Those pesty ants

20 Nov 2009, 19:14

I am so fed up with ants trying to eat the food I give my Finches before they can even get close to it. Cucumber.fruit egg biscuit etc. So I have invested in some Coopex. I have never used it before so can someone give me some advice on it.
Is it safe to spray on the inside of the avairy,on perches,in corners and small gaps. Thanks guys.

20 Nov 2009, 23:50

I've only ever done the walls, while the birds were out in another aviary.
But my mother does her aviary floor with the birds still in. Mind she does not have finches in these avairys but does have quail on the floor with no ill effects.
LML

21 Nov 2009, 07:11

Yeah Bunnings is gonna make a forune out of me this year buying ant sand.

21 Nov 2009, 08:38

jusdeb wrote:Yeah Bunnings is gonna make a forune out of me this year buying ant sand.

Thats what Ive been using too, but it must be blowing away with those hot winds as I have been getting ants. Ive tried surface spray on the outside of the aviary as a temporary measure.
Bunnings will be getting more money from me but this time Im getting Coopex

21 Nov 2009, 08:45

I think I will just spray around the edges of the floor then and I'll see how it goes.
Does anyone have any ideas on mice??
Those pesty little buggers.

21 Nov 2009, 09:14

I have a mouse trap in the aviary where the mice are supposed to be able to get in but not get out. I have a block of some blue stuff in there too.

One bite = instant death

according to the blurb on the packet.

The blue stuff has some marks on it, not sure if its teeth marks or shrinkage due to hot weather, never seen any mice though since last year.....fingers crossed.

21 Nov 2009, 09:20

So are the mice still inside the container after they die?

21 Nov 2009, 10:23

hello, ant sand is basically to put on any ant hills or holes . by filling up the hole when they remove the sand the get contaminated therefor dying but in most cases they just dig another exit tunnel elseware as not to be exposed to the sand. coopex stays residual for about 3 months in the ground there for if they pop they are going to get it. it last longer in summer than winter but whats winter for most states these days. i have used coopex in my aviaries with my finches and softbills still in there, because those pesky ants love live food and its a bit hard to move the inhabitants. theres no problem at all but if you have doubts spray a 3 m perimater around the outside of your aviary and vinager on the inside which should help to stem the flow of ants. on another note ant sand i think is more a man made chemical which could probably be toxic to your birds as coopex is made from natural pyrethrins thats why its recommended for its use.......pete p.s on the mouse trap situation i use triangular shapped traps with baits in them. so as only mice and not birds can get in , the only down side is they should be kept out of the aviary due to those blue wax blocks even the red ones can kill your birds just as quick as they do mice . the one bite theory is all wrong . the way these baits work ( sorry for the week stomached people ) is they thin the blood out therefor cause the mice to bleed internally for a few days and die, it deprives the vitamin k in the body which helps the blood to coagulate. thats why they give new born babies a shot of vitamin k...but in this process of dying the buggers are still pooping all over and your birds may think yummy blue seed. oops next thing you know is you have lost 10 pair of gouldians over a few days and 20 over a month its dangerous stuff. so from my experiance baits of a dangerous nature out side and use catch it all or lod fashion ones with a cover in side if you need a bait for it try some bacon fat or peanut butter .......pete

21 Nov 2009, 13:23

I use coopex in my aviaries all the time and spray it where ever it is needed (perches,plants etc) hasny harmed any birds and sure keeps the ants at bay.

21 Nov 2009, 13:57

Pooky wrote:So are the mice still inside the container after they die?

The blue stuff is bait that you can just leave (somewhere it wont get eaten by pets) this is for the mice to eat, go away and die.
I wouldnt leave the blue stuff in the aviary without making sure the birds couldnt get into it.
The trap I have is a live trap.
I have just incorporated the two together.
I had a baby mouse that seemed to be getting in and out of the live trap, the food had been eaten but no mouse in there. So thats when I used both the poison and the trap.

The trap is one I got from Bunnings with a metal base and a wire top with a small funnel thing that is supposed to let the mice in but not let them out.
Its like this only oblong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mousetrap-wire.jpg

Baby mice seem to be able to wriggle in and out, but with the blue bait they get eat the blue stuff, wriggle out, go away......and dont come back

Hubby will have to deal with any live adult ones ;)

Also check out this topic if you like involved traps......
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=2840&p=13952#p13952