep Ants Out Of Cat Food
About five years ago I decided that there had to be a way to keep ants out of the cat food proactively, and I tried a few things that I found online. They all involved placing the cats food dish inside another dish or tray that was filled with water, or spreading petroleum jelly on the outside of the dish, or a combination of the two.
I cant even tell you if these methods worked or not, because I couldnt keep them up long enough to find out if they kept the ants away. The cat would drop food into the water constantly, and it would dissolve and get really gross, so I was changing the water several times every day. And OF COURSE she got the petroleum jelly all over herself, no matter where I put it on the bowl. That drove both of us nuts.
So I looked for a better solution, and found these amazing ant-proof pet food dishes, with lots of different sizes for cats or dogs.
Keep Dog Food In An Airtight Container
This might seem like a given, but you’d be surprised by how resilient ants can be. Many dog owners think that a simple chip clip is enough to keep the food bag closed. While a clip does a lot to keep larger pests out, ants are a little more determined.
Dog food is fragrant enough to attract ants even when you don’t think you have any. Every time you open the bag up, you’re letting some more of that aroma waft into your home.
It’s like sending up a beacon for ants to find! Even when it’s closed, the smell may permeate throughout the room.
Airtight containers serve a couple of different purposes. First, they keep the smells contained! Secondly, they can prevent ants from getting in.
Choose a large container with a rubber seal. No matter how hard ants try, they’ll have no way to get in.
Make sure you use a food-safe container to keep things clean. Also, keep using the bag! Put the entire dog food bag into the container. That way, you can rest easy knowing that the food is safe and fresh while still taking advantage of the perks that come with a new container.
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How To Keep Ants Out Of Pet Food With No Chemicals
by Jessica
This morning I woke up and did the first thing I do every single morning…went to feed the cats. Boy, did I get a not so nice surprise…there were hundreds of teeny tiny red ants coving their bowls and a nice trail that led to our back door. To be honest, I was shocked, because we don’t usually get ants. I’ve posted my Homemade Peppermint Ant Spray and Homemade Ant Killer which have always worked for me, but these crazy tiny ants didn’t seem to care. They were having a picnic right there in my breakfast nook. Not cool. I sprayed my peppermint ant spray around the perimeter of the breakfast nook and set out my ant killing traps where my cats couldn’t get to them, but thought I better do something extra just in case. I started by moving their cat bowls to the breakfast nook table , then I used a little trick that I hadn’t used since college…this trick works for to keep ants out of pet food whether you have a cat or dog…or even a different pet!
I placed a barrier around the bottom of the bowl using petroleum jelly. It makes a slippery barrier that ants can’t get past.
Those pesty little critters will not be chowing down on the cat food in this house for sure! It works just the same on dog bowls too!
Now I can feed Pearl and Macy and not have to toss ant infested food in the trash…whoop!
And Pearl can enjoy her food ant free!
Hope it helps you too!
How Do I Keep Bugs Out Of My Dogs Water Bowl
The absolute best way to keep bugs away from your dogs water bowl is to make a moat.
This will prevent many different pests from being able to reach the bowl such as ants, beetles, and spiders.
Flying pests such as moths and flies will still be able to eat drink the water, but the majority of crawling pests cant.
Some bugs really like humid and moisture like silverfish, daddy long legs, and the common centipedes.
This is exactly why you should make a moat to keep them out!
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Discard Your Poison Ant Diy Cotton Ball
Four hours later all the nasty little buggers were gone! Once the sugar water feast was over, I went ahead and threw away the soaked cotton ball.
I threw the cotton ball away in a zip lock bag. No need to attract the ants or other critters to the trash, right?
I love that this is a set-and-forget solution. After soaking the cotton ball I set it where the ants could find it, then came back when I was done working to clean up the mess. I didnt have to find a mask and try to figure out where I needed to spray to kill some ants.
This solution is genius since it lures the ants right to the poison! I also love that it doesnt just work on the ants that I can see. They can carry it back and share it with the other ants I cant see and eliminate the root of the problem instead of just the symptom.
