Can ants get into the food reservoir? I plan to use it outside and have had problems with ants in other feeders. 9/5/13 Thanks for all of the responses everyone!!
902866
It is not ant proof. I wouldn't put it outside either as it's not built to survive the elements.
902867
I am sure ants would be able to get inside this unit. i would not use it outside.
902868
Yes, it does. However, my husband created a barrier of Ajax to fix the problem while we were on vacation. The automatic feeder sits on our outside potting table. Under each leg of the table, he made an aluminum foil bowl (or you use a plastic dish) filled with Ajax. The ants couldn't pass the Ajax and the food was safe. The only problem was the neighbor cat figured out the feeding schedule and the pigeons would fly in to grab a meal.
902869
We have evil black ants that get into everything. I have the feeder off the ground on a little plywood painted base that's raised about one inch off the floor.then I just use a cheap paint brush and brush the legs with dish soap. I have (dawn) I have to redo it from time to time just like I do with the base of our pet food buckets.
902870
The top of the container is flimsy and there are holes where the lid attaches. Ants get in that way. They can also climb right in through the bottom where the tray fits into the base.
902871
I've been using this feeder outside on a sheltered porch for nearly a year. I haven't had any trouble with ants getting inside, but I imagine it is possible. The reservoir is pretty well sealed, and my outdoor (semi-feral now) cat usually consumes the food before nightfall (it drops between 10 and 11 am), so there doesn't appear to be much residue to attract ants.
902872
i'm not sure, but I would imagine that they could get into the part where the food comes out. I looked up into it and cant see in, but I would bet ants could find their way up.
902873
I would say yes. They could enter though the tray area. This is not a problem for us, we haven't had ants in the dog run.
1682917
add a large bloob of petroleum jelly Vaseline on the hook where they climb on tot the feeder. Works for me the ants can't cross the petroleum jelly
195834
Not sure what you mean exactly...but you just hook your feeder to the ant trap,,,the trap itself is about 2 inches, It looks a little weird, but it works beautifully. We had ants for the two years before we got the trap and now there are none. I have heard that once the ants learn they can't get to the feeder, they won't even try to come back. Hope this helps
477188
Wow, are the ants smarter in California? I would check the bowl for any debris or damage that might provide a pathway for the ants. I'm in Sonoma and no problems. :). Karen
1583396
No there is no moat to keep out ants. I have not had any ants in the feeder but have had bees. The birds love this feeder and i love the size of it.
234377
I got this feeder, and I have NO NO Problem with the this feeder getting any kind of bugs what so ever. When I do change out the the food I make sure that the feeder is cleaned up real good, and around the holes. Refill and put the feeder back up, and it is put up high in front of my Bay window. When it is real hot I change out the food every week. When it is cooler weather every other week. The best feeder I have ever had, and believe me I have had a lot of different feeders. Good Luck
1833072
Ants can crawl through very, very small crevices and there is no way this box would keep an ant out if it wanted in. You would have to have some kind of seal on these to ensure ants didn't get in. Having said that - I've never known an ant to go after salt. That's a new one. My experience has been that salt is pretty safe when it comes to pests and this is tight enough to keep anything bigger than an ant out anyway.
1386084
do you find that your meal worms end up with a lot of ants in the dishes? if so then definitely. I have four nectar feeders and have this for them. I am ordering one for my grape jelly feeder soon because the ants will definitely find the oranges and grape jelly. It works perfect for my nectar feeders.
1904933
I have not had a problem with bees or wasps on these feeders, and I have on other types. I HAVE found ants on and inside the feeder though, but they don't seem to bother the hummers, and since it is emptied every other day and needs refilling, I keep the feeder cleaned and any ants are not there very long.
604873
If there are ants in it maybe hose it off before washing it? Or just wash it outside?I've had a great experience with them until recently - recently found a river of ants in my kitchen and ants in the food dish. I think my petsitter washed the bowls, and I suspect there was still water between the bowl layers, without enough soap to break surface tension - so the ants could literally walk on water. I'm willing to give it another try, just ensuring there's NO water between the bowl layers, as they've worked great up until now.
1563465
Mine took a month, still waiting on two to hatch. Maybe temp outside ?. Tiny ants got to one of the two yet to hatch. Waiting to see what happens with that one. Good luck !
1002531
I don't think it will eat that. It'll close but it'll open back up again in a few minutes. If you feed it anything it's gotta be something that will struggle a little bit; that encourages the trap to stay closed. You can let it fend for itself, or get small ants or similar bugs and feed those to it.
1766808
It should keep water out of the canister but I don't know about ants. Water will collect in the bowl of course, and raccoons might try to get food out of the food chute. So...somewhat weatherproof, depending on where you keep it outside.
637929
I'm no ant expert, but I had the same thing happen to me. The ants just went around them. I left them out anyway, and after a few days, they started to go into the bait traps. A few days after that, no more ants. I don't know if there's human scent on them from handling them or what. Maybe you can try putting a tiny amount of something ants like (sugar, e.g.) in or on the traps just to get them on or into them.
234373
Mine hangs from a hook off my deck and I have some wasps but they don't get into the food. I've never had ants or other bugs. When it's really hot I clean them every 3rd day but when it's cooler once a week. The hummers really like them. I have two of them.
782969
Of the 60 ants that we received about six weeks ago, only a couple have died. It seems that the other ants move them to a corner of ant farm to make a graveyard. They go on with their other activities. Opening the top to let O2 in makes them very active, and one time a few escaped. I may have pinched one when I closed the top, and this may have contributed to one ant's early demise. At this point, I'm not sure if an ant will die here and there or if the entire colony will expire at some end point.
1617530
I have mine in a tree by my bluebird house but my birds have not used it. I have an open feeder they will use but a lot of other birds feed in the open ones as well. Maybe I'll try on a post in the open. It doesn't work in the tree.