Ant Problem
MiHoSwEeTi
ants start coming out!! They're attracted to the water in the hamsters' water
bottles. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to control this problem? I
don't want to have to be cleaning cages every night.. just to have the ants
come back... and it has to be stressful to them to have their cage cleaned
every night:P
christine miho
http://community.webshots.com/user/miho176
http://community.webshots.com/user/hamsterhaven
Kory Postma
are entering from and then seal up those spots with cement. If you
can't do that, I'm not sure if ant chalk will be a good thing because
of your hamsters being nearby. If the ants are just after the water,
maybe it is because the water bottles are somewhat sweet or maybe they
are interested in the vitamins, if you add them to the water.
Anyhow, hope some of that will help to give you some ideas.
Kory
On 16 Jul 2003 05:35:42 GMT, mihos...@aol.comnojunk (MiHoSwEeTi)
wrote:
Jodylogic
Hopefully its's seasonal,
and the ant season will be over soon!
I'm in Southern Florida.
And we have 2 seasons: wet & dry.
Wet means ants come in, even though our
windows are closed & AC is on 24/7.
We don't live in a vacuum & they will inevitably find a new way in, as soon as
one way is closed off.
But we keep the place carefully wiped down, and never have a long term problem.
Because as soon as we spot ants, we use a product called TERRO ant bait, a drop
on a tiny hard,slick papers scattered strategically does the job in a matter of
a couple of days. The ants eat it & take it home to the queen & the colony.
My concern is this:
Will the hamster injest the ants contaminated with the poison?
I myself hesitate to eat anything not organic, imagine a much smaller being
like a hamster. I am curious if small amounts that an ant could possess could
hurt the Hamster?
And how could the ants be injested anyway, even if hamsters do eat yucky bugs
-- ants are too small, too fast, and hamsters are too poor sighted.
***Could the ants be injested by them yuk, crawling into the hammies mouth?
The ants are being seen at your water bottle right -- Are the hammies eating
them there, have you noticed?
Are they in the food?
In the bedding?
Wow I am SO GLAD YOU POSTED this because the EXACT SAME problem is happening to
me HERE, and only ever since the past week, when coincidentally I notice the
fur thinning!!!
... which started that whole thing with the petstore/vet/...in my recent posts.
Can the ANT ~ FUR issue be related since it happened the same time?
CAN these tiny ants be eating hamster skin? yuk)
I have only had my hammie since December... haven't had ants since then
up until now,... so I have NOT used the TERRO this time.
There are NO ants in his food, or near his water, or in his bathroom, or
cage.
They are however on the floor, on the white pad which his tunnels set on,
incidentally I propped them up with Lincoln Logs. And on the White Container
his cage sets on.
I have also seen one on the topside of the tunnels. And all over the tile floor
around the area, yet amazingly not in any other room of the entire house.
When I first started to see them, they were definitely coming in through a
tiny crack in the wall at the window sill, I quickly closed it with caulking
(Kory's idea) And I even sprayed on the wall & ground outside the window, but
they aren't even seen anywhere outside, so I think like in Sunny Calif, they
just come up through the foundation... because I cant find where they are
entering from at this point. I'm going nutz, wiping & vacuuming & clean out
his cage & toilet daily.
Strangely they are only in the den, You might want to try wiping amonia
around the windowsill, but only if you could pop the hammies in another room
for a 1/2 hour, till the strong odor is gone, yet the residue remains and
deters ants, but my ants aren't coming in from the window sill anymore DARN! I
need some safe sollutions too, This weekend I am going to try to wash the floor
with diluted ammonia. Please come see my last 2 photos that I added at
http://community.webshots.com/user/softncuddly. Do you see the plastic
container that the cage sets on, it is a drawer that I picked up at Target, for
about $6, which holds everything. 3 or 4 ants are always seen running in around
and on the container, The only opened item inside is the Kaydee "white" Pine,
I'm afraid the ants may be there... I do NOT see any. But who knows maybe
they're breeding in it.
