Ants in my Bird Room

[WeimerHeimer]

I have ANTS in my Bird Room, ... small little pesty ants. I've not noticed any in the food bowls, but LOTS of ants on the floor. The floor gets swepted and Shop-Vac'd every day, but the food that gets tossed throughout the day is attracting these little pesty ants.

I obviously don't want to spray anything inside the house and/or Bird Room. Thought about putting some granual pesticide outside around the house foundation, but then I was afraid the ants will only track through the pesticide outside, go intot he house in my bird room, walk around before they die and track traces of that nasty pesticide around. My birds like to walk around the floor in the bird room each evening... not a good idea.

So, ........ how do I get rid of these pesty ants SAFELY?

 

[antoinette]

This worked for me

You can get rid of them without chemical sprays, grab a bottle of cinnamon. Follow the ant trail to discover the pests point of entry into your home. Sprinkle cinnamon on the point of entry and on the nearest door threshold.
Ants hate the smell of cinnamon and will immediately leave, the cinnamon is and at least you know it's safe for children and pets.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Hey that is interesting!! I didn't know that about cinnamon. I had a few ants upstairs in my house (come to find out, they were coming from my attic) and i did spray in the attic with the attic windows open and sprayed outside the house and they are gone, but having them right in the bird room, wow, that is tough. I will keep cinnamon in mind for the future.

 

[Jowelbg]

Just hit this problem as well, so I'm watching this thread. Have you tried the Boric acid/sugar/water solution? I was reading up on it and it looked interesting.

 

[Mare Miller]

I also, had ant issues in the bird room this summer, also, the kitchen. Was driving me nuts! I knew I couldn't spray or powder poison in these areas. I was in a hardware store and when I pulled my wallet out, guess what!? Ants!, inside my purse!! I got to talking to the lady at the check out and she highly recommended Terro Drops. It's a poison drop that you put on a small piece of paper (that is supplied with the drops). Amigo has a floor to ceiling cage that's set on a platform, there is space underneath it. I bought the drops and tucked one under the platform that I knew could not be reached by the birds. These squares that the drops are on are no more than 1"x1" square and it drew the ants away from his cage and to that area. It took about 5-6 days before they all disappeared, (they take the juice back to their nest and it does them in) but it works! I also did this for my kitchen ants.

 

[WeimerHeimer]

Just had a recommendation for the TERRA Liquid Baits: Terro® Outdoor Liquid Ant Baits (T1806) - Insect Bait & Traps - Ace Hardware

They go outside near your foundation.

 

[Mare Miller]

Thanks, WeimerHeimer, we all may be dying soon, I hope not. . On the package I'm not sure if they posted that instruction? Definitely good to know, thank you! (It DOES work!)

 

[goalerjones]

The bait is what works for us every year when the onslaught begins. Just put the bait in their direct path and leave them to it. Max time for us was 2 days of them going directly to the bait and then absolutely nothing.

 

[MikeyTN]

The ant bait thing is a great idea, don't buy the regular cheapo things from walmart or the stick things from Lowes or Home Depot, they don't work!!!! I had like 20 of them sticks everywhere and the ants kept coming. I decided to spray around the parameters of my house as I found their point of entry and zap them. For my bird room, to prevent ants from going in there anymore you have to discourage them from going in there in the first place so sweep and vacuum constantly. And I use two size tupperware, the smaller one going inside the bigger one and place the cage legs into the smaller tub and put vinegar mix with water in the bigger tub. There have been no ants in my bird room after that. No more ants in the food dishes and such....

 

[GreyG]

We only use Camicide. It is the only commercial insecticide product that I'm aware of that is safe around birds. Here is an informative blog about it & its availabiility: Almost Angels Aviary: What's the deal with Camicide?

 

[Niner10Tango]

Just had a recommendation for the TERRA Liquid Baits: Terro® Outdoor Liquid Ant Baits (T1806) - Insect Bait & Traps - Ace Hardware

They go outside near your foundation.

I have used them and they work great.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Terro Drops work like MAGIC! They really, truly do!!!

I was SO doubtful because of the minute amount needed, but in about a week ALL the ants were history.

 

[Grinder]

Remember that unless you have the just a horrendously dirty home that ants come from the outside. Ant colonies consistently send out 'scouts' that find food sources. So even if you sweep and clean like your life depends on it, the next scout will find the food that is tossed to the floor. You must kill the ants on the OUTSIDE. Most people spend far too much money on pest control services - one of my friends who owns a local pest company told me that most pests/insects/spiders/rodents do need professional services, but ants are one of the few that can be taken care of without them.

Ants run along walls and straight surfaces. They only deviate when they find something (that's why they look like they are drunk when not walking along a straight edge). So if you put an outdoor bait trap (one where the ants carry the bait back to the colony) along each major wall and at each corner of the home you will pretty much cover their travels. You will be surprised how cheap it is to do so and these traps can control the colonies for more than a couple of years.

 

[JerseyWendy]

THESE stations are awesome, and yes, they work.
Terro Outdoor Liquid Ant Baits Bonus (6-Pack)-1806 at The Home Depot

 

[MikeyTN]

We were just talking about ants and here they come from all the rain we've been having lately. They started going to my bird room last night and tonight they are all over the bird room. So I bought the terro 6 pack and so far the ants are feeding on the stuffs big time. Hopefully they'll be gone soon....

 

[WeimerHeimer]

Thanks folks!

Sounds like Terra is the way to go. Will give it a try and see what happens.

Pesty ant!!!! .................

 

[davisn456]

I'm also a big fan of the terro ant bait traps. I pretty much had the same problem everyone else is describing, mostly I think due to rain. But I put one terro trap in my kitchen and I think 3 outside the house (none in the bird's room) and I only occasionally see one now. It has worked incredibly well.

 

[MikeyTN]

So far it seems to be working....we'll see what happens in a few days...it takes 24-48hrs to kill them off once they ingest it. Which within that time they carry it back to their colony to feed everyone including the queen. Malachai was mad last night cause his cage was covered with them so I had to clean them off but need to find the tupperware for his cage legs if my partner didn't throw them yet.....

 

[goalerjones]

Also, if you vacuum the ants make sure to empty the bag right away or they will just crawl out again.

 

[Captsteve]

If you want something that works great and is not toxic to you or your FID (It may even be beneficial) Try Diatomaceous earth, it is toxic to any critter with an exoskeleton.

All it is, is a bunch of skeletal remains of tiny sea creatures called Diatoms. DE can be bought in food grade and may even have some health benefits.

Sprinkle it around the baseboards to kill the ants.

No more ants!!