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I need help!! two days ago i woke up and looked at my hi-yellows inclosure and to my suprise it was covered in ants!!! luckily my leos were alright, it was a hassle having to clean all the enclosure!! then the next morning they took out all my crickets! i had them in my kricket keeper, i was sooo mad!! i cleaned with bleach every where! i thought it was gonna be alright,(because since the ant situation i had not been able to get good sleep, due to the worrying, that they could kill my leos!!) then the morning after that they attacked my baby leos enclosure!!! luckily i cought them in time and they didnt harm them! what can i use to get rid of these pests? i live in california, it is ant season over here, can i use something that wont harm the leos?

Thanx!!!

Ants SUCK!
I live in California, too. There is a single colony of Argentinian ants that go from Mexico to San Francisco. They are all related so they don't fight each other like normal ant populations, and they love crickets. I suffered the same thing until I went to the L. A. Zoo. They put a ring of Vasoline below the rim of the cricket bins. I also use it now around the bottom of my display cases and on the electric cords going up to them. Those little buggers are very resourseful. If there is anyway they can get into your cages, they will!
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Rick-Geckoland USA
Email me

I had this problem just the other day! I'm in Orange County so I can tell you that the ants are hell right now.

The ants first attacked my adult leo se up anda themalworm colony nearby. A majority went after the mealworms which left a few after the adults. I threw out the mealies, bleached down the pheremone trails (killing the ants too), then wiped an incecticide around the window with a cloth.
Everything was fine for one day.
They came back the day after that and attacked my hatchlings.My albino(two weeks old) was getting swarmed pretty bad and I panicked, so I ran her into the bathroom and washed the ants off her. Her little toe on one foot was pretty red and looked broken, her tail was a little bit red, but didn't look anywhere near as bad as the toe, I cleaned her up and put her in a clean cage. My baby blizzard (about a week old) was smart. The swarm in her cage was even worse, but she was hiding in her water dish and thus the ants couldn't get her.
Once again, bleach and bugspray. Next day, went to the local pet store and found out they had the same problem. The exterminator they use reccomended a poison for the ants. MaxForce Ant Killer Bait Gel.He had lost 15 newly born chams to an ant army. I bought a tube of it from him and went home.
Luckily, the ants weren't after my geckos cause I moved them from their shelf. They were after the cat food I left out 3 hours earlier. Thus the entire swarm started chowing down on the insecticide and 7 hours later either tottered back to the nest, or started dying. I always feed my cat in the same spot, and I haven't seen any ants since then so I think the whole colony was wiped out.
My baby blizzard is fine after the ordeal, the albino had dropped her tail sometime during the day and died while I was out.Don't let this happen to you.

I used to be an exterminator, so here's what I suggest: Move your geckos to a different location for a few days. Go get some ant bait and spray. I'd go to a pest control company that sells retail, their stuff is probably better than most. Make sure the spray is a residual spray (keeps killing after it is dry). Spray along the windows, doors, and anywhere else you think they might come in. Go outside and see of you can find the ant trail that is leading to the house. Follow the trail back to the nest if you can. It helps to put a few crumbs of food by the trail and follow the ants that carry the crumbs. The closer to the nest you put the bait, the better. If you can't find the nest, put the bait by the ant trail. It may take a few days to work, but the bait should kill the colony and the spray should help to keep them out until it does. Good luck.