Ants!!!!!

[Birds lover from Hawaii]

Oh wow, I almost forgot I even started this thread! I do remember the ants were particularly bad that summer as it was pretty dry here, and the little blighters were coming into the house en masse looking for water just about as much as anything else.

Thank you Birds lover from Hawaii for your most ingenious remedy. I have visited your beautiful State but did not get to see your ant colonies in action, though I imagine being a climate even more tropical than mine you would get some pretty ferocious species up there as well. And just like yours, ours like to go for my little Lilly's poop too, she being a nectar feeder they must find it quite irresistible!!

Happily I did actually stumble across an effective deterrent that worked with our local species, which was to smear canola oil on the legs of my bird cages. Canola oil is cheap to buy and the ants are unable to get a grip on it at all so it stops them in their tracks. Unfortunately my house is old and full of gaps and plugging them all is an impossibility so they're always going to find a way inside. My solution there is to squirt them at the entry point with avian mite and lice spray. I've never actually had to use that stuff on my birds but ants are just another insect so the mite spray kills them stone dead too.

Like most things, what works in one setting may not work in another, so it's good that we now have your contribution among this whole arsenal of weaponry that we can unleash upon these relentless hordes when they appear! Don't get me wrong, I would even avoid stepping on an ant if I saw one crossing the path in front of me but if they cross the line and come into my house I am gonna nuke the whole bally lot of 'em - with extreme prejudice!!!!

Ferocious species oh yeah, we have Centipede roaming in the yard and sometimes inside the house. I remember there was that one time I almost stepped on one on our kitchen floor when I got out of bed bare footed to get a drink. Since then, I swore I will never walk bare footed at night time. We have lived in Tweethead for a short time and Sydney for almost 10 years and I can still remember I freaked out when I saw that Black widow spider starring at me when I was using the toilet.

What a great idea using oil but can I use any type of oil? BTW, you can actually squirt them using diluted alcohol which I always have one handy in case my bird poops outside his cage.

I am like you feel bad killing them as they are just trying to find food. We found ants usually show up more inside the house before a storm.

I am starting to really like this forum as I feel I am going to make a lot of friends here!!

 

[LaManuka]

I am starting to really like this forum as I feel I am going to make a lot of friends here!!

Very glad to hear that you feel so at home here already! We do pride ourselves on being just about the nicest corner of the internet in our little community. More like a family really, a little dysfunctional at times to be sure but what family doesn't have it's issues from time to time??

You are very brave for being able to stay in Sydney for so long! No disrespect meant to our southern neighbours at all (), it's a nice enough place to visit but I wouldn't wanna live there. Tweed Heads is a beautiful spot, and just over the border from my fair State of Queensland - albeit on the wrong side! I hope one day to be able to revisit Hawaii, my hubby and I enjoyed our visit there immensely although all we got to see was Honolulu and Maui. Would LOVE to go back some time and visit the volcanoes on the Big Island - from a safe distance of course!

Canola was the oil of choice mainly due to it being nice and cheap. No point spending too much if it's just gonna end up on my bird cage legs. I guess you could use sunflower or olive or anything food grade though. Fortunately none of my flock are the type to climb down the cage leg and lick the oil off so that hasn't been a consideration for me whereas it seems it might be for you.

I was very sorry to read of BB's ongoing health issues and I am very hopeful that he is on the improve by now after his course of antibiotics. Nothing worse in my opinion than being worried about the health of a much beloved flock member, so I hope that your BB is restored to good health very soon!

 

[Skarila]

Hi LaManuka:

As you may be aware that I am a new member from Hawaii which means I have the same ant problems that you have. Have you already found a good solutions till now? If not, this is what we do and find it quite effective. It was the most horrifying scene to see the whole bird cage full of ants crawling around when I removed the cover in the morning. I could even see them in the water container which I couldn't figure why. Their favorite food is munching on my bird's poops as it must be sweet as he loves carrots. All different kinds of ants from medium to extremely small size can be seen on the floor, kitchen cupboards and even shown up on my cutting board in the middle of chopping food. So the formula is as follows:

3/4 cup white sugar + 1 cup water + 2-3 tbsp Boric Acid
(Use a small pot to boil the solution using low heat and stir till sugar dissolved. Let cool and store in a plastic container)

*Be careful when you boil the solution and not to inhale deeply. Also be sure to wash your hand thoroughly after using the dropper.

