If you live in California during the hot season, there’s one thing you’re guaranteed to see: swarming ants! These little guys come up to get away from the heat and find food and water. Some of their favorite spots to hit are pet food and water bowls, as they are usually on the ground and near a door. Never a pleasant experience, dealing with ants is something we all want to avoid, especially your pet! Here are some helpful tips to avoid ants feasting on your pet’s kibble!
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Store extra pet food in a lidded plastic container.
They can’t get your pet’s food if it is well sealed and protected in a container. We recommend you do the same with any treats or supplement chews as well.
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Vacuum the area around your pet’s bowl daily to keep it free of crumbs.
If your pet’s food bowl is infested with ants, place the food and the ants in a plastic grocery bag and tie a tight knot at the bag’s opening. Throw the plastic bag away in the trashcan outside. Wash the food bowl with dish soap and water. Then use dish soap and water to clean the area around the food bowl to remove the ant trail scent (this is a good time to mop your entire floor, too).
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Make a moat around your pet’s food bowl. Yes, a moat.
Place the bowl of food in a shallow pan of water, like a pie tin, cake pan or a food bowl that’s a couple sizes larger than the one you use for feeding. When you place the bowl inside the pan of water, there should a ring of water around the food bowl. The water should not be so high that it spills into the pet food. Ants tend to prefer avoiding water, and as such the moat will deter them from getting to your pet’s food.
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Make a barrier with petroleum jelly.
You can achieve this by smearing a ring of petroleum jelly on the outer base of the bowl, this prevents the ants from being able to climb up the bowl in the first place. You don’t need to use a whole lot, as your pet may end up making a mess with it.
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Keep your home, particularly the pet feeding area, clean.
Never leave food out in the open, wash your pet’s bowl regularly, and use trashcans with lids. This is the simplest and most effective way to prevent ants from showing up in the first place.
By combining these tips, you can pretty drastically lower the chances of your pet’s feeding area being infested with ants. If you do end up having an ant problem, we recommend TERRO Liquid Ant Baits. They work wonders and effectively kill ants quickly.
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TERRO ant baits use Borax as the primary ant killer, and so is pretty safe for humans and pets. The greater concern is the plastic container the bait is in, as the sweet ant bait is usually what attracts your pet as well. You must put the bait station in a location that your pet cannot get to in order to prevent them from eating the plastic or cutting their mouths. |