Tips to Keep Ants Away from Dogs
Have you ever been to a picnic, and you notice ants are forming around your food? It is no different with pet food. They love to get into that as well! Not only that, but if ants get on your dog, they often bite, which can be an even bigger problem than you might thing. The most threatening type of ants are fire ants. These types of ants have a venom and can sting, something you don’t want to happen to your pet. Obviously, you will want to keep ants away from your pets. There are several ways that you can do this which will be explained below.
- Keep the pet indoors. Ants are typically outdoor creatures. If you keep your pet indoors, they are a lot less likely to encounter ants. It is okay if you have a dog who loves to play outdoors! If this is the case, you can police the yard for ant mounds and get rid of them when you find them. There are many pet-friendly sprays which will help exterminate the ants.
- Avoid loose food. Ants have a way of finding themselves in your house if there is food left out in the open. To discourage this from occurring, keep all food in sealed containers or in the refrigerator. Clean up all crumbs left behind after meals and snacks.
- Trap the ants. Plastic ant traps are available that contain a bate to lure the ants inside, where they eat a poison that isn’t accessible to pets or children. After they consume the poison, they go off and die.
- Armor your pet. Fipronil is a slow-acting ant poison that hasn’t shown any toxicity in dogs and cats. Long range studies of its effects on human beings suggest that it’s probably harmless. In fact, it is used in several products out on the market today.
There are many ways that you can keep ants away from your pets. The best thing you can do is to be proactive. If your dog is an adventurer who loves the outdoors, then its best to locate the ants and get rid of them accordingly. As always, store foods in contains and clean up any crumbs along the way!
