Help - ant invasion of Biblical proportions....am concerned they will affect my kitty who has tummy

[dianajune]

I just got my kitty back from the vets a little less than two weeks ago after serious tummy issues.....he's on laxatone and lactulose.  His dose of the second one has been increased and he's doing much better.  However.......

not long after his trip to the vets I found an ant invasion and it's getting worse.  They started to appear in the kitchen, then the bathroom, and then they got into his supper dish near the kitchen.  So, I dumped that food. washed his dishes and placemat, vacuumed the entire carpet and moved his dining spot.  For over a week the ants weren't bothering his food at all in the new spot.  Until this afternoon.

This time they were all over the place....mainly around the food that got scattered and near/in his dish.  So I dumped his food, washed the dishes, etc, like before and did some massive vacuuming.  And I moved his dining spot once again, but this place is small and I have nowhere else to put his stuff.

This apartment complex is undergoing a renovation that has many issues I won't get into here.  We have no basement.....each building is on a slab of concrete.  We had ants off and on since we moved here a couple of years ago, but not like this.  I was hoping that the renovation would affect this problem but it came back worse.

Are there any pet-friendly ant traps or spray that I can get?  I don't want to get conventional ant poison or traps for obvious reasons. 

Regarding his food - Pumpkin has a huge stash I put away because I believe in stocking up.  He has many bags that aren't open but they are double wrapped in plastic bags and taped very well.  I hope this is adequate.

I would appreciate any input on how to handle this problem.  I'm concerned that Pumpkin's health can be affected if these ants keep coming back and he eats them.  He's been known to go after spiders. 

At least spiders aren't nearly as bad here as they were before the renovations.  But the ants are worse.  Help!  Thanks.

<a stressed out, getting ready to tear her hair out kitty mommy>

 

[Kat0121]

Do I ever understand this issue. Florida, with all of it's wonderful qualities, is bug heaven (hell for us though). Ants leave pheromones behind and they alert other ants to come join the party once they find food. You need to remove the pheromones and get the food to a place they cannot or do not want to get to. I have Lilith and Sophie's food dishes on the kitchen table. For whatever reason, the ants have left it alone. I leave ant traps outside near where I have seen them come in in the hopes that they will find the traps, go in and then bring the lovely treats inside back to the nest instead of bringing the traps inside and hving them come in and then go back out with the treats.

Henry's room is another story. I have had to make a set up for his dish that they don't want to get into. I take a rectangular Tupperware or similar container and fill it about 2/3 with water. Then I take a smaller rectangular container and turn it upside down and put it in the one with the water. The food dish goes on top of the smaller Tupperware in the middle. I make sure that the food dish is not touching any walls or anything that an ant can climb up. You're basically creating a "moat" around the food dish. If the ants climb up and attempt to get to the dish they will encounter the water and drown. The rest of the ants will figure out that this is not an ant friendly buffet and alert the others. They will stop coming in. I was getting rid of ants in Henry's room multiple times a day, every day. No more since I have kept that set up in place.

Your stockpile should be OK with the way you have it. If they can't get in, they look for something else. If they can't find something else, they leave.

 

[stephanietx]

Every spring, the ants move into our house as well.  I spray all the baseboards, window sills, and door frames (inside and out on the doors) with orange oil.  It'll kill the ants and the cats won't go near it because of the citrus smell.  I also will spray inside my cabinets along the back if need be, especially if on the outside wall.  I'd do this on any adjacent walls in your apartment.  They're most likely coming out because of the change in weather.

 

[detmut]

http://www.saferbrand.com/store/indoor-insect/by-insect/ants

http://theantser.com/

i can verify that the antser works. 

 

[misty8723]

 
http://www.saferbrand.com/store/indoor-insect/by-insect/ants

http://theantser.com/

i can verify that the antser works. 

I was reading the specs. I don't know what most of that stuff is, but the fact that  97.950% of what is in it is listed as "other ingredients," would cause me to hesitate and investigate it more thoroughly.

 Active ingredients by wt.:  D-Limonene 1.000%, Pyrethrins 0.050%, Potassium Salts of Fatty Acids 1.000%,  Other ingredients 97.950%.

