Ants in the feeding bowl

[ThaiWai]

I live in Thailand. Ants find everything and send in an army when they do. The don't seem to like my CAG's food mix until she cracks open a few shells then a line of ant forms. I know they make ant free dog bowls. Do they make the same for birds? If not I will have to place her four cage legs in dishes of water. Please provide links if possible.

 

[Doublete]

Ants don't like orange I think.
But the legs in water is good. Orange flavored water.

 

[RavensGryf]

Ants can be a problem in many places in the world... In the summer when it's hot here, it really brings them out from their underground nests and into people's homes.

Here, there is a natural insect killing product that is made of concentrated citrus oil (from oranges). It's called Orange Guard, but it's from a small manufacturer and I doubt it's distributed worldwide. It's very toxic to insects, and kills them right away (just killed a fly with it tonight in fact), yet completely safe for birds and mammals. Leaves a pleasant orange scent behind. I bet you can make your own concoction from citrus peels. Crushed or mashed, or however you need to do it to get the oils out, and rub it on the legs of the cage or on the areas of the home where you might see the ants are coming in from. I've never tried the water, but I bet it would work! Good luck.

 

[Chihuahua]

You should be feeding your CAG pellets, not seeds... just throwing that out there.

 

[Christinenc2000]

You should be feeding your CAG pellets, not seeds... just throwing that out there.

Sorry I don't see anything in his post where he said he feeds only seed. Food mix can contain anything. I use a Food mix for daytime feeding while I am at work. Safflower seed mix Fruit blend and a few almonds. This might be what he is talking about.

 

[ThaiWai]

You are right! Not only did I not say I only feed seeds, I in fact don't. My CAG get's fresh fruits and veggies daily, and a fortified pellet diet and some mixed seed also. The Thai King's summer palace here is built on stilts and around every stilt is a small gutter which is filled with water preventing ants from entering the entire palace. That's where I got the idea of water dishes. I will look into the orange oil possibility.

 

[RavensGryf]

Let's keep in mind to keep this thread on track in regard to the original question .