Ants In Dog Food: How Do I Get Rid Of Them
If you know where these pesty creatures like to hang out, you can lead them away from your pets food dish.
If you find that theyre having a picnic in your grass or at the tree line near your garden, bring the focus of their foraging elsewhere by placing soda cans filled with sugary liquids along their trails.
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Create A Moat Barrier
Creating a moat around your dogs food bowl prevents the hungry ants from accessing the food. You can place food container in a pan of water. The pan should not be that deep. Setting the moat is usually easy and fast. Also, you can use two containers for that purpose. One container should be larger than the other.
Place the smaller container attached with brick or stone inside the larger container. Add water into the larger container to serve as a moat. Use the smaller container to store your pets food. The stone helps to raise the smaller container above the water level.
How To Get Ants Out Of Pet Food And Keep Them Out
by Jessica
Pet food should always be stored in an air tight container, but sometimes it can get invaded by ants anyway. This guide will show you how to get ants out of pet food and keep them out. You can easily save your dog food and cat food without having to toss it in the trash!
There isn’t much worse than going to feed your pets and discovering that their food has been invaded by ants…especially at 6 a.m. Yesterday, I awoke to that exact issue. I was half awake, pre-coffee, and went to fill our dog’s food bowls, when I discovered hundreds of tiny little ants had made their way into the dog food bin. To say that I was livid would be a vast understatement since I had just filled the bin with a $55 bag of special grain free dog food. We have two Boston Terriers, and they have very sensitive stomachs, so we feed them grain free dog food that isn’t full of fillers. My first thought was that we’d have to toss their dog food and buy new food. I fed them some chicken that we had in our refrigerator and waited until I could go to the pet store to buy more food, but decided I would call their vet first to see if there was a trick for saving the their dog food. I mean, surely this has happened to many people, right? Thankfully, our veterinarian had the perfect solution and we were able to save the expensive dog food instead of tossing it out! If you have other ant problems, check out my 2 Ingredient Ant Deterrent Spray to keep ants and other pests out of your home!
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Store Your Dogs Food In Sealed Containers
First and foremost, always ensure you store your dogs food in a sealed container. Look for the best airtight dog food container and use it to store wet foods. Once your dog has finished eating, you can refrigerate the leftovers. Having done this, you can mop up any food droppings or greasy juices that may have fallen on the ground. This will prevent the ant trails from evading your dogs food.
Elevate The Bowls And Make A Moat
Since most pests are crawling on the floor, you can use an elevated food bowl holder to reduce the number of pests that have access.
A quick and easy solution thats very effective is to use an elevated bowl holder thats slightly larger than what you need. Use the two bowls that it comes with and buy two slightly smaller bowls.
Place the small bowls into the larger bowls.
And then fill the space between the bowls with water.
This will create an elevated moat and is extremely effective to keep bugs out. Its one of my top tricks =]. Let me know if you try this out.
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Letting Other Ants Know Where The Food Is Located
Ants use foraging signals to lead other ants to food. It works something like this:
A worker ant finds a food source and takes as much as he can and returns to the nest. While doing this, the ant leaves a scent trail behind
Once the ant returns to the nest, it lets the other ants know that it has found food, and gets others to follow it back, using the scent trail as a guide.
To make sure no one gets left behind, ants often move in tandem. The ones in front will walk a few steps and then wait for the other ants to catch up. As they move, they are constantly tapping each other so that they stay together as a team!
Poison Ant Diy Updates
UPDATE: It is now Friday morning August 23rd and not an ant in sight! There has been a big response to this post which has generated a lot of questions. Instead of answering each question in the comments, I am listing them here for everyones benefit.
The original author mentioned she hasnt seen any more ants since using this method, so I am confident they will stay away. If for any reason they do come back, I know exactly how to get rid of them quickly and easily!
Also Check: Where To Buy Pedigree Dog Food
Diy Method: Build A Food Bowl Water Moat
A water moat is a defense mechanism. Ancient castles used to dig a wide ditch around their castle walls which would then be filled with water. This was effective in keeping the enemies away because to get to the castle you would need to swim or die trying!
