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Help! Ant Attack!!!
I fed my male this evening, a fresh killed adult mouse. He won't eat in front of me so I left him alone for an hour or so.
When I looked back in he still hadn't eaten, and the dead mouse was covered in ants!!! I pulled him out, but they're all over his cage!
Should I completely clean out his cage? (I've got work in 5 hours though, I need to get some sleep) or is he ok with the ants? I'd feel really bad leaving him in there with them though.
Has this ever happened to anyone else?
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
First, I'd want to know where the ants came from and how did they get in the snakes enclosure ?
For them to completely cover a dead mouse in only an hour, there has to be a lot of them, and they had to have been in that area for a while. Ants do send out scouts looking for food, but it take many hours or even days for them to find food that way unless you drop it on an established ant trail.
Do not leave your snake in with the ants. While they may not be capable of harming him through his scales, they will find his delicate eyes, nostrils, mouth and vent and could do serious damage. The fastest way to get rid of them temporarily is dump any bedding in the enclosure out, then stick the whole thing in the shower to wash them away.
This is only a temporary fix however, because more will quickly follow the established scent trail and invade his cage again. If you don't have any bug killer in the house you could spray on a towel and wipe all around where his cage sits, sprinkle cinnamon around it as a stop-gap measure until you can get the bug killer.
Please take care of this now, not later. I understand the need for sleep before work, but that is what 5 hour Energy is for!!
Gale
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I have to agree with gale, that would need to be taken care of immediately. Ants could be a serious problem.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by crapwhereaminow
Should I completely clean out his cage? (I've got work in 5 hours though, I need to get some sleep) or is he ok with the ants? I'd feel really bad leaving him in there with them though.
Are you really asking this? Please Please Please tell me you didn't take the time to log on and type this up, all while making an excuse for "not having time" to keep ANTS off your DEFENSELESS SNAKE. I honestly hope this is a joke
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Alright, the bedding is dumped, the cage is washed out, the surrounding area has been bug spray/wiped. I don't see any more ants but I'm terrified to go to sleep!
I've got my guy out on my lap and he seems ok.
Ugh, this was just so disgusting! I panicked, and wrote too quickly. This stuff just always seems to happen at night. And no, I'd never leave him in there, at the very least I'd have moved him to a clean qt tub and left his cage outside or something.
Seriously though, does this kind of stuff happen to anyone else? Or am I just extra special?
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
We have all been there at one time or another, I would find out where the ants are coming from 2morrrow
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
never had ants but I gotten stray roaches in orders of snake stuff( like heat tape,bowls and such) I think they were picked up along the trip. I propley killed the sob and sprayed a strong chemical around the room floor whe it happens. it seems that even the cleanest of people can get these annoying bugs. I seen ants in mom's kitchen many a time and I usely get some ortho and pread around outside and they vanish for the rest of the summer. ( makes a note need to do this again.) the stuff smells like kero(heater fuel) and chocolate.
I bee ntold that ants don't like vinger either.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Once you've treated the enclosure, I'd treat your house for a general ant infestation. Or at least keep Provent-a-Mite around. There are definitely a LOT of them coming from somewhere VERY close by.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I treat my tubs once a month with Provent-A-Mite and that pretty much takes care of anything that might get around the enclosures. If I happen to notice any around the window sill, I'll remove the snakes from the room and spray it out with bug spray and let it air out for a couple of hours before putting the snakes back in the room...
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Places to keep in mind when spraying. Ants can use any holes in your walls like a highway. i.e. electrical outlets, and cable/phone terminals.
Make sure to hit these areas as well as the perimeter of cove base where the wall and floor meet. When spraying I use the double perimeter approach. One pass along the cove base(corner where floor and wall meet) and the second pass roughly 12" in from the wall on the floor. Then i spray the legs of the stands, so nothing can climb up the the stand to get to the tanks. I also spray about 12" of the power cords so nothing can climb up them either.
I try to isolate and treat any and all paths that any insect would have to cross to enter the room, as well as any path they would have to travel to reach the enclosure even if the would get into the room. Treating just the tank or rack will not give you a "sterile" herp room. I live in an older house and every spring and fall I run into ants that think they can share my house with me. They are very sadly mistaken.:devilish:
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I am an avid bug sprayer. I hate bugs. Terro is my best friend for ants, and Home Defense for others. I would grab some of bother and treat the outside of your house, windows and all. Then spray some home defense around the perimeter of the inside (accept the snake room).
Good luck! I hope it turns out well for you, and you get some sleep.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I had a few ants around my snake cages once, but unfortunately I must be careful with the bug spray as I also keep a number of scorpions and tarantulas in my snake area as well...
