# ants attacking my hedgie's food



## galya

Hi, recently I have the following problem: lots of ants are attacking my hedgie's food and I honestly dont know how to get rid of them. I cleaned the floor with lemon juice, with vinegret, scattered lemon peels around and I only put the food down when it is time for eating and take it up right after that. However, this doesnt seem to help much so far. Any other ideas?Any suggestion would be much appreciated.


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## shinydistraction

Have you discovered where the ants are coming into the house from? I had an ant problem last summer, and while some things helped, I had to track down the source of the ants and use harsher treatments to deal with them entirely. Mostly the natural remedies did absolutely nothing. I had good luck with bait traps, but it only lessened the numbers of ants. Albeit dramatically, but it still didn't deal with the problem altogether. I used the bait traps inside near where they came in to the house, and outside I finally gave up and sprayed pesticide by their entrance. No more ants after.

I also found that febreeze destroys ant trails, which will at least slow them down.


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## Beasty

I too have ants that febreez thing sounds great does the scent bother the hogs? I try to be mindful of how sensitive their sniffer is, I used an eco Spray for ants and roaches that is mostly strong essential oils and it even have ME a headache !


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## Buttons

A line of chalk around your hedgehogs home will work. Ants deposit pheromones to leave a trail for the other ants to follow. They can't leave a trail through the fine powder of the chalk. 

There are some interesting youtube videos if you look up ants and chalk, if you would like to see the theory in action. It's actually amazing!


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## galya

Thanks for all your suggestions. Unfortunately I can not quite understand wher the ants are coming from. I live in a flat on the 7th floor and didn't thought that they can track the food up here but obviously they are quite good at this  I actually admire them and don't what to kill them - just to make them stay away from my hedgie  I may try this chalk thing - hope it will work. Thanks again


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## Katten

Another thing that works for ants is diatomaceous earth, but that will kill them. It's not at all harmful to humans or hedgies -- in fact, some people eat it or give it to their pets to cure parasites. You'd just need to sprinkle it around the outside of your hedgie's cage and around your home, and it'll get rid of the ants.


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## Buttons

I found out about the chalk from a friend who grew up on a farm and swore by it.

I thought I let you know I tried this experiment for myself today. I had to draw a fairly heavy and wide line to stop them from crossing it, but it worked! You should definitely experiment with it yourself. A softer artists chalk may work better as you will get heavier lines.

Some people just draw lines around their table legs. I was thinking of a fun way you could incorporate this idea in another way. You could paint the top of an old table or even look for a free one and paint the top with chalkboard paint and sit your hedgehogs home on top. You could design or draw what you want while keeping him safe from the ants.









* No ants were harmed in this experiment


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## Widdershins

I second the diatomaceous earth. Make a border of it all around your room or around your hedgie area. Contact with it kills insects but is safe for humans and hedgies.


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## galya

Thank you very much - chalk will be  Now i just need to find where to get it from


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## We.love.Ginko

You can probably can get chalk at any dollar store near you, but they will be colorful (especially in summer, since kids play more outside). For regular chalk (like teachers uses), you can get them at any school items supplies, you know where you get your supplies for the school year haha Hope this helps?


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## galya

Unfortunately in our schools we no longer use chalk but markers for white boards  Anyway, i am sure there is still somewhere chalk for the kids. But i was wondering, because my hedgie is not living in a cage but is free roaming is it dangerous if she tries to eat it?


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## shinydistraction

It's really really not safe for your hedgie to have free access to the house. On the floor you can't control temperature, you can't control what critters your hedgehog may come across, not to mention the risk of accidentally stepping on her which would suck for both of you. Even if you have your hedgehog in a hedgehog proofed room, the odds of escape go up, and escapee's tend to find the craziest hiding spots and scare the crap out of their owners. 

I would urge you to get your hedgehog a cage asap. Like, right now. There are many options, some very cost effective if that's a concern. Hedgehogs have very specific needs that must be met to be safe and healthy, and it's not really doable without a proper cage. She needs a reliable heat source to maintain a steady temperature, she needs a proper light schedule, places to hide that are safe. 

Getting a cage may also dramatically help your ant problem too. Your hedgehogs cage should be elevated, which may not necessarily prevent the ants from getting to the food, it will at worst slow them down.


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## galya

Thanks for the advice. However, she doesn't have access to the whole house - only to a safe area and for 3 months now it doesn't seem to be a problem  She is asleep most of the time when we are awake and when she is awake we are very careful not to step on her. She has a few hiding places and we already know her favourite paths to run so eveyrthing goes really smothly  Besides, I really can't imagine seeing my hedgie behind bars.
So, back to the ants - do you think it will be dangerous for her if she tries to eat the chalk?


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