One day while playing with your rabbit, you notice some ants in your pet’s cage. Is it ok or can ants harm your little bunny?
Ants may be tiny, but a colony of regular ants can really harm your rabbit. If you find some of these in your furry friend’s cage, you need to take some immediate steps. It can be a sign of some cleanliness issues. Even more harmful than the regular ants are the red ants. Getting rid of the fire ants is extremely important as they can be highly fatal for your rabbit.
So, let’s see what we can do about the ant problem.
Contents
Black Ants
Someday, if you notice an ant in your rabbit’s cage, there is no need to worry about it much. The occurrence of a single ant can be an isolated incident. Many times, ants make it inside your home and can get inside your pet’s cage by chance. If there are just one or two ants, go ahead and remove the tiny creatures.
However, if you find a long line of ants getting inside your house and targeting your rabbit’s cage, then oh boy, you have got a serious issue to deal with. There is a high probability that the reason behind ants infestation is the dirty cage, or the litter box, or can be the bowl of food. So, let’s discuss what we can do to deal with this problem and keep the rabbit safe.
Step 1
The first thing that you need to do is to take your rabbit away from the cage. Move it to a place where there are no ants. While doing so, check your rabbit to make sure no ant is dangling to its body.
Step 2
Now you have to find the place from where the ants are getting inside your house. To do so, you have to follow the ant’s line. It may take a while, but your rabbit’s safety is essential. You may need to circle your house closely from outside to know the exact location from where the ants are getting in.
Step 3
It’s time to get rid of the ants. There can be a number of methods to kill off the ants. Some methods may work really well, and some may not work at all. In this case, it is all about trial and error to determine which method works the best. If you want to know which solutions are rabbit-safe for getting rid of ants, you can directly refer to the last section of this article.
Step 4
At this point, cleaning the cage is essential. You will need to clean everything present inside the cage. Clean the whole cage, wash the food bowl, water container, bedding, litter box, as well as toys. If the ants are infesting your rabbit’s cage, then its main reason can be cleanliness. And you don’t want your bunny to get sick because of a dirty cage.
Be Cautious Of Fire Ants
Fire ants are highly fatal to rabbits. Not even the baby rabbits are safe from these ants as they can eat anything. Even when an older rabbit is stung by them, their venom can be dangerous for the rabbit’s health. So, if you find any of these red, rust-colored ants near your rabbit or its cage, then urgently get rid of them. Jump to the article’s last section to learn rabbit-safe ways for warding off and killing these ants. Usually, the most effective solution for getting rid of fire ants is the use of hot water or beneficial nematodes.
Do Carpenter Ants Can Also be Harmful?
You don’t need to worry about carpenter ants biting or stinging your rabbit. These ants eat wood. If you find any of these near your rabbit’s cage, then they must be more interested in eating the hay or any wooden thing around your rabbit.
If your rabbit’s outside hutch is infested with carpenter ants, then there is a high chance that they will attack the hay bedding and also eat the cage. First, in such a situation, shift your rabbit to someplace safe and then hose the entire cage. Throw away the hay bedding in which there can be ants and put some fresh hay in place of it.
If you keep your rabbit inside a metal or plastic cage, there is nothing to worry about as these ants don’t eat that. However, you will need to change the hay bedding and replace it with the new one if these ants are found inside the cage. They may have infested the entire bedding.
If you find carpenter ants inside your house, then it is not even a good thing for you. These ants can sabotage the integrity of your home. Hence, there is a need to take immediate action for exterminating these ants if they enter inside the walls of your house.
Rabbits Safe Solutions For Getting Rid Of Ants
In the process of warding off or killing the ants, you will not want your rabbit to be harmed. People use a variety of pesticides to get rid of ants. These chemicals may kill the ants but can also prove to be extremely dangerous for your rabbit’s health. So, we have listed below some effective rabbit safe techniques to ant infestations:
1. Diatomaceous Earth, Food Grade
While researching for the solutions, we came across an online forum (RabbitsOnline.net) explicitly relating to rabbits. There, many rabbit owners shared and recommended this chemical. It works well to kill ants and doesn’t affect pets. You can try this chemical. But before using it, thoroughly go through all the labels and other details on its bag to ensure that this product is safe for your furry friend.
2. Mint
It is one of the best natural solutions for warding off ants. Mint works as a natural bug repellant and is completely safe for rabbits. It is even nutritious for your bunny. Your rabbit can safely eat its flowers, leaves, and stem. The good thing is, ants hate mint’s smell and stay away from it. To keep the ants away from your rabbit’s cage, you can plant mint near the cage. You can also use peppermint oil for wiping the cage area for repelling the ants.
3. Vinegar Or Lemon Juice
Another method for killing the ants is the use of a 50:50 solution of vinegar and water. You can even use a 1:3 solution of lemon and water to make an all-purpose spray. All you have to do is spray these solutions on the ants to exterminate them. It is an excellent method for getting rid of ants without harming your rabbit.
4. Cayenne Pepper Or Black Pepper
Cayenne and black pepper are some of the things that the ants despise. For warding off the ants, find the location from where the line of ants is entering your house. Then, sprinkle any of these powder on the ants or make a powder wall in front of ants. This method will not kill the ants but definitely resist them from getting inside your house. Also, do not sprinkle the powder when your rabbit is around. Move your rabbit to some other place before using the powder, as your pet will not be happy if it ingests it.
5. Cinnamon
Another good option for killing the ants is sprinkling cinnamon on them or on the anthill. Ants can suffocate by inhaling cinnamon and can die. The cinnamon essential oil will also work great. Just wipe the area with the oil from where the infestation is entering, and you are good to go. It does not cause much harm to rabbits as they can ingest a small quantity of cinnamon. It doesn’t affect their health.
6. Beneficial Nematodes
For the effectiveness of this method, you will need ideal circumstances. It can easily and quickly kill ants. You have to spray the nematodes on the anthill. But, if the surface on which you are spraying it is too hot or has a lot of commotion due to animal movement or water removes it, then its effectiveness will not be up to mark.
7. Hot Water
For disturbing the ants, you can pour some hot water on the anthill. Due to disturbance, the ants will move. But, this method is not effective on the line of ants infesting your house. It will work only on the anthill.