A really good way to kill an entire ant colony is with this stuff called "Amdro Ant Killer" It is these little pellets and you sprinkle it over some ant trail you find somewhere and they think its food, they take it home to the colony and eat it, it takes a day or two to kill the ants, but by then every ant in the colony has eaten some, including the queen ant, therefore it wipes out the entire colony completely and there is no chance of recovery for the ants...
You might want to try this stuff to prevent them from ever returning again...
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Get some really good bug killer fertilizer and put it down on your whole yard. And spray some indoor stuff around all your walls inside. Ants have been known to overpower and kill small exotic house pets.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Thanks for the ideas everyone! So far so good, haven't seen any ants since last night. I'm liking the idea of treating once a month as a precaution. A lot better than trying to kill them when they're already in! I'm just super nervous with any sort of bug spray in the herp room. It's only got my pythons and my chameleon but still...
:mad: but now I've got another fiasco on my hands. My new female (might!) have mites. I've never dealt with them before, but when I looked at her tonight I noticed something small and white running over her back. I panicked (again) and put her is a warm bucket with a bit of water to soak. I completely cleaned out her qt tub. Washed it out. Rinsed her bowl and hides and let them soak in super hot water for a half an hour. I don't have any prevent-a-mite or anything to treat them if they do show up, but I'm going to get some tomorrow.
please please please let me be panicking (again) for no reason!
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Flea and tick spray for cats and dogs also kills ants, and I dont think that would be as hazardous to pets (though I'd still remove them to air it out). We had an ant infestation in the cricket bin at work and it helped but we didnt spray it around the crickets or it would have gotten them too.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Snake mites are black. Just so you know.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I had a few ants once not as many as you are describing I did a big really careful cleaning and bought a Diatomaceous Earth ant killer it is a mechanical killer it works by abrasion. I spread it around the floor and bottom of the feet of the stand I was using no more ants in with the snakes. The kitchen is another story... They just keep coming back. The earth stuff isn't a poison so as long as the powder does not contact the snakes it is fine. It is also non toxic for mammals. I don't think it would be good to get on a snake as the scales and ants exoskeleton or closer that hair and skin. It is dusty so just watch that. Hope this helps.
Alex
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I have been using a product for years around the house to kill ants. We get an infestation during the spring. I've found a product named TERRO Ant Killer. It comes in a little bottle and the stuff looks like pancake syrup. The box cantains about a dozen tear off tabs that you place around the house and put a dab of this stuff on the tabs. This stuff is great. It attracts the ants, they eat this stuff and take it back to the rest of the ants. Within a few days to a week, all the ants are gone.
I guess it's like antifreeze to dogs, they love the stuff but it's fatal. It cost about $5 a bottle and we've just started our second bottle. It took us 4 years to use the first bottle. It truely is a great product.
I think it can be found almost anywhere.
Jim Smith
PS Just took a picture, here is the product.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...mith/terro.jpg
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Advice for the mite problem with your other snake: "Provent-A-Mite" is the best stuff possible, just follow the directions exactly and you will need only one application most likeley.
Steve is correct snake mites can be black, however they are only black after they take a blood meal from your snake, you will most likely never see any except for the black ones, because before they feed they are almost clear and much smaller than they are after they feed. I forget how much bigger they get after eating but it is a number of times their original body size, they are basically tiny little ticks, so they really expand when they attach themselves...
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I tend to think if you saw white specks, hey may have come from bedding and not be true snake mites. Not dangerous, but certainly annoying.
The best and fastest solution is to get the Provent-a-Mite, it will kill any and all small bugs and a lot of bigger ones! If you don't have a reptile store near you that might carry it, you can order it online.
Gale
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I have used DE with good success against lots of crawling insects (though ants aren't a prob. where I live). Just put it around the base of your racks, works for lots of things.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
I got this idea from a friend that owns a reptile pet store. I put a layer of seven dust around the outside perimeter of all my racks. That way if anything tries to get into the racks, they are going to get killed on their way. It is also a good prevention in case you were to get a mite infestation in one rack it won't spread to others. I keep it down at all times.
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Re: Help! Ant Attack!!!
Have worked in the Pest Control industry for years...my husband too. If they are fire ants then more than likely they are coming from outside...there is a mound somewhere close to your snakeroom...if you live in a brick home they could be coming thru weep holes...or crack in the slab...if your on piers then they come right up the piers...branch hanging on the roof, perfect bridge for them.....I would not suggest putting Terro for fire ants...it just draws them in more...it cant handle a big mound...its more for pharoah ants (sugar ants) which dont bite and or just pesty....if it is pharoah ants or little black ants then dont spray...that just panics the colony and they move to another place. For fire ants I suggest a granual with Fipronil as the main ingredient...they dont know its poison and will let them live long enough to carry it back to the colony and kill the queen....its expensive but it has a very long term effect. Top Choice is a good granual
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