Use a dropper to apply some of the solution onto a plastic dish or lid. Try to look for where the ants traffic path is and put the dish there. It is best to put another slightly bigger lid loosely on top as the ants like to crawl inside some dark place to find food. I put one or two on the floor near the bird cage and some near the front door and sliding door to the patio. As soon as the ants started to gather on the dish, they will focus their attention on it and will be busy transporting them to their nest thus will kill the whole gang. We will have some peaceful and quiet days for a quite awhile. I have never seen them crawling on the bird food and cage once they found the "Real" food that I prepared for them.

Hope this helps if you still haven't found a way.

This is a really good DIY bait - here we have something similar to buy that is very very similar. it was a very thick consistency and is meant to be put near the ant's path, even on the windowsills when they come from outside. For me even the good old jelly baits worked perfectly for bigger ants.

Also, since it's boric acid inside of the concoction, do you think it'd be good against 'roachies? (Thank lord I NEVER had issues with them, I'd burn the house down if I ever would, the phobia is real, I rather keep the house centipedes around)

 

[LaManuka]

Oh man, as much as I hate ants i REALLY hate roaches!!! According to my friend Noah (Noahs_Birds) there is a water soluble product called "Coopex" (Active ingredient : permethrin 25:75 250g/kg) which he swears by for ants, which is bird safe and works on roaches too. Haven't gone down that path myself yet because frankly I don't trust myself to get the ratio right when mixing with water. Personally I get a lot of satisfaction out of smashing a roach with a very large shoe that I just don't get from using an insecticide. Just goes to show you what a bloodthirsty little critter I am at heart, huh?

 

[Skarila]

Oh man, as much as I hate ants i REALLY hate roaches!!! According to my friend Noah (Noahs_Birds) there is a water soluble product called "Coopex" (Active ingredient : permethrin 25:75 250g/kg) which he swears by for ants, which is bird safe and works on roaches too. Haven't gone down that path myself yet because frankly I don't trust myself to get the ratio right when mixing with water. Personally I get a lot of satisfaction out of smashing a roach with a very large shoe that I just don't get from using an insecticide. Just goes to show you what a bloodthirsty little critter I am at heart, huh?

We smash all those creepy crawlies for the love of our dear feathery friends, we are not bloodthirsty. While centipedes are really useful, They always end up been sucked by our little handy centrifugal vacuum. Those are the unlucky ones that we manage to spot during the day or evening.

Confession time: While I dislike spiders and insects, there is one family of spiders I really like - the jumping spiders. I actually had/have a couple that we keep as "pets". They are SO TINY in Europe, but we did have a larger asiatic one we found in the flower shop (by larger I mean 1cm big, and his name was Kumo and errr... I really don't know, that's the only critter/spider I have a soft spot as they don't make webs, are tiny and they hunt other stuff around the house. I even have some amazing macro pictures of him if anyone is interested). All other types of spiders - into the vacuum you go!

 

[Zoruace]

I even have some amazing macro pictures of him if anyone is interested). All other types of spiders - into the vacuum you go!

show me pics-
i love jumping spiders

 

[LaManuka]

We smash all those creepy crawlies for the love of our dear feathery friends, we are not bloodthirsty. While centipedes are really useful, They always end up been sucked by our little handy centrifugal vacuum. Those are the unlucky ones that we manage to spot during the day or evening.

Confession time: While I dislike spiders and insects, there is one family of spiders I really like - the jumping spiders. I actually had/have a couple that we keep as "pets". They are SO TINY in Europe, but we did have a larger asiatic one we found in the flower shop (by larger I mean 1cm big, and his name was Kumo and errr... I really don't know, that's the only critter/spider I have a soft spot as they don't make webs, are tiny and they hunt other stuff around the house. I even have some amazing macro pictures of him if anyone is interested). All other types of spiders - into the vacuum you go!

Well I think we can all agree that those micro little jumping spiders are totally adorable. And I think it's very cute Skarila that you can suck up your larger spiders in the vacuum cleaner - LOL!! Of course you realise in Australia that our spiders are so big that if you tried to do that, they would wrestle the vacuum cleaner out of your hands and beat you to death with it. This is a statement of cold, hard fact so therefore there is no "lol" at the end of it. I have never been more serious in my whole, entire life. LOL!!!

 

[Skarila]

Of course you realise in Australia that our spiders are so big that if you tried to do that, they would wrestle the vacuum cleaner out of your hands and beat you to death with it.

I laughed so hard on it I accidentally snorted my coffee. I totally forgot that everything in Australia is bigger and is trying to kill you. Even the plants/trees. Even those cute adorable furry animals would go for your throat if they could.

