Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Does anyone know how to get rid of the small ants? We have a cat and her food dish is in on the floor. Someone suggested you draw a chalk line around the dish and the ants won't cross it and get in the food. I put a piece of wood down and the bowl on top of it and drew a chalk line on the wood. It seemed to work for awhile, but now the ants are back in her food. How else can I stop them from getting in her food? I want to use a homemade remedy that really works. Thank you.

Hardiness Zone: 5a

By Linda from Brighton, MI

Answers: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Read answers for this question below.

By 07/27/2010

I have cats and dogs. My house was built on what used to be orange groves and I was told that I would always have an ant problem. I put the food bowls inside a container of water, such as a container lid or a large tray. This works great. While I still have an ant problem, the pets don't.

By 07/27/2010

If the chalk line around the bowl worked the first time, try it again. Keep re-newing the chalk line. Possibly what ever is keeping the ants away from it is drying out or disappearing is some way. It's worth a try.

By 07/27/2010

Sprinkle a circle around the bowl of talcum powder. Ants will not cross it.

By 07/25/2010

Sweet 'n low and Nutra Sweet really worked to eliminate my ants. They apparently carry it back to the nest.

By 07/22/2010

Thanks for all the answers but the question was how to get rid of ants in my cat's food bowl. I did try the one where you put water in a container and put the dish on top of it. So far, it is working.

By 07/22/2010

I put water in a container then put the dog dish in that.

By 07/20/2010

Yesterday there was a post here on thrifty fun about uses for used coffee grinds. One of the tips may work for your question.

Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

We keep a bowl of dog food for our 5 chi's inside the house. During warmer weather only, (starting this month), it starts getting over run with ants! How can I keep the ants out and not bother the dogs?

Glinda from Glendale, KY

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

We bought a bowl at our local Petsmart (Petco) store that is designed to keep bugs out. Check out your local Walmart, Kmart for them too (04/16/2006)

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Put the food in inside another bowl that has a small amount of water in it. Ants can't swim, so this should reduce or eliminate your ant issue.

http://www.frugalforlife.com(04/16/2006)

By FFL

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

I just had this problem with my cat food bowls. I emptied the bowl, and cleaned it to make sure I didn't keep any in there, and sprayed the area with vinegar (to kill or chase off the remaining ones) and then I put out some Terro. They have not been back yet. If you use Terro, which you can get at Walmart in the Garden department, you want to put it where your pets cannot get to it BUT near the problem. I moved my bowls so that I could place the Terro under things so my kitties wouldn't get into it. (04/17/2006)

By katieandjeffy

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

I heard--haven't had to try it yet myself--that any cleaner that has orange oil in it will stop ants but won't bother pets or children. So maybe you could spray the orange oil cleaner around where the food bowls are. (04/17/2006)

By Lynn from Calif.

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Figure out where they are coming in and stop them there. Then put your dogs water dish on a cloth place mat that has been sprinkled with mint oil or powdered cloves. They are natural deterrents that won't hurt your pets. (04/17/2006)

By CarlaJS

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

I've heard that they don't like bay leaves. Try tacking a few bay leaves to the bowl. (04/17/2006)

By PICO

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Stopping them as they enter the house is important, or they will just find something else in your cabinets or pantry to eat. I had them in my cats' food bowl. If you have a basement, put ant traps (the kind with bait they bring back to the nest) on the sill plate between the floor joists in the basement, in the area where they are entering. That solved my ant problem completely and I didn't' have to worry about the pets getting into pesticide or having pesticide near my food. (04/18/2006)

By Lynn Beth

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Hi Neighbor! There are special bowls to keep ants out but you can simulate this type of bowl by placing the water bowl inside another container (04/19/2006)

By Diana

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

The way I keep ants out of my house and off my dogs food bowl is (CHALK). Yep, that's all I do is draw a line around my dog's food bowl, the ants don't like it and it works. My daughter didn't believe me and she had a pet rabbit and the ants were getting into the rabbits food and in the cage until I put chalk all around the cage. The rabbit was happy, no more ants. Try it, IT WORKS and it's not messy (04/21/2006)

By margaret_spurlock2000@yahoo.com

Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

I used to have problems with ants in the dog bowl until I tried this: Wash the area where the bowl was with soapy water. This destroys the ant trail scent. Ants will come back to where the food was. Move food bowl away from this area as much as possible. Fill food bowl with dog food then place bowl into a shallow cake pan filled with water. This will act as a moat and deter ants. Works great! No more ants.

By Paula from GA

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

A simple chalk circle drawn around the dog food bowl will keep out the ants. Just redraw whenever necessary. (08/17/2007)

By DUCKIE43

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

What a good idea. I will have to try it. Thanks. 08/22/2007)

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Vaseline around the sides of the bowl. Ants won't cross it! (08/26/2007)

By friend

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

The moat of water won't work for me. The ants in my house can swim - I live in CA. A couple of times I put a dirty bowl full of water within another dirty bowl full of water in the sink. I've seen the ants climb up the outer bowl, swim across the water and then climb up the side of the inner bowl so that they can eat food stuck on the rim. Wet dish soap kills ants, but they still come back. I would try another remedy. (08/27/2007)

By Aja

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

I have dogs inside and out. I have no problem with ants inside, but use feeders outside. I have just recently started having "ant problems" in them. How do I keep them out of the feeders?

Thank you, BizzyBz. Picture shown is my seven month old female Boxer puppy, "Diamond." (09/02/2007)

By BizzyBz

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

I placed my dog's dish on a piece of newspaper and put a ring of coffee grounds around it (ants hate coffee),and so far it has worked. (09/04/2007)

By imaqt1962

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Put lemon juice around (outside) the bowl and clean out all the food that may be on the floor, near the bowl. It has worked so far! (12/01/2008)

By Nini

Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

How do you keep ants out of dog food?

By Evelyn from Hot Springs, AR

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

I put the dog's bowl inside another, larger bowl of water or a shallow tray filled with water. The ants won't go across the water and the one's in the food somehow leave. (04/29/2010)

By wasshrunk

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Ants will not cross Crisco. No other brand will work. You can keep ants away from hummingbird feeders by making a thick ring of Crisco around the pole the feeder is hanging from. With the dog, try making a ring of Crisco around the outside of the bowl and see if it works. I use it for the hummingbird feeders so I know it works for that. (04/29/2010)

By Ann

RE: Keeping Ants Out My Dog's Food Bowl

Be sure you wash your dog's dish after each time you feed it. When you put the dog's food down, if the dog doesn't eat it right away pick it up and try again later. Never leave dog food sitting out, or a dirty bowl on the ground. I am afraid if you use the Crisco method the dog may possibly lick up the Crisco, which isn't good for the dog. (05/03/2010)

By Danialle