Rabbits and Ants

17 years ago

Good afternoon all.

I had a buck and doe. The doe was bread to early (not intentional) and died. but for some reason we had a problem with ants coming into the cage and when the doe gave birth the young(still born) were covered with ants. Since then, I have a new doe and she is old enough for breeding.

I will be breeding her shortly and knowing the ant issue before, I would like to head this off at the pass. Sorry for the cliche.

Any who, any thoughts on keeping the ants away from the cage? The cage is 4'x8' with three separate sections for the buck, doe and young. The cage is set on 4 CMU (cinder) blocks for ground clearance and cleaning. The cage is outdoors.

I've tried laying house ant barrier around the cmu but they still walked right up the blocks to the rabbits. The ants are typically not a problem accept when the young were born.

I'd appreciate any good suggestions.

Thanks.-WD

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Comments (3)

islandmanmitch
17 years ago
Your in Florida? There are over 200 species of ants here. Make sure which one is causing you problems. I am guessing fire ants. There are several species of fire ants. Once again I am guessing it is the Imported Red Fire Ant. If it is find the mound of soft soil that is their home. Use a pesticide that is labeled for fire ants. There are about as many brands as there are ant species. Just pick one. Follow directions. You can spray around the cage if it is labeled as such. I would like to give you an organic alternative but I don't know one that has worked for me. I have tried everything from grits to garlic and they just got fat off of it. If you find one that works let me know. If you are in Florida you can control fire ants but never get rid of them.
brendan_of_bonsai
17 years ago
Dig a trench and fill it with DE, any ant that walks over it is toast, completely non-toxic, and that way you don't have to hunt for nests.
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oreos_mom
17 years ago
I would absolutely get the cage off the cinder blocks and raise it up on poles. I had a major problem with ants getting into my camper until an older gentleman told me to take Comet cleanser and sprinkle it all around the motorhome. I used about 3 cans,but I also poured it on the tires too. Believe it or not.. no more ants ! Put your rabbit cages up on posts and then put motor oil or grease on the bottom parts of the poles and then sprinkle the Comet all around the hutch. I live in Alabama, so ants are a huge problem here too, but since doing my rabbit hutch like this, I haven't had any problems.

Susan