Ants!

[Harpmaker]

We have an ant infestation going on. They come in when it gets hot outside. We used to just use Raid spray, but with a bird in the house I told the family we can't do that. I tried talcum powder, but it doesn't work on vertical surfaces. We found some stuff with active ingredients of peppermint oil and rosemary oil; and inactive ingredients water, propanol, wintergreen oil, white mineral oil, polyglyceryl oleate, sodium benzoate, vanillin, and nitrogen. I have been using it while Corsair is asleep in a closed off room, or while running the kitchen exhaust fan. So far she has shown no sign of respiratory distress, but I'm still nervous about the safety.

The ants aren't real impressed with it, either, but it works slightly better than water. Does anyone have a better bird-safe way to get rid of ants?

[liz]

It is not as hard as you would think to control ants. They just can't resist Terro. Even with my variety of animals it can be safe to use. I don't remember the name of the insecticide powder that has been used forever but that and sugar or something is in it. It does not harm animals because you hide it. I have put it up against a wall under flight cages so the furry kids can't get into it. I have also put it behind clothes hampers in the bathroom. The biggest problem with it is to not forget where you put it and kick it out while cleaning. You will begin to get more ants at first because the whole colony will want it. Don't use another insecticide or the bate won't work.

In the mean time if they are getting in your bird cages, Vaseline the legs of the cages. Bugs don't cross Vaseline. I even put it on the trunk of my fig tree. Then clean up the ants in the cage.

[Wolf]

I hope that this article will help you with your ant problem
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww36eii.htm Let me know how it goes.

[Harpmaker]

Time for another shopping trip! We'll see what we can find locally, and get busy with this stuff. Thanks Liz and Wolf!

[liz]

The kind of Tero I use is in plastic container that are opened on one end for ants to go in. They are not messy and you never have to touch it. With the clear plastic containers you can see if it needs replaced.