Do you already have a hawk in the mews or is this a hypothetical? If there is a Hawk in it or soon will be Do Not Use Poisons. Microwaveable Grits work great for killing ant colonies. They Must be Microwaveable. The workers will take the grits to the queen and they all feast on it , then explode. We use them for fire ants on our farm.
It is good to have an end to Journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the End. - Ernest Hemingway
Post by aussiedream109 on Sept 5, 2013 21:48:00 GMT -5
I also have the petsafe little traps that look like little squares....the ants walk in, grab the bait, then take it back to the nest. After a few days, they should be gone.....they are fairly cheap and work well
In every living thing there is a spirit that needs to be free. ~Unknown
I also have the petsafe little traps that look like little squares....the ants walk in, grab the bait, then take it back to the nest. After a few days, they should be gone.....they are fairly cheap and work well
The problem is when you wash your mews the poison that the ants have carried off will leach into the substrate thats in your mews. As Echotadog said dont use posion in the mews.
I agree Steve, but you could take them out n put them back in during/after cleaning
Or.... You could not have Poisons around your hawk. Those black traps have poison in them. Hawks are very susceptible to poisons and I wouldn't risk it. Some hawks are " Playfully curious" if the traps are in the mews they might get to them . If the traps are exposed to heat ( the sun) they will emit a vapor that's not good either. Best bet is not to use poison around a mews. You've worked this hard to become a falconer, why risk it ?
Last Edit: Sept 7, 2013 5:15:19 GMT -5 by echotadog
It is good to have an end to Journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the End. - Ernest Hemingway
Life is a learning process no need to apologize. Any Poison will emit VOC's when heated , as will vinyl siding on a house for what that's worth. You are doing fine and I'm not the authority , just an overly cautious falconer.
It is good to have an end to Journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the End. - Ernest Hemingway
Post by aussiedream109 on Sept 7, 2013 14:48:45 GMT -5
Thanks Echo....I can appreciate cautious.....I've been using those traps around my cat who has existing respiratory issues...guess ill be throwing those out!
Last Edit: Sept 7, 2013 14:49:21 GMT -5 by aussiedream109
In every living thing there is a spirit that needs to be free. ~Unknown
Might want to try cutting up some osage fruit. (Hedge Apples) It is suppose to be a good insect repellent and animals don't mess with it. If they do its only suppose to be nasty tasting not going to hurt the animal.
Good call Chiggs! I never thought about using it for Ants. If you use ( DE) as chigger suggests ( great stuff with lots of uses) make sure you buy FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth if you dust the interior floor of your mews. Some hawks will pick at the gravel in their mews to use as "rangle" for their crops and when they do you want to make sure they are ingesting the food grade variety ( usually a light grey or Snow White powder ). It can be found at big corporate and/or holistic pet stores and usually comes in smaller bags. The regular granual or pellet version that is Dark grey in color is not food safe. It is usually used in pool or pond filters. It works great as a yard application to rid yourself of Pest - ticks , fleas, chiggers ( not the falconer type:) ; you just don't want your dogs cat or hawks ingesting it. This variety can be found in bulk bags at pool and spa shops.
Food grade DE also works great as an intestinal parasite killer.
It is good to have an end to Journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the End. - Ernest Hemingway
I get my DE at the feed store in a 50lb bag. I don't remember the cost but I didn't think it was too expensive.
I have mixed feelings about it's effectiveness on internal parasites, but I am confident that it helps with bugs like fleas and ants. Certain times of year I mix it into my dogs food in order to keep the ants out of it.