Can the ANT ~ FUR issue be related since it happened the same time?
Should we try the Terro?
Wish each other luck
Hopefully its just a seasonal thing.
It's not so bad for me cause I have only
1 hammie, how many cages do you have,
are the ants everywhere?
I am considering washing everything out and replacing the bedding (I just hate
the dirty appearance of the recycled paper bedding, it looks sooo dusty for the
hamsters, CANT I just use white unscented toilet paper/tissue only, instead of
bedding?) continued: and then reassemble the entire cage and tunnels in a
different room, & close off the den & do the Terro trick.
No time this week though, too busy staying up all nite & sleeping all day. Just
kidding YIKES it's 4:52 omg byezzzzzzzzzzz
M&S
We had an ant infestation in the hamster's cage a while back after I moved
her cage closer to the window. The ants came in through the window
and up the table the cage was on. It was frightening to see ants in my
baby's
food dish - yuk! Moving the cage to another location helped and I haven't
had the problem again. But, then, we live where ants are typically a
problem.
But we're moving to S. Cal in a few weeks and I might encounted this
dilemma again!
I think a solution involving the stand the cage is on would be the best - to
stop the ants from even getting close to the cage. Our ant-free pet
bowls have a ring of water around them - but putting a large table in a
container of water might be unreasonable! We probably want to avoid
pesticides, if at all possible. But, spraying around the base of the stand
and letting it try completely before putting the cage back on it might be an
option if nothing else works.
Let me know what you come up with - I'll likely be fighting the same thing
soon!
Michelle
"MiHoSwEeTi" <mihos...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20030716013542...@mb-m14.aol.com...
Coylemclc
on the floor so the ants wont climb up to the cage.
Jean Garcia
> Here in Southern California.. or at least at my house... when it gets hot, the
> ants start coming out!! They're attracted to the water in the hamsters' water
> bottles. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to control this problem? I
> don't want to have to be cleaning cages every night.. just to have the ants
> come back... and it has to be stressful to them to have their cage cleaned
> every night:P
I have the same problem when it rains! The ants in my apartment are
attracted to fresh food, meaning I have to remove uneaten veggies after
about an hour.
To get rid of the ants, I spray ant-killer around the source of the
ants, as long as it's in a different room as the hams. (My ants were
coming from the bathroom.) I also turn on the fan when I'm doing this,
to make sure the smell dissapates quickly. Then I lay out ant-traps,
you know, those little "hotels" for ants that contain poisoned bait.
The ants take the bait, then go to the ant nest and feed the poison to
their friends. The traps are self-contained and have no smell. I try
to keep the traps somewhat far away from the cages. Any ants I see
around the cages I squish with tissue paper.
hope this helps,
jean
Vivian
find it in any home renovation type store or garden center.
It worked like a charm on carpenter ants and did not harm my pets.
"Citizen" <CitizenS...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:fi2ahvc4qd3qrc10g...@4ax.com...
> On 16 Jul 2003 05:35:42 GMT, mihos...@aol.comnojunk (MiHoSwEeTi)
> wrote:
>
> Do they come in the whole house ?
> If not move the hamsters to a antsfree room.
Tony News
construction of Californian houses. Here what I have to do is at the first
sign of ants climbing the outside wall, I have to put ant powder in a line
between where they are and any air bricks. I've found once they cross the
cavity wall insulation and start coming inside we would be busy. Today is
one of those thundery July days when the ants fly here. I don't mind as long
as they fly away!
Tony
"MiHoSwEeTi" <mihos...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20030716013542...@mb-m14.aol.com...
Jodylogic
Our ant-free pet bowls have a ring of water around them - but putting a large
table in a
container of water might be unreasonable!
same:
In a bakery overseas I asked why there were small caps of water which each leg
of the bread shelves stood in. It solved their ant problem.
