# Ants!



## Zwiekira (Jul 16, 2008)

Hello all! I have had ants in my apartment since about June. Since I got the bird, I sweep up every day, several times a day but even if there is one little seed on the floor, there are ants having a regular jamboree, carrying it back to the crack in the floor where I'm sure they all live. Before I moved in in June, the super told me that they had to patch the ceiling for a leak (I'm on the top floor.) Apparently the floorboards must have been wet and the ants must have settled in. They even polyurethaned the floor with double coats before I moved in and the ants still chewed their way back to the surface. Now that I have a little feathered child, I'm afraid that the ants will crawl up Cheeko's cage and bite him or something. I also know that harsh chemicals will kill my little Cheeko Chickalini so I have been trying to stave them off with cleaniless of the surrounding area. Does anyone know of any remedies for an ant invasion that won't hurt birds? I heard that clove oil smeared around the floor repels them and also cinnamon. Does anyone know if this can possibly be harmful for birds? Thanks in advance for your help, tiel gurus.


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## cspags (Mar 16, 2008)

Are you talking about small ants or large carpenter ants. If it is carpenter ants you should contact your super and have them treated and they can do that directly into the walls and floors, so that your bird will not come in contact with insecticide. Unfortunately since your bird comes out, there is always a chance of it getting into any treatment you do. I know there are some natural products however they still may be lethal for birds. I would google some sites and arm yourself with information and contact your super, they never just go away, they only multiply. I live in the Niagara Region of Ontario and because of our soil ants are everyday issue that must be dealt with.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

I would try cinnamon, it is safe some people even give their birds cinnamon sticks to chew on for a treat/toy


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## Zwiekira (Jul 16, 2008)

*They're smaller than Carpenter Ants*

I don't think they are Carpenter Ants, they are smaller than Carpenter Ants. I looked up a bunch of different kinds of ants on the INTRAWEB and they look to be as close in visage to the Sugar Ant as any other. I think I will contact my super about it. I think there must be a vast and teeming ant empire just beneath my floorboards; as whenever I plug up one hole in the boards with cloves and cinnamon, they pop out another! It's the most unpleasant game of "whack-a-mole" I have ever played. In the Bronx you're always dealing with some kind of pest. I've had mice, roaches, and now ants. That soil can be the only thing wrong with Canada, since I've visited the country twice and found it to be filled with some of the most affable people I've ever met...as are you for giving suggestions to me. Thank you most kindly. 

I think I might have to move my bird to another room and put down Boric Acid. Shame that the holistic stuff doesn't seem to have the staying power of Atomic-Bomb-Strength Insect killer.



cspags said:


> Are you talking about small ants or large carpenter ants. If it is carpenter ants you should contact your super and have them treated and they can do that directly into the walls and floors, so that your bird will not come in contact with insecticide. Unfortunately since your bird comes out, there is always a chance of it getting into any treatment you do. I know there are some natural products however they still may be lethal for birds. I would google some sites and arm yourself with information and contact your super, they never just go away, they only multiply. I live in the Niagara Region of Ontario and because of our soil ants are everyday issue that must be dealt with.


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## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

If you use any kind of chemical insecticide to get rid of them i would get a friend to look after your tiel for a few days until any traces of fumes are gone, better to be safe.


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## Zwiekira (Jul 16, 2008)

*Ant Update!*

The ants have totally disappeared from my apartment! I think what wound up working was clove oil! I rubbed clove bud oil from the health food store into the floor and the ants were totally repelled by the smell. I got a little on my hand and it warmed my hand up, sort of like if you leave Mineral Ice or Ben Gay on your hand. I can't imagine how terrible that must feel for an ant to walk on or smell when they are so small, but I can't have them getting near my bird! So if anyone is having trouble with ants, clove oil is a great way to go! Just make sure your bird doesn't walk through it. I only had the ants in one area so it was easy to keep Cheeko out of that area.


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Thats great that you found something that worked


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