Are ants preventing your kitty from eating food? Want to keep ants out of cat food bowl?
With the beginning of spring and the blooming of flowers, comes the tiny marching ants to attack almost every food item that they can reach. They invade our house with their whole team to gain food from almost anywhere to feed themselves and their colony.
Undoubtedly, our pet’s food too does not remain safe from their invasion and this continues till winters start. So how will you remain careful to protect your cat’s food from these tiny hungry insects?
Ways to Keep Ants Out of Cat Food Bowl
Proper storage methods and cleaning techniques are the exact ways to prevent ants from entering the cat’s food. Creating a moat around the cat food bowl and using natural deterring ingredients are the safest ways to keep your cats secure along with killing the ants.
Get the highly recommended best cat bowl for your feline, so she enjoys her mealtime to maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle.
Whereas, there are other ways like using spices and essential oils to deter the ants. Let us take a look at all the possible ways to keep ants away from the cat food.
1) Serve Required Amount of Food Only
Put only the required amount of cat food in the food bowl. Store the food in an airtight container instead of bags, as ants can easily enter the bags and spoil all the food. Wash the bowl after your cat finishes eating to avoid ants from feeding on the remains.
2) Make a Barrier Around the Cat Food Bowl
Sprinkle cinnamon powder, ground coffee or chili powder around the cat food bowl. Ants will not cross a boundary made by these substances. You may also use Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth to make the barrier, which kills ants but is harmless to mammals.
3) Keep the Feeding Area Clean
Clean the feeding area daily or at least thrice a week with a homemade deterrent. You may add 1 spoon of vinegar or 3 spoons of lemon juice to the cleaning water and wipe the floor with a clean mop.
Recommended blogs: Cat food dispenser, Maze bowl for cats, and How long can cat go without having food.
4) Use Essential Oils to Kill Ants
A combination of peppermint oil, clove oil, cinnamon, and lemon can do wonders in killing ants. Sprinkle it directly on ants to kill them or around the food bowl to keep them away from your pet’s food.
5) Make a Moat Around Feeding Bowl
Take a plate larger than the food bowl. Fill the plate with water and place the food bowl inside the plate. Ants will not be able to cross the water to reach till the cat food inside the bowl and hence will keep the food safe.
6) Apply Petroleum Jelly to the Food Bowl
Try applying some petroleum jelly on the outer side of the bowl. Apply it onto the lower side to avoid your cat from licking it while eating. The petroleum jelly will make the bowl’s outer surface slippery for ants to climb up.
Recommended: To keep water drinkable, we recommend heated cat bowls.
Keep Ants Away
Try using these methods and I am certain they are going to help you keep the ants away from the cat food. You have to repeat these methods until the winters come and the ants rest. You may also use these methods for stopping ants from invading the best water bowl for cats and other utensils that you use for your kitties.
Related Articles: Dishwasher-Safe Ceramic Cat Bowls | Stainless Steel Cat Bowls | Whisker Relief Cat Bowls | Cat Water Bowls That Won’t Tip Over
References: Guide by Ants.com | US National Library of Medicine | Oregon Metro
Essential oils can be toxic to cats, especially peppermint!
Usually, cats don’t like the smell of peppermint so they wouldn’t eat it. It’s not necessarily toxic unless they eat it.
My cats will approach their bowl with cinnamon around it, sniff the cinnamon and back off.