The same mechanism is used with the food bowl water moat. You can either buy one or you can build one yourself.
Required items: To do this, you need your pet food bowl, another bowl that is slightly bigger than your pet food bowl and some water.
Instructions
- Put some water in the bigger bowl and then place the pet food bowl inside it.
- Ensure that the space between the food bowl and the water bowl isnt big enough for the pet to drink from. This water can be mixed with safe oils that will make it harder for the ants to swim across.
- Also, ensure that the water isnt too high, that it risks getting into the pet food or pouring over once the bowl containing the food has been placed in.
This bowl method comes highly recommended by many pet owners but just in case it doesnt work for you, the next method is sure to help.
Tips To Avoid Ants In Your Dog Food
There are several things you can do to avoid ants in your dog food. Below is our list of recommendations towards it:
- Store pet food in airtight containers. This will ensure that ants cannot get into it.
- Clean the area near food storage and the feeding place. Ants get attracted when they find food particles lying around. Since ants are attracted to smell as well, clean the feeding place regularly with soap and water. This will also remove the ant trail smell.
- Place your dogs food bowl on a shallow plate of water. This will act as a moat for the bowl and keep ants away. You can do the same for your food storage containers.
- In case your dog feed is infested with ants, use cornstarch to drive them away. Pour the dry dog feed in a large open container and sprinkle edible corn starch in it. Toss the dog food and let it stay for a few hours. This will detach ants from the kibbles. Use a hairdryer or sieve out the extra corn starch.
- You can also keep the dry dog food in the sun for a few minutes to drive out the ants.
- For wet or canned food, open the packet just before feeding your dog and finish the contents at the same time. If you need to store it, buy a few can lids or put them in airtight containers.
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Get The Ants Out Of The Dog Food
Heres the hardest part. You have to clean out all the dog food that is now infested with ants. Luckily the bin wasnt entirely full, so this didnt take too long. First, dump all the food out into a large bin
Next, pour some corn starch onto the food and mix it in. The corn starch will make it so the ants cannot grip onto the food, and they will fall off and separate. Then use a colander to sift through the food, shaking the ants off, and replace the clean food back into the bin. The minimal corn starch left on the food will not hurt your pet.
How To Get Rid Of Ants In A Bag Of Dog Food Kibble
- GQ on Sep 09, 2017Ants don’t light heat. Lay out a large sheet of plastic, spread the kibble on there and leave out under the hot sun for a few hours until the ants are gone.
- Naomie Moore aka baileyanddaisey, Castaic CA on Sep 09, 2017Toss the bag of food immediately. Never feed pets contaminated food. When you replace, also purchase a container or two that has an airtight seal. Then find out where the ants are entering your home and take steps to prevent from a repeat performance.
- Susan on Sep 10, 2017you can pour it out onto concrete driveway or porch – AWAY from house – using a broom to move it around, sweeping ants away and also lure the ants away from it – with cornmeal -duhhh — shake the dog food inside a mesh bag or thru a strainer etc. to knock off any remaining ants… no sense wasting money by tossing it !!- you can also add DE – sprinkle@ 2 Tablespoons per pound of food and mix well – put the cleaned, dog food with DE on it into a sealed container to keep out any more ants, bugs.
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Their Antenna Moves As They Walk
When ants follow a trail, they sweep their antenna side to side while following a trail using a 3-step process:
How To Keep Ants Out Of Pet Food
Place a line of petroleum jelly around the bottom edge of your dog or cat’s food storage bin and around the bottom of your pet’s food bowl to keep ants or any other pests from crawling into your pet’s food. Ants will not cross the barrier.
Another easy way to keep ants away from pet food is to dab surrounding areas with a little bit of peppermint oil. Peppermint essential oil in large amounts can be harmful to some pets, so just a dab on a nearby rug, curtain or a cotton ball that your pet can’t get to will keep ants far away. Ants detest the smell of peppermint.
Looking for more easy pet tips and tricks? Check these out…
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