Tiny ants have found my cats food, never happened before.

[Paper Roses]

She feeds at will and I keep her place mat clean. I just tried to clean what I thought was just sloppy spills and it was not food but little ants.
Any ideas for me to try and rid them? I don't wast to use pesticides and must tackle this fast.
Thanks

[nebenaube]

1. ant bait outside

vacuum up the ones inside and wash their trail with a citrus based cleaner.

[hollysmom]

2. according to an ad on TV

draw a chalk line around the dish, ants don't cross chalk.

[GentryDixon]

3. Sprinkle cinnamon around where they

are coming in. It works wonders, and you are not using a pesticide.

I use it outside and it is amazing to watch them scatter. They carry it back to their nests, and I don't see them again. They may still be burrowing someplace else, but so far they have not come back.

Good luck.

[TorchTheWitch]

13. Thanks!

I'm going to try that. Though I'm not sure where they're coming in at. They're so small they can march right through a screen.

[Voice for Peace]

4. I've got the same problem and have to keep relocating the food dishes (3 cats plus a few strays

who find their way here, I don't know from where).

So far the ants haven't found the new location.. but
I'm going to try the cinnamon solution suggestion.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. I had those same buggers

and I just moved the food dish. I have a two story house and I stopped feeding in the kitchen and moved the food to the bedroom upstairs, and I have never had ants get up there. But I would figure that any move of the food would work. The cat will not mind.

[Paper Roses]

8. Moving dishes upstairs today, hope this works.

She is a fussy eater but if she is hungry enough, the new location shouls be OK.

[Walk away]

6. A few years ago I left a baggie of dried dog food in theback of my car....

Little ants formed a conga line up through a crack in the pavement of my driveway, up a tire, into the car and right to the bag that, apparently, wasn't securely closed. All I had to do was throw out the bag and move my car. I've had clients who have had tiny ants invade and (since they are all pet owners) they use Diatomaceous Earth
[link:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LNP1UK|

[easychoice]

7. the only product that really works

http://www.amdro.com/All-Products/ant-block-home-perimeter-ant-bait-granules/overview

You don't want to get them away from the food you want to get them away from your house and yard.They take it home and it ends their nest.End of colony.
I put Amdro around my foundation and the perimeter of my yard.My neighbors have had ants for years and I have none.Period.
I spread it once a year and forget it.
I have pets and it doesn't bother them in the least.

[Paper Roses]

9. Off to Home Depot tomorrow for a jug of Amdro.

HD us the closest retailer near my zip code to carry the product. Thanks.

[easychoice]

10. You're welcome

It takes about 2 days for them all to get lost,but get lost they will.I have used it for years.I get mine at Home Depot also.
It looks like kitty litter so I use a rubber glove and sprinkle it by hand up close to the house and along my fence lines.You will figure out how to dispense it pretty quickly.
If you find a marching column sprinkle a little there too.Then -Poof!- they are gone.
Good luck.

[uppityperson]

11. We use borax, put down a thin line by doors, windows but not where pets can get to it.

http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-use-borax-for-ants.htm#didyouknowout

[TorchTheWitch]

12. a few days ago the damn things found my car

I've always had to deal with the nasty things in the kitchen, but at least they never discovered the counter where I deal with food and stick to the one on the opposite side where the sink and dish drainer is.

This year they discovered my car and just like arriving in droves like they do in the kitchen now they're doing that in my car! Most of them don't make it all the way inside, but when I open the door there will be hundreds of them inside the door but most unable to get into the interior of the car past the weather seal on the door when it's closed. It's easy to kill them in the kitchen, but a pain in the butt to try wiping them out of the car, and there's always a handful that still got inside that I discover crawling along the dashboard or on my leg or the passenger seat.

I hate the little shits. They're easy to kill but impossible to get rid of. I've done all manner of ant traps and still get the summer time hoards. Luckily, they aren't around most of the time but will suddenly arrive in a huge army that mysteriously disappears again shortly after they discover I've found them. There's either none of them or a huge amount of them, and they come and go at random in that same big hoard.

They don't much care how clean anything is. I've scoured my counters till you could do surgery on them and the ants will still go there anyway. I'd much prefer they were on the floor than on my counters or in my car, and you'd think they would with all the crumbs and other goodies that are probably on my kitchen floor.

Best advise I can give is to move the food dish. It may take them forever to find it. After years my ants still haven't found the opposite kitchen counter where I deal with food.

[Paper Roses]

14. Tomorrow I will be going to Home Depot to pick up a jug of product recommended by a fellow DUer

on this thread. I went to the web site suggested and read all the reviews. I don't think I've read such positive reviews for any other product.
Will spread the stuff around as suggested and hope for the best. I'll keep you all posted.

http://www.amdro.com/?cmp=ppc_200024