Ants in coop

[Impress]

Quote:
They will crawl under Mama and eat the newly hatched chicks, they can smell egg yolk a mile away, you need to treat!

 

[Honeysucklefeathers]

Ants don't have a chance in my coop. Chickens eat them like they're candy! I also crumble dried herbs in the nest just in case. Never had a problem with them.

 

[Runt Of The Litter]

one worth trying is diluted apple/cider vinegar or even normal vinegar,it acts as a detterent to ants and sends them back the way they came from,have just had a check on toxicity to chickens and it seems to be recommended in fact as it kills bacteria in coops apparently,woud recommend everyone does there own research into it to of course.

this is really only suitable for coops on hard ground like concrete but the vinegar solution needs mopping/spreading on the ground-inside and on the outside of the coop,not so its swimming in it but so its evenly mopped all over...it stinks badly [if are not one for vinegar!] but it honestly does work,well it does on UK ants.

though have not tried it with chickens before,we get plagued with ants in our home every summer,had found out about vinegar on the internet and gave it a try-immediately it had sent the ants into retreat,not one ant to be seen again until the solution dried up.

 

[snogs]

I generally use Borax to keep ants at bay. They won't cross a line of Borax.

 

[RollinWithTheStones]

My girls eat them bit I use cinnamon in my mail box and they haven't been back all summer.

 

[galanie]

I wish mine would eat ants! I'd never have to feed them again, with as many as I have in this drought. Been battling them constantly in the yard, but thankfully they're not in the coop. I moved the feeder out of the coop and keep it dusted with DE. I do see some in there from time to time, but so far they haven't become a problem and I've never found them in the nests.

 

[flowergirl60]

Quote:
x2

 

[PeachesLaRue]

We started to use the food grade diatomaceous earth in our coops and around the perimeter and the fire ants are now far and few between. It has turned out to be a fantastic resource for us ... and it's non-chemical! We do not like those horrible ant poisons (or any other chemical poison) and don't want them in our yard period - and you can't use those poisons around the birds or other animals anyway. The DE is (after all is said and done) no more expensive than those other noxious things. When we clean out the coops, we sprinkle the earth all around the floor, in the nesting boxes and especially around the perimeter edges and then put a fresh layer of hay on top of it all. We do make sure the birds aren't inhaling that fine flour-like DE though as we are spreading it - once down it seems to adhere to the ground just fine. At any rate, it keeps our chickens safe from those nasty old ants, and they're clean and happy! The DE does not kill the ants overnight ... it takes about three days to collapse the colony. If we find a mound nearby, we stir DE into it and make sure we coat the ants and their eggs and walk around the property and find any other mounds and do the same. We also try and make sure the DE does not blow around because we don't want it to coat or cover beneficial insects in the yard either (like bees or butterflies, etc.) It's good stuff so far! You can buy it online (various places) or ask your local farm supply store and they can order the food grade DE in for you.

 

[nashvillechick]

I've got food grade DE in my coop and run and it doesn't do a thing for ants. They laugh at it. And the chickens don't eat them either. No, they won't hurt the chickens, but they get on me and some of them bite. There's got to be a solution that's safe for the hens.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Ants don't have a chance in my coop. Chickens eat them like they're candy! I also crumble dried herbs in the nest just in case. Never had a problem with them.

would rosemary be ok to put in their nests? My bitties are young yet but n Oct. I should be getting me some eggs.

I have a very large rosemary bush.