Does anyone have an idea on how to keep ants out of the chicken's feed in the coop? I don't think the chickens are eating the ants, and I wish they would! Anyway, I don't want to spray around the chicken's food. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
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I'm not sure why some of you are recommending against diatomaceous earth, because it is the answer to all the ant, fly and mite problems you might have. Food grade DE is MUCH different than other types of DE. It is added to horse feed to prevent clumping and can be bought in 5, 10, 50 pound bags at a pretty cheap price.
Now other forms of DE are very bad for you and your lungs. Food grade isn't nearly as bad although I wouldn't go around huffing the dust.
I personally dust my entire coop and run with DE. I add it at about a 5% ratio to their food. This does two things, it deworms them and prevents high worm loads and it helps to prevent flies. It does this because when a fly lands on their poop and lays eggs either the eggs or the maggots are killed by the DE. Before I started doing this I had ALOT of flies, now there are hardly any at all. Also, before I started dusting their coop and run I had a lot of ants in their area. After DE, hardly any at all. You may see ants walking through their litter occasionally, but you can bet their life is about over due to the affects of the DE.
Now as far as ant nest go, I sprinkle it around their ant hill in about a 15" circle. Then I stomp up and down to piss off the ants. The ants swarm outside, walk all over the DE and inadvertently carry it back down into the nest with them were it kills a great many of them. It kills them by drying them out and/or scratching their exoskeleton and then they dry out. You may not kill all of the ants but after doing this repeatedly their aren't many ants left.
The DE helps to prevent mites the same way. When your chickens take a dust bath, they spread a little of that stuff on them too. Mites don't like it and they die.
I even feed it to my dogs every couple of days for flies and worms. I have even heard of people eating it to help lower their worms load. Yes, you have worms to, I'll guarantee it!
To learn more about DE and anything else chicken related, go to http://www.backyardchickens.com/ as there is years and years of knowledge on that site.
Becky > Zach Sizer back again...July 17, 2010 at 2:21pm
I agree. Food grade DE is safe. I use it in my coop and yard too.
Stock shop carries it, a lot of the feed stores carry it. Anything you get at a feed store (vs. a hardware store) will be food grade, never hurts to confirm though.
The part about them ingesting the DE to help worm them is debatable. I don't think it would hurt (unless they are breathing in a lot of DE dust all the time) but the thought is that once DE gets wet (in the birds gizzard) it is no longer very effective. Definitely good for in the nesting boxes etc. and great stuff to have around.
Thanks for the advice, eveyone. Ants have become a big problem in and around my coop this year, too. Dave the Garden Guy's book recommends a few remedies for ants, such as pouring vinegar and/or boiling hot water down the ant hill. He also has a few organic recipes: use dry cream of wheat around the ant hill, which expands in the stomach of the ants causing it to burst, and also a solution of rubbing alcohol and water (though I forget the ratio). I used straight vinegar on the ant hill(s) yesterday, and it seemed to do a good job of eliminating most of them.
Thanks for these ideas. I know you can't get rid of all ants, but I just didn't like feeding them this nice chicken food. I'll get the feed off the ground, and then try to find the ant hills.
Chris, thanks for the cautionary tale! You're right, I would not use it near the chickens. However, I guess I was thinking around the perimeter of the yard all together. But I see your point about the ants eventually finding their way past. :-(
Big, thick pile of DE completely covering the area where the feeder sites and a few inches beyond in all directions. No access to the feed except through the DE.
Ants are REALLY bad this year. I think htey are one insect that is probably not a good food for the birds--too much formic acid. Mine have never wanted to eat ants, and I have heard of birds getting ill who did eat them (although they had eaten a lot of ants).
Huge as in a 50 lb bag? That's a pretty good price.
I like the feeder--do you have any problem with it staying in the bucket rather than falling into the saucer?
Replies
Now other forms of DE are very bad for you and your lungs. Food grade isn't nearly as bad although I wouldn't go around huffing the dust.
I personally dust my entire coop and run with DE. I add it at about a 5% ratio to their food. This does two things, it deworms them and prevents high worm loads and it helps to prevent flies. It does this because when a fly lands on their poop and lays eggs either the eggs or the maggots are killed by the DE. Before I started doing this I had ALOT of flies, now there are hardly any at all. Also, before I started dusting their coop and run I had a lot of ants in their area. After DE, hardly any at all. You may see ants walking through their litter occasionally, but you can bet their life is about over due to the affects of the DE.
Now as far as ant nest go, I sprinkle it around their ant hill in about a 15" circle. Then I stomp up and down to piss off the ants. The ants swarm outside, walk all over the DE and inadvertently carry it back down into the nest with them were it kills a great many of them. It kills them by drying them out and/or scratching their exoskeleton and then they dry out. You may not kill all of the ants but after doing this repeatedly their aren't many ants left.
The DE helps to prevent mites the same way. When your chickens take a dust bath, they spread a little of that stuff on them too. Mites don't like it and they die.
I even feed it to my dogs every couple of days for flies and worms. I have even heard of people eating it to help lower their worms load. Yes, you have worms to, I'll guarantee it!
To learn more about DE and anything else chicken related, go to http://www.backyardchickens.com/ as there is years and years of knowledge on that site.
The part about them ingesting the DE to help worm them is debatable. I don't think it would hurt (unless they are breathing in a lot of DE dust all the time) but the thought is that once DE gets wet (in the birds gizzard) it is no longer very effective. Definitely good for in the nesting boxes etc. and great stuff to have around.
Ants are REALLY bad this year. I think htey are one insect that is probably not a good food for the birds--too much formic acid. Mine have never wanted to eat ants, and I have heard of birds getting ill who did eat them (although they had eaten a lot of ants).
Huge as in a 50 lb bag? That's a pretty good price.
I like the feeder--do you have any problem with it staying in the bucket rather than falling into the saucer?
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