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Post by pear2apple on Jun 16, 2008 16:53:53 GMT -5
Not sure if I should put this here, but I consider this to be under care. So the problem, a few weeks ago I noticed big black ants crawling on my walls and desks. There were so few, I didn't really see it as that big a deal. But I went out and bought ant traps anyway, and placed them on window sills and in my kitchen. Apple cannot reach the window sills and never goes in my kitchen.
Now I just get back from a 4 day vacation, and I found 5 live ants around Apple's cage! I quickly killed them all, but where are they coming from? All of my windows were closed with the A/C on while I was gone. Also, there is one large window on the opposite wall of his cage, about maybe 10 feet away.
My new problem is I tend to feed Apple early in the morning with the NV raw frozen diet, then whatever he doesn't eat I leave out while I am gone for him to eat during the day. When I get home from work its always all gone, but what if the ants are hanging out over there because thats where the food is? What if an ant gets in his food and he eats it? I don't think it will hurt him at all, but the idea of ants crawling around my ferret's cage (not to mention my apartment) really grosses me out! (and now I am really itchy) Does anyone have any idea of anything I could use that won't harm Apple that will kill off these ants? Or at least make them go running from my apartment??
I am a little unorganized, some might say messy, and now I'm totally freaked out and ready to do a thorough cage cleanup! But I just did an apartment scrub down (literally) less than 2 weeks ago! Also, I have wood floors and a few area rugs, plus the normal couch and a few chairs. What can I use on this stuff to get rid of ants? Clearly my store bought little ant traps (not the liquid sugar kind) are not working!
Any ideas, please give them to me!
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 16, 2008 20:49:10 GMT -5
Ants are disgusting!
Here's what we did...we moved the brats out of the ant area and then used the ant traps where the ants carry the poison back to the nest. We sprinkled diazinon around the foundation of the house where the ants were presummbly coming into the house someow. When the ants were gone, for a while, we cleaned up really well and returned the brats to their room.
Ferrets eating ants would not be bad if you knew they ants were not contaminated with ant poison or lawn poison.
We had ants only once, so we didn't have to look for a healthy solution to manage a longer term problem, and we could move our brats out of that room.
Ants a re so frustrating....I hope your experience is short-lived and the ants go away forever!!!
-jennifer
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Post by tss on Jun 16, 2008 21:47:07 GMT -5
Food grade DE will take care of them and any other pests you have. It slices them up and dries them out. It's completely safe, it is often fed to pets with intestinal worms. You can buy it online, at health food stores and sometimes at lawn care centers.
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Post by Forum Administrator on Jun 16, 2008 22:54:05 GMT -5
Be careful with Diatomaceous Earth (DE) be sure to ONLY use FOOD GRADE DE
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tako
Cageless and Roamin' Free
"Future Ferrent"
Is overworked and not paid at all...
Posts: 268
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Post by tako on Jun 17, 2008 1:08:40 GMT -5
also, dryer sheets (like the sort to keep your clothes from developing static cling in the dryer), as silly as it sounds, really will deter ants. If you're just worried about them getting in the cage while you're trying to take care of them, you could keep the cage well away from a wall , with dryer sheets wrapped around the legs/base of the cage.
Other, more natural deterrents include mint (you can just scatter mint tea bags around where they are most active)
If you find out where they are coming in, most ants won't cross lines of cayenne pepper, citrus oils, or cinnamon.
We have to put a line of ant poison down around the foundation of our house at the beginning of ever season change pretty much, because ants are really bad in our area and seasons change abruptly, so ants are always immediately trying to get inside as soon as it gets cold, wet, hot, or what have you.
Your best bet is to stay as on top of the very few you are seeing now, because if they never make in back to the nest, they can never let the other ants know that your house is an awesome place to be.
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Post by Jaycee on Jun 17, 2008 18:04:08 GMT -5
Ants come into our bathroom and get into our cats food bowls. I had heard you can run petroleum jelly around bowls to keep the ants out. They won't cross the jelly barrier. It worked for me...we're now ant free!
