Ants....

[Alembic772]

No I am not talking about the Geico commercial. With the amount of fresh food Paprika is getting and rainy season coming, I have started to notice I have ants raiding the bottom of the cage. Hell, I even have seen her and basil both eat one!

I am trying to use something safe to fight the ants. I am thinking Diatomaceous earth should be safe upon all I read, but wanted to get some opinions.

Anyone care to share their thoughts ?



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[SailBoat]

Start outside by removing all the trash, grass and other stuff that lines the outside of your home. Cleaning at lease a 6" wide strip from the foundation of the home out. Personally, I like 24" but that me! Also around doors and ground level windows. Seal /fill all cracks and holes. Spray a known brand name Ant and bug killer all around your outside of your home. At least two heavy sprayings in the Spring and another in the Fall.

Inside is a deep clean with a bird safe cleaner starting along the outside walls and working into the home. Detailed cleaning for several months is needed to remove their walking path.

 

[LaManuka]

Oh I feel your pain, i HATE ants!!!! Here in Brisbane we would have to have some of the most determined ants on the planet. They love my lorikeet's wet nectar mix and fruit and will stop at nothing to get at it. They have learned to swim across "moats" placed under cage stands, and also climb across the dead bodies of their hive-mates as they cross barriers of Vaseline and double-sided sticky tape!!

I have not yet tried diatomaceous earth, I vaguely recall reading that there are apparently differing grades of it and some are more suitable for use around birds than others - other members may be better placed to speak about that than me. Lorikeets also apparently do enjoy eating the odd insect although I've never seen Lilly eat one but it does make me extremely cautious about what treatment I use around her. What I have found that works is using canola oil on the legs of cage stands which stops ants from being able to get enough grip to climb them, that is pretty effective. The other treatment I use is that bird lice and mite insecticide they make to spray on birds. I have never actually used it on any of my birds but hey, ants are just another insect and that spray kills them stone dead which makes me very happy

 

[noodles123]

Terro ant bait is safe as long as the bird does not contact the bait and doesn't try to eat the ants (this is what I use, and Noodles has eaten an ant and been okay, but just a heads-up, as some poisons are worse when ingested via a carrier). Boric acid and sugar also kills ants, but it can kill anything that eats it, so you wouldn't want this sitting anywhere where your bird might eat it.


FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth can be used to protect the perimeter or in places like base-boards where it won't get kicked up...or outside of your home where it will stay dry but come in contact with invading ants. *note, this will kill any bug that walks through it, as it is like glass particles that get into their exoskeleton and dehydrate them*.



Ant bait stations (just the standard black one) can be safe if you are CERTAIN your bird will never get to them but, more so than terro, these can be possibly harmful if your bird eats poisoned ants.


Peppermint outside of the house (where they may be entering) can help, but essential oils aren't really safe for parrots to inhale.



Some people put petroleum jelly on cage legs to prevent ants from climbing up, but again, you do not want your bird to come in contact with it.

 

[Laurasea]

I have used hair spray over their path , read it somewhere and it works.

I have also sprinkled comet across their path, it also works great, but you don't want your parrot to get into it.

 

[noodles123]

I have used hair spray over their path , read it somewhere and it works.

I have also sprinkled comet across their path, it also works great, but you don't want your parrot to get into it.

If spraying indoors, use a non-aerosol hairspray and not near your bird (as the scents and chemicals in them are not great for parrots).

 

[noodles123]

sealing off the places where they are entering is also huge, but again, watch out for using glues/foams, as they can be toxic to parrots when inhaled.

 

[chris-md]

I’ve used Terro ant bait from Home Depot. It works well!

 

[Noahs_Birds]

Get a product called Coopex, its a residual insecticide and its completely safe for birds. I use it all the time as we have lots of problems with ants. Mix it up in a spray bottle and spray it everywhere where the ants are getting in, remove food and water beforehand

 

[Alembic772]

Thanks everyone. I now need to go to the Home Depot or Lowe’s to get the stuff.


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[Scott]

I've smeared full strength Dawn Dishwashing soap on lower cage legs to prevent ant access. A legendary bird-safe product!

 

[fiddlejen]

So years ago I found out that talcum powder will stop ants Entirely from proceeding.
You can theoretically get Chalk and draw heavy lines which they cannot cross, however I have not been able to try this.

Many talc products have changed to cornstarch nowadays and of course this will Not help At All. In the past (before birdies), I would use the anti-fungal foot Powder, which IS talc, and put a heavy layer in areas where ants seemed to come in.

However I do not want loose talc that could get airborne with wing-flapped aircurrents anymore.

Last summer after I gave the birds some fruit, I had a horde of ants coming in.

Ants follow scent trails.

So, first I put a whole lot of baking powder on the floor, then mopped it up thoroughly, so, no baking soda nor scent trails left.

THEN in the areas where the ants were Entering -- a floor opening under the radiator, and at a crack at the bottom of the windowsill (areas where the birds do not normally go), I made a Paste of Baking Soda and Talc, and spread it there, let it dry & left it. (Again, Only very limited areas where I have never seen the birds go.)

Also I sponge-mopped the floor agan, at the edges and all under the baseboard radiator (so around the edges of the floor, basically) with a solution of Baking Soda and Water, and let it dry. Did Not rinse it up. Again, only in areas where the birds do Not normally land nor explore.

This DID STop All the ants from coming in last year.

(I am hoping something like this will work this year. We will be approaching ant-season again quite soon.)

 

[noodles123]

So years ago I found out that talcum powder will stop ants Entirely from proceeding.
You can theoretically get Chalk and draw heavy lines which they cannot cross, however I have not been able to try this.

Many talc products have changed to cornstarch nowadays and of course this will Not help At All. In the past (before birdies), I would use the anti-fungal foot Powder, which IS talc, and put a heavy layer in areas where ants seemed to come in.

However I do not want loose talc that could get airborne with wing-flapped aircurrents anymore.

Last summer after I gave the birds some fruit, I had a horde of ants coming in.

Ants follow scent trails.

So, first I put a whole lot of baking powder on the floor, then mopped it up thoroughly, so, no baking soda nor scent trails left.

THEN in the areas where the ants were Entering -- a floor opening under the radiator, and at a crack at the bottom of the windowsill (areas where the birds do not normally go), I made a Paste of Baking Soda and Talc, and spread it there, let it dry & left it. (Again, Only very limited areas where I have never seen the birds go.)

Also I sponge-mopped the floor agan, at the edges and all under the baseboard radiator (so around the edges of the floor, basically) with a solution of Baking Soda and Water, and let it dry. Did Not rinse it up. Again, only in areas where the birds do Not normally land nor explore.

This DID STop All the ants from coming in last year.

(I am hoping something like this will work this year. We will be approaching ant-season again quite soon.)

Talc can cause cancer and mesothelioma in humans if inhaled, as its not uncommon for talc to contain some asbestos (but also is dangerous for other reasons, asbestos aside). Just be very careful using talc anywhere where it could go airborne via foot traffic, vacuuming etc.



"Breathing in talcum powder can lead to very serious lung problems, even death. Use caution when using talcum powder on babies. Talc-free baby powder products are available. Workers who have regularly breathed in talcum powder over long periods of time have developed serious lung damage and cancer."

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Ants are simple on cage , put cups with water in them place cage wheels inside cups . you can use cheap cooking oil too. this does not work for mice .