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So I called my landlord and explained my ant issue and he said it happens every winter and suggested I buy some ant spray. Considering I'm in a studio with a curious feline, I tried to just kill them on sight and clearly that isn't working as there was a gathering of them in the kitchen (gross!).
So I'm looking at ant killer that's safest to use with a cat in the house. I doubt sprays would be effective but would the type of bait clips work? The ones where it baits the ants into eating whatevers inside it and kills them off.
And if that isn't safest to use, what might be then? I'm trying to find something that'll get rid of the darn things, not run me up a high bill, and keeps me from having to deal with them on a regular basis.
Orange Guard is an organic, non-toxic ant repellent that is harmless to pets and humans. It drives away ants from the areas where they are unwanted. When applied directly to ants, the active ingredient, d-Limonene, destroys the waxy coating of the ants' respiratory system, causing them to suffocate.
I've used it and find it to be effective. It isn't as toxic to the ants as a heavy duty pest control that would be toxic to pets too; but it works.
I've used the bait disc things that the bait inside it, small round black, I think Combat. My cats have never seemed interested in them. I do use a bit of tape so they don't slide around and make them seem like a toy to bat around. I've used them for years in the summer from time to time. Unless your cat likes to eat ants or chew on the disc it should fine to use. I would never use the spray poison stuff inside.
Diatomaceous earth (food grade only)! It's wonderful - so non toxic to cats that they can eat a little and be fine, and it puts an end to most insects, because it smothers them. It's an ingredient in some toothpaste, so it won't make you sick, either.
I bought a sack on Amazon last winter. https://www.amazon.com/Diatomaceous-...us+earth&psc=1 It's cheap, lasts forever, and effective. I just pour a line of it in front of my basement door and along the walls down there, in cabinets, and around the sinks and toilets.
When I see a line of ants or anything else gross I go crazy and pour a whole lot of it on top of them. They curl up and die, then I just sweep them up.
I also dust the cats with it to prevent fleas. No fleas anywhere on even the barn cats who live outside!
This stuff really is a miracle.
Last edited by 601halfdozen0theother; 01-17-2018 at 12:19 AM..
Be careful if you get diatomaceous earth that it's FOOD GRADE. I use it for ants outside, hoping to stop them coming in, but indoors it's very easy to inhale it - you and the cat both, so I use the bait disks. Definitely tape them down or they become hockey pucks. If your cat is bored, or finds the ants interesting, he might eat some, but it won't do him any harm. And my experience here is the cheap store brand bait disks work fine on small black ants, but the little brown ones like Terro baits.
I've used food grade diatomaceous earth, which I found at Ace Hardware. Once I found it by the pet foods, because apparently it can be used as a food additive (for livestock? or something?) and another time, I found it with the pest control products. It will be clearly marked as "food grade" and that's the only type you ought to buy, regardless. And of course it's online.
The other thing I've used for ants, is Terro baits, but those ARE poisonous to cats, so I only put them in places the cat absolutely could not get them. Like way back in the narrow space between the fridge and the cabinet, far enough he cannot reach, and I pushed it back there with a broom handle. Like I wouldn't take any chances with those things. If it is physically possible for the cat to get into them, even if it's an area the cat seems to ignore, I don't put one there. The cat is smart, but he's not a tool-user quite yet, thankfully. EDIT: It should be mentioned that, oddly, my cat would not eat the ants, and the ants weren't getting into his food, either. They were tiny black ants just wandering around, and Nimbus reacted to them with something like disgust. He'd stare at them as though horrified, and then, flicking his tail in annoyance, leave the area. If your cat eats the ants, there's another good reason to avoid poisonous baits. Most of them are designed for the ants to carry back to the nest.
I tried other home-remedy type things people talked about on the internet, like sprinkling cinnamon, or placing bay leaves, and those things did no good at all. I think the diatomaceous earth was the most effective.
If you have sugar ants, I suggest plain corn meal (really!). Put tiny piles where you have the ants. They carry it away and eat it, but can't digest it and die.
So I called my landlord and explained my ant issue and he said it happens every winter and suggested I buy some ant spray. Considering I'm in a studio with a curious feline, I tried to just kill them on sight and clearly that isn't working as there was a gathering of them in the kitchen (gross!).
So I'm looking at ant killer that's safest to use with a cat in the house. I doubt sprays would be effective but would the type of bait clips work? The ones where it baits the ants into eating whatevers inside it and kills them off.
And if that isn't safest to use, what might be then? I'm trying to find something that'll get rid of the darn things, not run me up a high bill, and keeps me from having to deal with them on a regular basis.
We have local pest control treat our house every two months, mainly for ants. We live on the edge of the wood and ants are terrible. For the sake of the two cats and chemically sensitive stepson, pest control uses a natural treatment inside the home. It's safe, smells nice and it's only $55 per treatment.
Maybe call your local pest control and inquire about natural and safe pest treatment?
I use TERRO Ant Killer in the little packets and I put them safely where none of my pets can get into them. It works well I just make sure there is no way they can be gotten into by my pets.
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