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Pesticide?

haleybethg

Walking the driveway
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Haley
I've got ants coming into my house. Would it be safe to spray raid or some other pesticide as long as the door is closed and bird is on the other end of the house? Are there natural alternatives I can buy quickly?

I'm thinking of having my whole house sprayed during a week when birdie and I will be at my parents home house-sitting, but I have to nip this in the bud STAT.
 

haleybethg

Walking the driveway
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Some people recommend "Diatomaceous earth" I've never heard of this before. Is it ok?
 

karen256

Rollerblading along the road
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Yes diatomaceous earth is fine. It's not poisonous, it's just sharp and cuts up insects' exoskeletons when they walk over it, it's harmless to anything larger though. Food grade diatomaceous earth is in a lot of the food you eat.
I would try to avoid insecticides that use poisons, like Raid though.
Another safe insect killer is insecticidal soap but that's more for slow-moving insects on plants and not ants.
 
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haleybethg

Walking the driveway
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Do you suppose I could spray raid around the OUTSIDE? They're coming in some where around my back door. That door goes into my laundry room which is always closed. My bird is a good 30ft away in our open layout living area.

I'm going to look for the DE, but Ive never seen it before, so I wanna have a back up plan.
 

fluffypoptarts

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What about the liquid terro traps that hardware stores carry?
 

haleybethg

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We ended up spraying outside the home and that seems to taken care of most of the problem. I'm going to invest in some DE and spray bottles for cinnamon and vinegar, in case I need to do any "spot" treatments indoors.
 

rockybird

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I just sprayed around the exterior last week. I bought some stuff that isnt supposed to harm birds or geckos for cricket problem (dexmethrin). However, the pest guy said not to let the birds around it for a few hours. I sprayed judiciously outside and inside the house where I know they hang out. I did not spray the bird room. As my caique likes to wander the floors, I have kept a strict eye on him so that he doesnt go into those areas. I also quickly pick up any dead crickets in case they have the poison on them. Anyway, it seems to have worked! Not finding a lot of dead crickets in the house, but I am finding less of them!
 

clawnz

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Ant baits need to be for both sugar and meat ants. And easy enough to make a bait station bird proof. But much better to take them down before they even get in the house. Baits work better than sprays. As the bait is designed so they take them back to the nest. Where it does it's job.
There was a post on facebook about grinding up Popping Corn and placing that where the ants pass. How this works I do not know, but claims are that it does. I wounder if it swells when they eat it.
 

Lady Jane

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It's a good idea to remove the food they are going for. I was recently pet sitting for 2 cats and ants took over the kitchen where the cat food was. I put the cats dishes in another room and no more ants.
 
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