Is Terro Ant Killer Safe For Cats?

SeanS

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So recently moved to a new home. Always noticed some small ants in my bedroom. Today I moved my cat's food bowl somewhere for an hour by mistake. When I came over to change it, I noticed a ton of ants crawling over the food, and even more crawling on the walls.

I went out and got some Ortho, and sprayed it all over my condo. I put my cat in my bathroom, will keep her there for an hour, to let it dry.

But afterwards, I read ortho doesn't always work, and I should use Terro instead. But Terro requires me to put a small package on the floor for a few days.
My cat loves slapping objects like that.

Just wondering if Terro is safe for my cat?
 

FeebysOwner

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Terro contains Borax, so I would say no, just to be on the safe side. The best thing I can tell you to do is repeated Ortho treatments, but it has been effective for me on most ants. You can also treat areas with Terro that you can block your cat from, if at all possible. Also, place your cat's food dish in a low sided tray of water - it will keep the ants from being attracted to the food; most will not attempt to venture across the water and if they would, they will drown. I have been able to place food, when needed, on my screened in patio and keep the ants away with this process.

I will tell you for some of those tiny, tiny ants, Terro only works if you apply the stuff directly to where they are coming in. I have traced their pathway to find their entry point and place a Q-tip/cotton ball soaked in the stuff at the entry point. (Mine has been in caulking gaps around some of my windows.) Of course, my cat doesn't bother with them, but if the source location is a place your cat can get to, your best bet is to just go ahead and caulk or close their entry point and forget the Terro.
 
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SeanS

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Terro contains Borax, so I would say no, just to be on the safe side. The best thing I can tell you to do is repeated Ortho treatments, but it has been effective for me on most ants. You can also treat areas with Terro that you can block your cat from, if at all possible. Also, place your cat's food dish in a low sided tray of water - it will keep the ants from being attracted to the food; most will not attempt to venture across the water and if they would, they will drown. I have been able to place food, when needed, on my screened in patio and keep the ants away with this process.

I will tell you for some of those tiny, tiny ants, Terro only works if you apply the stuff directly to where they are coming in. I have traced their pathway to find their entry point and place a Q-tip/cotton ball soaked in the stuff at the entry point. (Mine has been in caulking gaps around some of my windows.) Of course, my cat doesn't bother with them, but if the source location is a place your cat can get to, your best bet is to just go ahead and caulk or close their entry point and forget the Terro.
Okay thanks. Just curious, how long does it usually take for Ortho to dry, for it to be safe for cats? I sprayed on the edge of the wall of mine, but I have mostly all carpeting in my home. So most of the spray got on the carpet.
 

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I have an old cat, so she is not very inquisitive, but nonetheless I spray the outer wall perimeter of rooms where she is not, and it seems to dry pretty quickly. I just do a misting; I don't spray hard enough for it to be 'dripping' off the baseboards. If you aim the spray right at the place where the baseboard meets the carpeting, I think you will find most of the spray finds its way into that 'nook & cranny' area. You can touch it an hour later, and I think you will find it is dry enough to be safe.
 
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SeanS

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I have an old cat, so she is not very inquisitive, but nonetheless I spray the outer wall perimeter of rooms where she is not, and it seems to dry pretty quickly. I just do a misting; I don't spray hard enough for it to be 'dripping' off the baseboards. If you aim the spray right at the place where the baseboard meets the carpeting, I think you will find most of the spray finds its way into that 'nook & cranny' area. You can touch it an hour later, and I think you will find it is dry enough to be safe.
Okay, it's being almost 3 hours since I sprayed. I''m just worried that I sprayed it on carpet, that and I probably sprayed a bit too much.
 

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Okay, it's being almost 3 hours since I sprayed. I''m just worried that I sprayed it on carpet, that and I probably sprayed a bit too much.
Do the 'touch' test and see. I would really be amazed for you to find it very wet at this point. I suppose if it is really wet, you could take a hair dryer to speed up the process? Not fun, but worth it to get it to dry!!!
 
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SeanS

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Got a fan?
Didn't think of that, although, I used it all over my apartment. It's being almost 22 hours now, so I would assume everything is dry.

I did leave the terro out overnight, and didn't see any ants, so I guess the ortho did it's job. I'm leaving some hanged terro out just in case.
 

furmonster mom

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Another thing that you might consider as an alternative is food grade diatomaceous earth.
It works as a desiccant against all kinds of insects.
Apply it along baseboards and other crevices.
Food grade is safe in case of ingestion.
 

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Another thing that you might consider as an alternative is food grade diatomaceous earth. Food grade is safe in case of ingestion.
But the dust when applying it is nasty and has to be avoided - both by humans and pets. Most of the time, any visible residue should be vacuumed in order to ensure the residue isn't 'disturbed'.
 

furmonster mom

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But the dust when applying it is nasty and has to be avoided - both by humans and pets. Most of the time, any visible residue should be vacuumed in order to ensure the residue isn't 'disturbed'.
Food grade should not have that problem. It is literally formulated for consumption.

There is a commercial grade that is indeed not safe for ingestion, and should definitely be avoided.
 

game misconduct

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you can run a bead of caulking or vaseline along the crack/hole etc. where the ants are coming inside from best thing is if you can find the nest and kill it. otherwise they will keep invading. terro will work but it takes time. food grade d.e powder works great i used it on /inside. the wall furnace we have to get rid of the big headed ants that kept coming inside dusted it once and never had any ants again. the dispenser thing makes a mess to clean after applying but it works good
 
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