 

[Noahs_Birds]

I’ve always used a residual insecticide called Coopex made by Bayer. Honestly is the best product I’ve ever found and is very popular amongst breeders. Completely safe for birds, you can literally go mad and spray every inch of the cage.......and you can even lightly spray the birds themselves to get rid of mites. I’ve been using it for the past 5 years and never had a problem. I’ve had bad problems with ants but since I’ve used Coopex I haven’t had them anywhere in the aviaries, or any insects like cockroaches etc at all. Lasts for a fair few months too!

 

[LaManuka]

Hello Noah, we were literally just talking about you. Speak of lovely Noah, and he appears

 

[Rozalka]

Well I think we can all agree that those micro little jumping spiders are totally adorable. And I think it's very cute Skarila that you can suck up your larger spiders in the vacuum cleaner - LOL!! Of course you realise in Australia that our spiders are so big that if you tried to do that, they would wrestle the vacuum cleaner out of your hands and beat you to death with it. This is a statement of cold, hard fact so therefore there is no "lol" at the end of it. I have never been more serious in my whole, entire life. LOL!!!

I wanna fly to Australia... But its spiders are my biggest fear

 

[Zoruace]

I wanna fly to Australia... But its spiders are my biggest fear

i dont mind the spider as long as there are lorikeets!

 

[LaManuka]

i dont mind the spider as long as there are lorikeets!

In Australia there are plenty of both

 

[Rozalka]

i dont mind the spider as long as there are lorikeets!

Aussie spiders are so deadly - they are the most poisonous and your shoes is nothing for them to beat you

 

[Zoruace]

Aussie spiders are so deadly - they are the most poisonous and your shoes is nothing for them to beat you

but my- uh-
bug spray?

 

[Skarila]

but my- uh-
bug spray?

Aussie spiders are so deadly - they are the most poisonous and your shoes is nothing for them to beat you

Guys, weren't you paying attention? They'd even rip a vacuum cleaner out of your hands and beat you with it! That's it, I ain't going to Australia 'till I buy a Dyson and become a bodybuilder

 

[SailBoat]

My how quickly two years pass!
We elected to go with a 'paid gun' this year! Yes, a Professional Bug Killer!
This have changed greatly in their industry as the Bad Old Days of kill everything has been replaced with targeted products that are applied outside the home.

The owner came and first met Julio and stated that he understood our concerns and he set about on the exterior of the home. Got my "Well Done' for pulling the bush line back 1 meter from the foundation. Was very surprised that he sprayed twice, from /on the foundation out 3-meters around the full home including all doors, porches, concrete walkways, driveways and patios. He returned two weeks later and repeated the applications. We were so impressed that we had him treat the cabin and its crawlspace . Zero bug problem both places!!

Have the name of the product used around here someplace. But there was zero smell /odor to it and it dried quickly.

Short story: Well worth having a professional at least look at what you have. Much has improved in that industry. FYI: We had Robins in the front bushes like every year in the past and enjoyed watching the young grow-up and fly South as we are now headed into the cold months of the year.

 

[wrench13]

I cleared a foot wide section all around the house and once a year I put down these slow release ant beads. they work well, we used to get these tiny sugar ants. I tried several of the ideas above, but these seem to the trick each year.
Of course, Salty only gets dry foods in his cage, nuts, Nutraberries and pellets. His wet foods (fruit, chop or veggies) he gets in a hanging boing adjacent to his cage, so the ants would need a road map up the wall, across the ceiling and down the metal chain used to hang the boing.

 

[Zoruace]

In Australia there are plenty of both

you live in australia?-
i have a couple of qustions!-lol

 

[Birds lover from Hawaii]

This is a really good DIY bait - here we have something similar to buy that is very very similar. it was a very thick consistency and is meant to be put near the ant's path, even on the windowsills when they come from outside. For me even the good old jelly baits worked perfectly for bigger ants.

Also, since it's boric acid inside of the concoction, do you think it'd be good against 'roachies? (Thank lord I NEVER had issues with them, I'd burn the house down if I ever would, the phobia is real, I rather keep the house centipedes around)

We used to buy similar products but found they are not economical at all and only comes in small bottles and is quite expensive. That prompted us to search online and found this formula. Oh man, that really saved us tons of money but if you don't need to use often and a lot of areas to cover, then purchasing one is more convenient.

Have asked my husband if it can be used on roaches. He said he has read something about that too that is roaches don't go for wet bait so skip the water just mix sugar and boric acid that may do the trick.