Keeping bugs out of my shadow ferals food bowls

KittyCatCove

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I have 2-3 ferals that come at night to eat (I never see them during the day). I put their wet food out as late as possible to try and minimize the summer crawly critters from partaking. The main issue I have around here is these oriental cockroaches... they're all over the place during the summer months. As soon as the temp drops below 50F, they are gone.

Any ideas how to prevent these things from going into my ferals food bowls? I have tried putting a small amount of food directly on the ground to lure them away from the food bowls. It seems to work, but after I go to sleep I have no idea what happens.

Thanks.
 

klunick

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Spray Raid with essential oils around the area where the bowls are??? It's non-toxic so it won't harm the kitties.
 

Willowy

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Essential oils are somewhat toxic to cats though :/. I'm not sure I'd put it near their food.

The traditional way to discourage ants is to put the food bowl in a larger bowl/tray with an inch of water in it. I don't know if that would work for roaches though.
 

klunick

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Essential oils are somewhat toxic to cats though :/. I'm not sure I'd put it near their food.

The traditional way to discourage ants is to put the food bowl in a larger bowl/tray with an inch of water in it. I don't know if that would work for roaches though.
Really? The can say it's safe for pets and kids. I sprayed a crap ton around my kitchen a week or so ago when we were having an ant issue.
 

MoonstoneWolf

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Essential oils are somewhat toxic to cats though :/. I'm not sure I'd put it near their food.

The traditional way to discourage ants is to put the food bowl in a larger bowl/tray with an inch of water in it. I don't know if that would work for roaches though.
Didn't I read somewhere on here that putting a bit of plain vaseline on the side of the dishes also discorages ants? And non toxic to cats? The roaches I notice get in the water but can't get out and drown eventually (they can hold their breath for 45 minutes)
 

Willowy

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Really? The can say it's safe for pets and kids. I sprayed a crap ton around my kitchen a week or so ago when we were having an ant issue.
Geraniol and lemongrass are less toxic than others for cats. But it does say this on the label: "Do not apply to surfaces on which food is stored, prepared or eaten." They could spray it around the corners/edges of the area though.

Yeah, Vaseline would probably work too. I can't think of any bugs who would want to walk through that stuff, lol.
 

MoonstoneWolf

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Geraniol and lemongrass are less toxic than others for cats. But it does say this on the label: "Do not apply to surfaces on which food is stored, prepared or eaten." They could spray it around the corners/edges of the area though.

Yeah, Vaseline would probably work too. I can't think of any bugs who would want to walk through that stuff, lol.
Ok thanks. I just wanted to make sure the Vaseline is safe for cats, in the event they get their paw on it. Roaches may like walking through it. Nothing deters Roaches except the bottom of a shoe I think.
 

kittychick

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Scanning more quickly the above answers then I'd normally like, so it's possible someone said this (or I'm misunderstanding how you meant it).

Our (pretty) foolproof way is to place the bowl with food in it INSIDE another, slightly larger bowl filled with water (our outside bowl is a large pie tin, and our food bowl sits inside, with about a 2 inch gap between the food bowl and edge of the pie tin with water in it. Ants, etc. will almost NEVER cross the "moat." Do make sure that you don't make the outside water-filled bowl so much larger that cats can't reach over it to the food (esp if you have kittens - - - which hopefully you don't :) ). If necessary, fold down the outside edge of the pie tin so there's not too far a reach for the kitties.

Using this method, we haven't even needed to use any oils, etc!

Keep us posted!!!!!!!
 

kittychick

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Didn't I read somewhere on here that putting a bit of plain vaseline on the side of the dishes also discorages ants? And non toxic to cats? The roaches I notice get in the water but can't get out and drown eventually (they can hold their breath for 45 minutes)
Obviously roaches hold their breath longer in Missouri then Ohio! We do have these nasty giant stag beetles that are 2 inches to 4 inches long - and they bite! But they're SO big the they can often make things across moats that keep out non-atomic pandemic beetles! Is nothing safe in this world?
 

angels mommy

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Since you said the kitties only come at night, you should be able to spray the perimeter & areas in the morning, & as soon as it dries, it will be safe. I've used Home defence this way, & has always been fine. I just spray around the edges of the patio & close to glass doors. Flies a & baby bees seem to be my problem here, when my two strays are eating. They swarm around, trying to land on the edges of their plates.
 
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KittyCatCove

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Thanks for the replies! Nothing seems to deter these oriental cockroaches we have around here, water doesn't bother them.

I'm going to try putting the food bowls up 8-9"" off the ground. I bought a small stand made of thin iron bars. I'm going to coat the iron bars with vaseline. I'll keep you guys posted!
 

rrrager

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New here, and I was just about to make a new post in here when I saw the title. A woman who used to take care of the ferals in the back of my apartment complex used diatomaceous earth to deter bugs in our warm Arizona weather. It's a food grade powder that's safe for people and pets that either kills or straight up repels bugs. I used it when I had springtails in my kitchen getting at my cat's food, just sprinkled it around the baseboards and edges of the kitchen, vacuumed it up in a week and they've been gone since :)
 

rrrager

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(add on, do i know how to edit yet? absolutely not, whoops!)

meant to say too, use the powder in combination with some of the other methods suggested. the apartment ferals here eat out of doubled up bowls, one inside another filled with water like a moat.
 
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