Ants can be a big problem when you feed your cat. They steal your cat's food and often keep your cat from eating it. After all, who wants to eat food if there are a lot of ants around it? Here's how you can keep ants out of your cat's food.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Prevent Ants From Invading Food
Step 1. Store food in airtight plastic containers
Instead of storing cat food in its packaging, transfer it to a plastic container after opening the package. There are many plastic containers designed for pet food.
Step 2. Wash your cat's food bowl
The ants came because there were food crumbs left. Wash food bowls at least every other day or so if possible. This is especially important if you are having problems with ants.
Use a cat-safe laundry soap and rinse the bowl thoroughly with clean, fresh water
Step 3. Keep your cat's feeding area clean
Keep ants away from the food area by keeping it clean. Sweep up any crumbs or leftovers after the cat has finished eating. Mop the floor with a vinegar or lemon mixture to prevent ants from approaching these areas.
You can lift the bowl off the floor when your cat isn't eating its food or leave it on the floor for a few hours and move it at night
Step 4. Change the area where your cat eats
You can also try moving the bowl to another location. Thus, maybe even the ants couldn't find it. If ants enter the room, keep the bowl away from the ant colony.
Step 5. Create a border around the food
Try to create a barrier around your cat's food bowl that the ants can't cross. There are several materials that can be used to repel ants.
- Draw a line around the bowl with chalk.
- Place newspaper under the bowl and sprinkle cinnamon powder, coffee, chili powder, or ash around the bowl.
- Spread petroleum jelly on the edges of food containers.
- Spray vinegar or lemon on the floor around the food bowl. Mix vinegar or lemon juice with water in a 1:1 ratio. Place this mixture in a spray bottle and spray around the bowl to create a barrier or barrier.
Step 6. Coat the outside of the bowl with petroleum jelly
A fairly messy way to keep ants from getting close to food is to smear the outside of the food bowl with petroleum jelly. Ants will find it difficult to climb the bowl because of the slippery surface.
You can also apply it to the outer bowl for added protection
Step 7. Use essential oils
Many essential oils can help ward off ants. Try wiping the floor around the cat's bowl with a damp cloth dampened with a few drops of peppermint oil. Ants do not like strong smells.
- You can also use lemon, orange, or grapefruit oil to repel ants. Try to wipe the area around the bowl with a cotton ball soaked in this oil.
- Essential oils are safe and do not contain chemicals.
Step 8. Use bait to attract ants
A great way to keep ants out of your bowl is to place ant bait (under a cat-safe box) close to where you feed your cat. Make sure there is a small hole on the surface of the box so the ants can enter and eat the poison. At the same time, make sure your cat can't access the bait.
One way to make sure your cat doesn't access them is to screw them to the floor. You can also tuck the box behind the stove or refrigerator, but make sure this area is so narrow that your cat can't access it. Remember that cats are curious creatures and can access unexpected places
Method 2 of 2: Making a Ditch that Limits the Bowl
Step 1. Get rid of ants that are already in the cat's food bowl
Get rid of these ants along with the food that has been surrounded by them. Immediately cover the plastic trash and throw it outside. This helps prevent ants from swarming around the food again.
Step 2. Wash the bowl
Ants leave behind pheromones that attract other ants so make sure you wash the bowl thoroughly with hot water and soap. If the bowl is dishwasher-safe, you can put it in the machine.
Step 3. Clean the feeding area
After removing the ants, clean the area around the food. You must remove any traces of pheromone so that the ants from the colony will not return. Try using a squeeze of lemon or vinegar to get rid of this smell and keep other ants at bay.
You can also mop the area around the food container or the entire kitchen floor. You can use the liquid you normally use for mopping, or use dish soap
Step 4. Find the container to make the trench
Look for containers that are shallower and wider than the cat food bowl. You can use a silver tray, cake stand, pie holder, baking tray, or anything that can fit a cat food bowl.
- Make sure the container that holds the cat food bowl is not too big. However, there should be at least 2.5 cm between the edge of the trench and the food bowl. This distance helps keep the ants away.
- Some companies that manufacture food bowls for pets have already made trenches around the edges of the bowls. Bowls like these are nice and easy to use and can be cleaned in one go. However, if you don't want to spend money until you know if this method works or not, you can try making your own first.
Step 5. Fill the container with water
Put some water in the trench container. Don't fill it so much that the water level gets too high and spills into the food, but it's best to add enough water to prevent ants from getting into the food bowl. Ants can't swim well so they should either drown or be reluctant to cross.
To help prevent ants from crossing the water, try dipping a little vegetable oil, lemon essential oil, or dish soap into the water in the trench. But make sure the distance between the ditch and the food bowl is very small for your cat to drink from before you add dish soap
Step 6. Place the food bowl into the trench container
Place the food bowl in the water. Make sure there is at least 2.5 cm between the edge of the trench and the food bowl. Fill the food bowl with new food.
- If the container is very large, place the food bowl close enough to the rim so your cat can reach the food without difficulty, but make sure not so close that the ants can't jump into it.
- If the food bowl is too short, use a block or other object to lift the food bowl so that it is higher than the edge of the trench container.
Step 7. Empty the trench container as necessary
The water in this ditch may contain drowning ants or spilled food. It's best to clean it before the water starts to evaporate.
Step 8. Keep doing this
Eventually, the ants will stop coming. In some places, such as our country where the climate is warm, you may have to keep doing this because the ants will never leave.
Tips
If your cat's feeding area is kept clean, you shouldn't have a problem with ants
Warning
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Do not use insecticides or other poisons.
This can hurt your cat.
