Are my snakes going to die?

Hello,

I have a rather large collection of ball pythons all located in one room (abut 30 snakes), now this is where things get interesting - The room next door to this room has a major ant problem and I'm going to go buy ant traps and pet friendly bug spray to treat the issue, what I want to know is will my snakes be effected by this?

The rooms are separated by a door that I can seal with towels if needed, it's not an option to move all my snakes as I would have nowhere to house so many of them.

Please let me know what your experiencing with keeping snakes and using bug spray is, the snakes will always come first, but the ant problem needs to be dealt with.

TIA!

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Originally Posted by Stealth

I have a rather large collection of ball pythons all located in one room (abut 30 snakes)

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30 is a lot of snakes for most people!

1. To your post Title: Your snakes will die someday - Yes I guarantee it.

2. I would not use a product in aerosol form/spray indoors because it can inadvertently get on everything (including you)-even though it is 'Pet safe' the manufacturers often don't account for cold-blooded physiology.

3. Usually ants are eating something: I would try remove/treat whatever they are eating first and poison bait the rest (on the condition that they are not crawling on your snakes/feeders and/or food).

4. I have resisted the urge to post about 20 memes regarding ants. *Pats self on back*

Good Luck!

Thanks for the info!

Haha I figured it would get a faster response with a clickbait-ish title!

Food sources aren't a major issue, it just seems that a colony has setup in this room and go venturing out for food, I've manager to find a non aerosol based spray, hoping that if I lightly mist the area I can avoid it getting into the air and going into the next room.

Try Diatomaceous Earth first. It's a very fine powder that is effective at killing insects. You dust it all over and it sticks to them. Works by essentially cutting through their exoskeletons and dehydrating them. It would be much safer for your snakes than using an aerosol. It can be picked up at any big hardware store, feed stores, maybe even Wal-Mart. Also on Amazon.

https://www.diatomaceousearth.com/bl...-ant-treatment

Terro ant bait works and it won't harm your snakes. It doesn't kill the ants immediately so they take the bait back to the queen for her to eat, and when she dies the colony collapses.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Terro ant bait works and it won't harm your snakes. It doesn't kill the ants immediately so they take the bait back to the queen for her to eat, and when she dies the colony collapses.

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I second that! Best thing I have found.


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Provent a Mite is permethrin and should kill all insects, is persistent, and is pet safe. Try spraying in on the ants travel routes.

For what it's worth, military uniforms are soaked in permethrin and it works pretty well on those.

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Originally Posted by WhompingWillow

Try Diatomaceous Earth first. It's a very fine powder that is effective at killing insects. You dust it all over and it sticks to them. Works by essentially cutting through their exoskeletons and dehydrating them. It would be much safer for your snakes than using an aerosol. It can be picked up at any big hardware store, feed stores, maybe even Wal-Mart. Also on Amazon.

https://www.diatomaceousearth.com/bl...-ant-treatment

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Seconding this, DE is truly amazing for killing bugs and all natural so it's much less harmful than any chemicals. Just be careful not to inhale the powder (wear a mask while spreading it) as it's very fine and the particles can get stuck in your lungs, and make sure your snakes will never come in contact with it and inhale it (shouldn't be a problem if it's a different room).

You can also use a plastic plate with corn syrup or honey and they get stuck In It and die. You can use it together with the DE. Also ants hate coffe grounds too. So you can put used coffee grounds near where their trail is. Vinegar spray works too.

I used to live in the desert where ants of various kinds tried to invade & share my house from time to time. I found a "pet, children & kitchen-safe spray" that
was the best thing I've ever used. Non-aerosol, btw. That was some years ago & sadly it disappeared from the market...the innocuous ingredients included rosemary
and wintergreen oils that smelled wonderful to me but not only did the ants die, they NEVER returned...they were thoroughly offended. I used it on my floors where
they entered. I am dead-set against most pesticides (literally a last resort) and at the time I had a house full of snakes, way more than you do now, & dogs too, but
pesticides sure aren't healthy for us either. I would also suggest trying diatomaceous earth, or boric acid powder (sold for roach & ant control...it's one of the safer
products: https://draxe.com/boric-acid/ )

Please avoid aerosols for your sake as well as your snakes. I know how determined & dangerous ants can be* but do avoid going "nuclear".

*The ants (in that desert house) once killed a native gecko I was keeping (it only took a few & they were really after his mealworms) and they also ate holes
in a new blouse I had hanging up in a doorway to try on...they marched up the door-frame & down the hanger!- apparently the fabric sizing was tasty?