MiHoSwEeTi
I don't think they eat ants... at least I haven't seen them doing that.
>Anyhow, you may try looking for where the ants
>are entering from and then seal up those spots with cement.
I've tried tracing them back to their nest... but I can't seem to find where
they're coming from. They may be coming up from between the slats on my closet
door runners...
>f you
>can't do that, I'm not sure if ant chalk will be a good thing because
>of your hamsters being nearby
I've actually tried the chalk.. it wouldn't work very well in my room because
my room is carpeted. I've tried it in other places where the ants show up.. I
might just have some defective chalk because the ants just seem to wak through,
on, and over the chalk line, lol
>If the ants are just after the water,
>maybe it is because the water bottles are somewhat sweet or maybe they
>are interested in the vitamins, if you add them to the water.
Nothing is added to the water... I think they just get thirsty because it is so
dry here:P
MiHoSwEeTi
>If not move the hamsters to a antsfree room.
There generally isn't a room that is safe from the ants. I don't want to move
them all over the house because of my dad's possible allergies.. and I wouldn't
be able to control the cats:(
MiHoSwEeTi
>Hopefully its's seasonal,
>and the ant season will be over soon!
It is definitely seasonal.. I believe they taper off as it becomes cooler and
they can go back outside and find better sources of water.
>Will the hamster injest the ants contaminated with the poison?
I don't think the hamsters eat any of the ants. The only reason I wouldn't be
able to lay out any ant poison is because of my dogs and cats. I wouldn't want
them to get sick either:P
>Are they in the food?
>In the bedding?
They aren't in the food. They are only in the beddin as they're crawling over
to the water bottle. Not really "in" the bedding.
>Can the ANT ~ FUR issue be related since it happened the same time?
It might be possible that the ants are making your ham itchy... I'm getting
itchy right now just thinking about the ants, lol
>how many cages do you have,
>are the ants everywhere?
I have... 10 hamsters in 10 cages:) The ants aren't everywhere.. they were just
attracted to one water bottle.. but I know if I'm not careful, they'll just
move from one cage to the next:P
>CANT I just use white unscented toilet paper/tissue only, instead of
>bedding?
you could.. I've done that for some hamsters when they were sick. It's good
when you are trying to keep track of the color of the urine. However, its very
unsatisfying for the hams who like to burrow in the bedding. Mine didn't seem
too stressed about it, just slightly annoyed. It would also have to be cleaned
out pretty much every day because it absorbs so much of the urine/water that it
gets soggy really quick. And since you can't use paper towels, you'd pretty
much have to use a lot of tp every day.
MiHoSwEeTi
>spray
>on the floor so the ants wont climb up to the cage.
>
I'd still be wary of this stuff as I have cats and dogs also:P
MiHoSwEeTi
I vacuumed up all the ants, wiped everything down, and moved the hams cages a
little..hoping to throw the ants off. So far it has worked:) I just have to
be careful when I'm moving around my room in the dark now, lol
MiHoSwEeTi
>http://community.webshots.com/user/softncuddly.
I'm always impressed with the tubing your hamster has:) I've always wondered...
are those jars just held loosely over the edge of the tubes, or are they
fastened in some way so that Hamtaro wouldn't be able to escape?
Jodylogic
ate maybe?, what do ya think?
Gee thanks for writing back to all my questions in YOUR post, hey what do you
think about using the Terro Ant bait without other pets around (my scenario).
Jodylogic
>http://community.webshots.com/user/softncuddly.
I'm always impressed with the tubing your hamster has:) I've always wondered...
are those jars just held loosely over the edge of the tubes, or are they
fastened in some way so that Hamtaro wouldn't be able to escape?
