Ants will come into your home and chicken coop in search of food, shelter and water. Chicken coop are naturally attractive to ants since they offer food and water. If you happen to see an infestation of ants around or in you chicken coop, take the necessary steps to get rid of the ants.
Most ants don’t post any real danger to healthy chickens other than fire ants. Keep the chicken coop clean and free from pests and ants. So, how do you get rid of ants in chicken coop? The basic step to get rid of ants in a chicken coop is to keep the place clean and provide good sanitary conditions. Make it a habit of removing uneaten food. Use ant baits to eliminate ants and stop them from coming.
Naturally, chicken tend to eat all kinds of insects including ants. It is quite easier to handle a smaller infestation of ants around chicken poop. Although insecticides are effective in getting rid of ants, but it may not be safe to use insecticide near your chicken coop. There are other several products to use including natural remedies that come in handy in this case. This post has all the information you need. Read more.
Ants in A Chicken Coop – What You Need to Know
Ants invading your chicken coop doesn’t sound a problem. You expect the chicken to feed on them reducing their population. But the truth is, depending on the type of ants invading your chicken coop, it can turn out to be problematic. Take for instance, fire ants. These types of ants are aggressive in nature and can cause a potential damage to your chicken. Their bite is painful thus need to eliminate them.
Are ants dangerous to have in the chicken coop?
As mentioned earlier, ants move in search of food, water and shelter. Naturally, they are scavengers. They will invade your home or chicken coop if they find source of food and anything else they need. A chicken coop becomes attractive especially, if they find uneaten food or broken eggs. This is the reason why ants infest your chicken coop.
Keeping chicken requires you to be keep the coop very clean or neat always. Remember chicken are quite prone to infections and diseases.
What are the types of ants that invade chicken coops?
Not all ants will invade your chicken coop. There are different types of ants that will invade your chicken coop. understanding the types or species is key to help you know how to deal with them and also understand the kind of threat the ants are likely to cause.
In a nut shell, the most common ants you would find include the fire ants or carpenter ants. But there could more other types of ants as well.
Fire Ants in Chicken Coop
Fire ants are known for being naturally aggressive and invasive. They tend to attack as soon as their peace is disturbed. Actually, they don’t sting but rather bite. The pain is unbearable to both human and chickens.
Fire ants tend to release venom which causes swelling and severe pain. If the fire ants attack in numbers they can cause death to small chicken. Fire ants have the ability to build mounds that can reach up to 2 feet in width and 18 inches in height digging tunnels inside. This can pose a great risk to your chicken coop if left unattended. The colony can grow in size very fast. If you notice fire ants around your chicken coop, find ways to get rid of them fast enough. The chicken will feed on some but that there is no guarantee all of them will be removed.
You have to take measures to get rid of the ants and the entire colony so that it doesn’t grow in size and becomes a serious risk to your chickens.
How to Get Rid of Fire Ants in Chicken Coop
To get rid of fire ants, take a treatment that will eliminate the whole colony including the queen. If you don’t kill the queen, it will lay eggs and a new colony will be restored back to normal. Here is one of the effective way to kill fire ants – Buy on Amazon.
To effectively get rid of fire ants in chicken coop, locate the fire ants mounds and carefully apply the ant killer.
Another effective killer of fire ants is placing ant baits near the trails of the ants. The ants will eat the bait and carry it to the rest of the colony. After a while, the whole colony will be wiped. Here is another recommended ant bait
Carpenter Ants in Chicken Coop
Generally, carpenter ants are bigger than most ant species appearing either dark, brown or black in color. They also dig tunnels in woods. If you notice tunnels in rotten or decaying wood, then there are carpenter ants around and probably their nest is nearby.
Carpenter ants do not pose any serious harm to chicken. They are bigger and easily visible providing food for the chicken instead. To get rid of carpenter ants, find the nest and eliminate the entire colony to avoid the damage on wooden structures.
Other types of ants in chicken coop to look out for include the black garden ants. They are the most types of ants to be seen around your house and garden including the chicken coop. They appear small in size, black in color and are attracted to food or trash.
Although black garden ants do not pose any serious risk to chicken but the ants are known to be carriers of bacteria and diseases such as salmonella. If your chickens happen to eat them, they can contract the infection.
How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants in A Chicken Coop
If you notice any carpenter ants in your chicken coop, first locate their nest. It is easy to find the nest of a carpenter ant, just look for the piles of sawdust material they leave behind. Follow their trails. As soon as you locate their nests, use an insecticide recommended here – Buy on Amazon
You can also place ant bait to get rid of the carpenter ants around the nest and on their trails. Buy this product on Amazon
How to Get Rid of Ants in a Chicken Coop
To get rid of ants in a chicken coop, this post has provided several ways. Use the most appropriate way depending on the type of ants you are facing or better still a combination of methods to ensure you get rid of them.
Keep in mind, ants are attracted to food. Make sure that there is no excess food or broken eggs in the chicken coop. Make it a habit of removing any leftovers, broken eggs and spillage on the floor. Always keep the chicken coop clean and tidy. Remove anything that can attract the ants including rotting wooden structure.
This post will provide recommendations for both ant killers that can you use to remove the ant mounds.
Natural Methods, Remedies, Killers for Chicken Coop
Use any of these natural remedies any time ant infest your chicken coop. The methods are all safe to use.
1. Hot soapy water
This is a simple effective natural method to use. Boil 2 gallons of water and add some liquid soap. Pour the mixture directly over the ant mount to kill them ants.
2. Vinegar and water solution
A mixture of water and vinegar is also effective in getting rid of ants in chicken coop. Mix vinegar and water in equal proportion. Put the mixture in a spray bottle and apply it on the ants inside and around the chicken coop.
3. Cinnamon
Cinnamon is also another effective natural home remedy to kill ants in chicken coop. Sprinkle cinnamon in and around the chicken coop. The smell of cinnamon is enough to deter the ant from invading your chicken coop.
4. Peppermint Oil
The smell of peppermint oil is a natural deterrent to get rid of ants in your chicken coop. Use diluted peppermint oil to make spray in and around your chicken coop.
5. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth powder from algae fossils is effective to kill any ant that comes around your chicken coop. dust it thoroughly around the ants’ nest and their trail to get rid of the ants. Diatomaceous earth can be found online – Buy on Amazon
