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Ants + dry cat food = trouble city. Setting dry cat food outside here in Arizona is an ant magnet (troops of them). To keep them out of kitty's food, I take a pie tin, set kitty cats bowl in center, then fill tin with water. Ants don't want to cross over, and the few that do don't make it - sorry guys! Now if you've got slugs and snails, well you know this wouldn't work -boy howdy- but, copper wire surrounding will.
By Pamela Rochelle Woodworth from Sun Lakes, AZ
I was getting ants around their food dishes. I read somewhere to put vinegar on cotton balls and place them around the food bowls (under food mat edges, etc.). Bingo no ants and pet safe!
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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 Delcamp from Brighton, MI
Yesterday there was a post here on thrifty fun about uses for used coffee grinds. One of the tips may work for your question.
I put water in a container then put the dog dish in that.
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.
Sweet 'n low and Nutra Sweet really worked to eliminate my ants. They apparently carry it back to the nest.
Sprinkle a circle around the bowl of talcum powder. Ants will not cross it.
If the chalk line around the bowl worked the first time, try it again. Keep re-newing the chalk line.
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.
I put my dogs food in a ice cream container it worked
Sprinkle baby powder around dish
They won't walk thru powder
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We get ants when we leave our cat food on the floor. Since the food is in the laundry room, I put a non-skid rug on the dryer and put the cat food on the dryer. Since my cat is older and does not jump too well, I placed the dome covered cat litter box next to the dryer, so the cat can make two steps up to get to her food. I showed her this method 2 times, and now she does it all the time. No ants and a happy well fed cat.
Source: Necessity is the mother of invention! I really dislike ants.
By EIW from Lancaster, PA
I have had dogs and cats at the same time. And anyone who has, knows that dogs like to eat cat feces and cat food. So I fixed this problem the same way. Put everything up higher than the dogs can get to! The food on the dryer is what my cats like best because it's warm up there, and it also keeps their water warm in winter. (09/23/2009)
By Cricket
Place the dogs bowl in a plate or shallow dish of water and I solved the problem. (09/24/2009)
By Dorothy
When I have small kittens that can't jump up, I put their little bowls in a saucer of water so the ants drown before they get to the food. (09/27/2009)
By Robyn Fed
How do you keep ants out of dog food?
By evelyn from Hot Springs, AR
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 Maya Lee
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 Lilac
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
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
A simple chalk circle drawn around the dog food bowl will keep out the ants. Just redraw whenever necessary. (08/17/2007)
By DUCKIE43
What a good idea. I will have to try it. Thanks. 08/22/2007)
Vaseline around the sides of the bowl. Ants won't cross it! (08/26/2007)
By friend
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
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 Bonnie Hamm
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 suzanne
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
A few days ago, we had to move our dryer to another room - thus, we had to drill a hole in the outside wall for the vent.