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Post by pear2apple on Jun 17, 2008 21:52:13 GMT -5
also, dryer sheets (like the sort to keep your clothes from developing static cling in the dryer), as silly as it sounds, really will deter ants. If you're just worried about them getting in the cage while you're trying to take care of them, you could keep the cage well away from a wall , with dryer sheets wrapped around the legs/base of the cage. Other, more natural deterrents include mint (you can just scatter mint tea bags around where they are most active) If you find out where they are coming in, most ants won't cross lines of cayenne pepper, citrus oils, or cinnamon. We have to put a line of ant poison down around the foundation of our house at the beginning of ever season change pretty much, because ants are really bad in our area and seasons change abruptly, so ants are always immediately trying to get inside as soon as it gets cold, wet, hot, or what have you. Your best bet is to stay as on top of the very few you are seeing now, because if they never make in back to the nest, they can never let the other ants know that your house is an awesome place to be. Wow! You are on it! This is awesome, I didn't know there were so many ways to keep them out. I have to tell my boyf, there are ants living in his bathroom, and its so gross. I could take 10mins and still not have killed them all! It sounds like the vaseline/jelly and mint tea bags idea will be most versatile for all the different possible openings in my apartment. I'm on the second floor! Seriously, it makes me so itchy. Thanks for the suggestions! |
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Post by tobysmindy on Jun 17, 2008 22:26:04 GMT -5
Thanks for all the ant information. I had no idea that Mint was also a way to help deal with them.
Just a side note, watch where and what you put Vaseline on. Toby loves the stuff and in the past both of my cats also liked the stuff. Its okay for hairballs but only in small amounts.
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Post by Jaycee on Jun 18, 2008 6:24:24 GMT -5
Thanks for all the ant information. I had no idea that Mint was also a way to help deal with them. Just a side note, watch where and what you put Vaseline on. Toby loves the stuff and in the past both of my cats also liked the stuff. Its okay for hairballs but only in small amounts. No, I only smeared a small bit around the rim of the bowl. My cats aren't fond of the jelly, and have not bothered it. But, good point to bring up for animals that do like to ingest everything. |
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Post by pear2apple on Jun 21, 2008 14:20:37 GMT -5
OMG the ants are back! This time I found them in an unknown ferret poop corner! Just swarming the poop! So yeah, I guess Apple has picked a new corner! Well I grabbed the Vaseline and wiped it all around the corner, so if they come out of the wall, they will have nowhere to go. Also went to my 2 entry doors and put some along the bottoms. Wish me luck!
Apple will only eat the Vaseline if I put Ferrevite on it, so I'm not worried about him eating it all.
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Post by tobysmindy on Jun 22, 2008 16:09:35 GMT -5
*giggles* thats so not fair. Master Toby will not eat or smell Ferrevite, but Will Eat a handfull of Vaseline if I let him.  |
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Post by pear2apple on Jun 24, 2008 8:47:21 GMT -5
It seems Apple is just inviting the ants over for lunch while I am not home! And he can't even see them walking all around him and into his cage! He has started picking up pieces of food, and moving them around his cage instead of eating it all. So now there is a layer of Vaseline around the bottom of his cage. I hope that keeps them out!
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Post by mustelidmusk on Jun 24, 2008 14:36:20 GMT -5
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tako
Cageless and Roamin' Free
"Future Ferrent"
Is overworked and not paid at all...
Posts: 268
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Post by tako on Jun 24, 2008 15:03:38 GMT -5
Also, it's not just a gross out factor, depending on the type of ant it can be a very dangerous situation for the fuzzies too! Biting ants aren't something to be fooled around with in small animals, enough of them can pose serious problems with a large animal or human, let alone a small animal like a ferret.
Please don't take any risks if they are a type of ant known to bite, you may just want to resort to some chemical deterrents if you are dealing with a nasty variety of ants.
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Post by pear2apple on Jun 24, 2008 21:42:31 GMT -5
OMG you used an ant icon!! Now thats gross. Who put those on here???! I don't think its possible to put a pan of water around the cage, not because I couldn't find one big enough (though that would be a challenge) but because Apple loves to scoop out the water from his water bowl, that would just cause a bigger mess. I found one ant today, wandering around nothing. I hope thats it, but I don't want to get my hopes up!
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