 

[dianajune]

 
Do I ever understand this issue. Florida, with all of it's wonderful qualities, is bug heaven (hell for us though). Ants leave pheromones behind and they alert other ants to come join the party once they find food. You need to remove the pheromones and get the food to a place they cannot or do not want to get to. I have Lilith and Sophie's food dishes on the kitchen table. For whatever reason, the ants have left it alone. I leave ant traps outside near where I have seen them come in in the hopes that they will find the traps, go in and then bring the lovely treats inside back to the nest instead of bringing the traps inside and hving them come in and then go back out with the treats.

Henry's room is another story. I have had to make a set up for his dish that they don't want to get into. I take a rectangular Tupperware or similar container and fill it about 2/3 with water. Then I take a smaller rectangular container and turn it upside down and put it in the one with the water. The food dish goes on top of the smaller Tupperware in the middle. I make sure that the food dish is not touching any walls or anything that an ant can climb up. You're basically creating a "moat" around the food dish. If the ants climb up and attempt to get to the dish they will encounter the water and drown. The rest of the ants will figure out that this is not an ant friendly buffet and alert the others. They will stop coming in. I was getting rid of ants in Henry's room multiple times a day, every day. No more since I have kept that set up in place.

Your stockpile should be OK with the way you have it. If they can't get in, they look for something else. If they can't find something else, they leave.

A moat sounds like a good idea.  They never bother his water dishes.  Pumpkin has three as we're trying to get him to drink more.  I'll try to come up with a way to do this.  Thanks! 

 

[dianajune]

 
Every spring, the ants move into our house as well.  I spray all the baseboards, window sills, and door frames (inside and out on the doors) with orange oil.  It'll kill the ants and the cats won't go near it because of the citrus smell.  I also will spray inside my cabinets along the back if need be, especially if on the outside wall.  I'd do this on any adjacent walls in your apartment.  They're most likely coming out because of the change in weather.

Is this something that most stores like Walmart would carry?  I'd buy this in a heartbeat if I knew it would help and not hurt Pumpkin.  I could spray it outside near the front and rear entrances to this building.  With all the construction workers that have been coming and going I suppose the ants could have got in that way as well.  I could spray this outside my patio door and windows too. 

 

[dianajune]

The Antser seems to be a very good idea, and is similar to what Kat said about how to set up a moat.  I looked up the Safer spray and found this in the FAQ section:

"Q: What if my pet licks it off his or her feet?

A: Our aerosols are made from organic ingredients and are safe to use indoors where you may have pets. We always recommend to take caution and monitor your pet's behavior if it does consume a significant amount of product and to take them to see a veterinarian if any issue persists."

http://www.saferbrand.com/resources/faqs/safer-brand-products#pet-licks-feet

I'm inclined to agree with what Misty said about the "other ingredients."  The Safer faq didn't really say for certain this is absolutely 100% safe for cats w/o a doubt.

I found a Youtube video on the Antser:


Thanks! 

 

[kittymomma1122]

My husband drinks Mountain Dew. It is a great ant trap. I fill shallow little containers and put them under cabinet in kitchen where they mostly come in. They go to it and drown. It does not hurt my cats. I put a couple out in driveway in front of where my sink is also. I have feral cats outside so I do not use any kind of spray in my yard. In the summer I set up planters around my yard with cat friendly plants that repel insects. Nothing will get rid of them like pesticides, but it controls them enough to tolerate without doing any harm. 

 

[giraffatitan]

My husband and I just got rid of some ants. This is not a safe way per say because it could hurt your cat if swallowed but if you can keep it away it works really well. We used Borax, we went outside and found where they were mostly at and put a mixture of sugar and borax and a mixture of syrup and borax on the ground in multiple places where they could find it, right on top of them helps. They carry it back to the nest and eat it and they die.

We did use this indoors as well for a bit, I soaked a cotton ball in the liquid and placed it on a shallow lid and also put some of the solid mixuture there as well and I watched my cats (i did not leave it out overnight), but I also made a trap (they were coming down from a wall under a cabinet) which was a ziplock bag with both mixtures and fastened it over the hole, they crawled in and the cats couldn't get to it (fancy I know).

The two different mixtures are important because the scout ants will eat the solid but the larvae will eat the liquid.

but like I said you would want to keep kitty away, it did take care of the problem in about a day. If you could put it outside only I imagine it would still help.