Wow kewel someone speaks of my tunnels, thanks for the comment, it is so fun,
um the coffee jar I think it was, is rectangular, and the opening is a drop
smaller that the connecting rings of the tubing made by HARTZ, so I pop a ring
into the cleaned jar, and take one of the "straight" Hartz tubes and put it
down into the jar. Then I eye it up and press the tube into the center of the
connector ring,
and presto it is attached. Then I attach the other end of the tube to the next
tube.
THE JAR must be wide enough for the TUBE yet small enough for the CONNECTOR to
not slip right out.
To Clean I pull the tube out of the jar and the ring pops off. I rinse & swish
the jar & ring with hot water... several times.
I admit I also have to rub the inside of the jar, & rinse again... dry &
reassemble, easy enough to do each time I see it is used. It's a pleasure to
have a toilet trained hammie, HE LOVES TO DO HOUSEKEEPING TOO, No shit, excuse
me but I meant that literally, he, throws his droppings down stairs from the
top level of the tunnels, down to the lower level, I got him trained
right,eh???!!!
Hey how come nobody :-( ever has signed my guest book at that album site?
Jodylogic
on the floor so the ants wont climb up to the cage.
My humble opinion is if
it IS PETS safe, Than
it is PEST safe.
and if it is UNSAFE for PESTS, than how safe can it be for small PETS?
But I'm open minded & very much in need of my ants to stop bothering my
hammie, so prey tell: What IS "Pet Safe Ant Spray" , Where does one get it???
As far as I can figure, Poison is lethel
whether you smell it or not,
Pest Control Companies now have this ODORLESS Pesticide. So just because you
can't smell it does that mean it's perfectly safe, uh uh I don't think I would
leave it up to the manufacturers to presume the poison can be programed to
affect certain critters, yet not others. But I think I'm on to a new patent!!!
Stars Wars re-visited?
Angela
www.theantser.com. Its for cat or dog food dishes to sit on, it might work to
sit a hamster cage on.
Angela (Aol.com doesn't hop!)
<A HREF="http://www.rabbitadoption.org"> Rabbit & Small Animal Adoptions</A
HREF> Rabbits & small animals for adoption--worldwide links, including vet
referrals & other rescues, care tips, mail order products, etc.
Kory Postma
mentioned, put cups of water under the tables legs.
MiHoSwEeTi
>
haha.. i think webshots doesn't generate a lot of guestbook signers.. i think
i've only had one randm entry in the however many months i've had it up and
running.
MiHoSwEeTi
>incidentally lst week one time his uring was major dark, could be something
>he
>ate maybe?, what do ya think?
It could possibly be something he ate. Did you feed him anything different? If
it continues... or has a strong odor (different from his normal urine) you may
want to take him to the vet for a urinalysis.
Fuzz had that problem and she had a bladder infection, which I think is
triggered by stress... so she probably won't be placed, but will stay here.
>what do you
>think about using the Terro Ant bait without other pets around (my scenario).
If it is strictly the type where the ants have to ingest it, and there's
absolutely no way that the hamsters (or any other animals except ants) could
get to it and be harmed, I say why not.. although I would probably move the
hamster cage to another room just in case.
Dave Zale
> triggered by stress... so she probably won't be placed, but will stay here.
Milesy
my hammy is always peeing.. but then again its also diabetic
so taking away his water wouldnt be too good a thing
MiHoSwEeTi
She originally came from a shelter.. I don't know her history before that, so I
don't know what she went through. While the shelter did do their best with
what they had, they didn't know what needed to be done for her in regards to
safe bedding and good food.
She has had at least 3-4 moves in her lifetime. She was turned in along with
her mom and sibling so she was probably born at the original "owner's" home, so
her first move was from that home to the shelter. Then to the shelter to my
home. I placed her in a home, but she became sick pretty much immediately, so
she came back here. She becomes sick whenever something drastic changes, so I
try to keep as many things constant as possible for her.
Hamsters are just like any other animal (including humans) they have individual
personalities, and some will handle certain situations better than others.
Pregnancy and babies would not be the only stress factor that they could
encounter.