Even though preferent food should always be observe in a container that keeps air out , ant can get in there sometimes anyway . This guide will show you how to get pismire out of favored food and keep them out . you could easily lay aside your frankfurter food and cat intellectual nourishment without having to toss it in the crank ! .
Going to feed your PET and finding pismire in their food for thought is one of the worst things that can go on , especially at 6 a.m. m. Yesterday , I awoke to that exact publication . When I went to fill up our bounder ’ nutrient bowls before coffee , I was only half awake . That ’s when I saw C of tiny ants in the dog food bin . I was so wild that I could n’t even describe it . I had just put a $ 55 bag of particular grain - free dog food in the binful . Two of our Boston Terriers have sensitive stomach , so we feed them grain - complimentary dog food that does n’t have a peck of fillers . My first thought was that we ’d have to toss their dog food and buy novel food . I fed them some wimp that we had in the fridge while I waited to buy more food for thought at the preferred store . But first , I called their veterinary surgeon to see if there was a way to preserve their food . It had to have happened to a lot of people , good ? fortunately , our veterinarian knew what to do , and we did n’t have to bewilder off the expensive dog food . If you have other ant job , check out my two - ingredient ant repellant atomiser to keep them out of your base !
It can be incredibly frustrating to go to feed your bounder only to find pismire swarm in their food bag Not only is it unsanitary , but ants can foul your dog ’s food , potentially build them sick . The in effect word is there are several effective methods to get ants out of your Canis familiaris ’s food bag and keep them from coming back
Why Ants Are Attracted to Dog Food
Ants are timeserving eater and magpie by nature . They seek out any food germ they can encounter to impart back to their settlement . Dog solid food furnish everything ants need – carbohydrates protein fatness , and wet . Dry kibble emits an odor that attract nearby ant searching for nutrient . Once a few picket ants discover the wienerwurst food bag , they get out a pheromone trail for swarms of ants to follow .
sure types of dog food seem to attract more ant than others . intellectual nourishment with citrus , Pisces or meat flavors run to be most appealing to emmet . Moist wiener food is also a target since ants require water . Any spill or crumb around your dog ’s arena are invitations for emmet to invade .
Remove Ants from an Infested Bag
If your dog ’s kibble or dainty are already infested with ants , you necessitate to act cursorily to get free of them :
immobilise the food for thought : Place the bags of dog food in the freezer for 24 - 48 hour . The freezing temperature will kill the ants . admit the frozen intellectual nourishment to amount back to room temperature before feeding to your dog .
practice corn starch : Pour dog solid food into a large container and coating with clavus amylum . The cornstarch will detach emmet from the solid food . Then extend the click food through a colander to sift out the ants . Rinse any remaining ants off the kibble .
apply peppermint vegetable oil : Add several pearl of peppermint essential oil to water in a sprayer bottleful . Lightly mist the infested food with the natural ant repellent . The strong aroma deters ant . Rinse off the food before fertilise .
Discard infested food : If the ant infestation is severe , it may be safe to discard the contaminated frump intellectual nourishment wholly and purchase a new bag . This preclude any risk of your dog ingesting ants or bacterium go away behind .
Once the ants are removed , transfer your pawl ’s food into an airtight plastic or glass store container to preclude reinfestation . verify to cleanse any roll or sphere around your dog-iron ’s alimentation station .
Tips to Keep Ants Out of Dog Food
Prevention is cardinal to keep pismire from invading your dog ’s food for thought in the first place . Here are some tips to deter ants :
Store dry dog food in airtight plastic or glassful container rather than the original bag . Ants manducate through paper suitcase .
rate sticky ant traps around preferent food bowls or bait stations away from food to trap foraging ants .
Sprinkle diatomaceous earthly concern around the fundament of containers obligate dog nutrient . The powdery substance dehydrates ant .
situated bowls of nutrient in dish of urine to make a fosse barrier ant can not foil .
Wipe up food spills , crumbs , and residual where your dog eats to transfer ant attractants .
expend essential oils like peppermint , lavender , tea Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , or eucalyptus tree as instinctive ant repellents around pet food for thought areas .
bung your dog at the table during meals rather than leaving nutrient out to prevent ants from happen it .
Store dry heel solid food in the refrigerator or freezer to make it less noticeable to ants .
With some industry , you’re able to successfully eliminate ants from your andiron ’s nutrient and prevent future infestation . Be proactive and implement balk to keep pismire aside . If you do witness emmet in the food , practice one of the removal methods to cursorily get rid of them so your dog ’s repast are ant - devoid .
FAQs About Ants in Dog Food
How do I know if ants contaminated my dog’s food?
Signs that emmet have infested your frankfurter ’s food admit visible pismire crawling around their food bowl or in the udder , small black jot from ant wastefulness in the kibble , and a ancestry of ants hang back to and from the nutrient source . If you see any evidence of ant , promptly flip away and supercede the food .
Are ants in dog food harmful if ingested?
While pismire themselves are not toxic , they can transmit bacteria and parasites to solid food source . eat ants or contaminated food puts your dog at risk for intestinal worms , diarrhoea , vomit , or other illnesses . Always err on the side of circumspection and remove ant - infest food .
What home remedies deter ants from dog food?
house remedies to keep emmet away from your dog ’s solid food let in spreading chili powder , cinnamon , black pepper , acetum , lemon succus , or garlic powder around the perimeter of bowls and storage containers . you could also apply a line of fossil oil jelly , chalk , or coffee tree grounds where ant may get to the intellectual nourishment .
Why do ants keep coming back to my dog’s food?
If you may not get disembarrass of ants in your heel ’s food , it stand for there is still an unveiling pointedness and food for thought source attracting them . Completely houseclean the region , sealing food in airtight containers , using ant baits and take away any moisture sources will facilitate rule out the matter . Be argus-eyed in removing any food spills or skunk .
Should I throw away dog food if I spot a few ants?
If you notice just a few pathfinder ants in the dog food , you could attempt to take away the ants and salvage the solid food . However , if the food is crawl with ants it is safe to discard it completely and start fresh with new dog food . Do not take peril with polluted food .
Eliminating ants from your dog ’s food for thought and forbid future plague requires program . But with the right techniques , you’re able to circumvent emmet and protect your dog ’s meal . Use preventive beat , innate ant deterrents , and promptly throw out hard infested intellectual nourishment .
How to Remove Ants from Pet Food
2 . Grab some Zea mays amylum … yep , the variety you practice for cookery and such .
2 . scatter some maize starch onto your ant infested preferred food for thought .
3 . Toss it all together . The Zea mays starch helps to come off the ant from the nutrient .
4 . As soon as the corn starch is on the food , you involve to get the ants out of it . There are only a few pismire left , so do n’t worry if your dearie eats them . Let ’s get free of all of them . snap up a kitchen cullender or strainer and a dry paint brush . Put the food for thought in the strainer and hold it by while using the dry key brush to get disembarrass of any ant that are stuck on it . There should n’t be many . Most of them are probably at the bottom of the credit card bin . Do this in teddy until all of the weenie solid food is clean . It takes some time , but it ’s worth it ! Put each stack of clean dog-iron intellectual nourishment back in the dog food bin . Corn amylum leave on the pet food will not harm your pet .
Once the food is clean , observe these tone to make trusted that your bounder ’s food for thought stays free of ant from now on .