 

[stephanietx]

You can find orange oil in most gardening sections, so check Wal-Mart and Lowe's, Home Depot, or garden centers.

 

[deidrahall]

Hi Stephanie. I feel your pain, ugh ants. My husband & I had struggled for years dealing with the ants coming every summer. The only thing that worked was these device's you plug into the outlet. This brand called "Home Sentinel" . You can buy them on Amazon. Along with Orange Oil for maintenance. The electrical devices did not bother neither one of my cats which is important. They don't even notice them. Also "Home Sentinel" is the only brand for some reason that does prove to work. You can read the reviews on Amazon. Hope this helps [emoji]128049[/emoji]

 

[pharber-murphy]

I don't know if you've read through any of the other postings on this page, but Elle Cooper talks about one of her kittens making a mess with her food and tracking it all over the house. She bought a plastic tray boot for muddy boots and put her cat's bowls in it. It seems to me that if it catches the water her cat splashes about, then it would probably work as an ant moat, too. And it sounds a bit less complicated than building a pyramid-type of feeding system ;-)

Best regards.

 

[potbelly]

The best thing I've found to get rid of ants for good is TERRO[emoji]174[/emoji] Liquid Ant Killer.  The ants carry it back to the nest and it kills all of them.

 

[chromium blues]

Keep ants out of kitty's dishes - place his dishes on a place mat and encircle them with a ring of sunlight dish soap. Ants can't cross the line.

 

[Kat0121]

 
Keep ants out of kitty's dishes - place his dishes on a place mat and encircle them with a ring of sunlight dish soap. Ants can't cross the line.

Won't the cat step in the soap and get it all over their feet? I know miss Sophiesaurus would 

 

[chromium blues]

 
Won't the cat step in the soap and get it all over their feet? I know miss Sophiesaurus would 

It depends on the size of the mat. You only need one just big enough to fit the dishes on. Our shop cat never has sudsy paws.

 

[happybird]

When I was looking for pet-friendly ways to deal with an enormous wolf spider population, I came across something cool to kill ants. I don't know if it works, but this website swore it did. They said to scatter instant grits in the areas where ants are present the day before rain is forecast. The ants will eat the dried grits and carry them back to the anthill, where everyone will eat them. When it rains, the grits will expand and kill the ants. I'm dying to know if it works, but we haven't had any ant problems. It's worth a shot if you have any grits.

 

[pebble]

Ooh ooh! I know all about ant invasions!

We bought one of these: http://www.antsoff.com.au/

Its basically a table with tiny moats around the feet so the ants can't climb it. One of my cats loves playing with water so bigger moats (like putting the food bowl in a dish of water) are not really practical as they just end up getting played with

. The table thingy works well at keeping the ants off, I filled the wells with oil on the advice of the guy who sold it to me (so it doesn't evaporate like water would) and I dont know if the oil was attractive to the ants or something but we've had to dismantle the table to clean out all the corpses of ill-advised ants -_-. Still, not a single one made it to the food on the table and thats what we bought it for haha.

If the infestation is really bad (happens where I live from time to time) then I use "ant-rid" baits which are supposed to kill the entire colony by being brought into the nest by the foraging worker ants. The active ingredient in the one we use is fipronil. It's extremely effective against the ants (soooo many dead ants....) and while I don't like baited ant corpses to be around my pets, fipronil is also the active ingredient in "frontline" flea products, so basically this is a chemical used in formulations designed to be in direct contact with cats and dogs. I think as far as your options go with poisons, that's the kind I'd rather use if I have to. Just put the baits somewhere out of reach of your cat and clean up the dead ants as you find them I guess.

Of course these are both Australian brands but maybe you'll be able to get something very similar locally. Good luck! Ant invasions are so annoying!

 

[Kat0121]

 
http://www.saferbrand.com/store/indoor-insect/by-insect/ants

http://theantser.com/

i can verify that the antser works. 

I just ordered 2 Antsers. The ants got into Henry's dish last night when he knocked it over and it was leaning against the side of the bottom container. Fortunately, he had eaten about 90% of his food before it happened. So over that. I ordered one for Lilith and Sophie's dishes also. It says its 9 X 13 so it should hold both dishes comfortably. Thanks for the link. I hope this ends the ant issue.