I'm looking for a way to remove ants. My kitchen seems to be an area they feast in. I can't seem to deter them. Everyday they come back. I wish I could get the queen to leave her nest so I can end the insanity, but as of yet, that hasn't happened. My kitchen is over a crawl space so I think that's where they are hiding. I haven't seen anything outside my house. I have sprayed twice around the house, and still find these buggers in my kitchen. I find it humorous of people that don't want to kill these little things. They fill this planet, I'm sure some can be sacrificed. If you destroy a ant colony , I'm sure next year they will have a new one. They are called pests for a reason. If people can redirect them successfully ...GREAT but it wont work for all and in all locations. I happen to live in the Northern area so I don't have to worry much about the fire ant situation as much as florida, but I don't blame people for trying crazy things to get rid of them. I wouldn't have any problem if they would stay off my counters and cabinets. I can't even do dishes without finding them on me after. Yuck!! I need to stop the insanity. Is there a magic cure for luring the Queen from her nest? Maybe I should set up a jar of sugar and cornmeal on my counter and see what happens. I'm at a loss as to what will work without killing my animals.

Pam, take plain old cornmeal and sprinkle it generously at the entry point and across their trail. Ants will take the 'food' back to the colony and eat it. However, cornmeal doesn't digest so they starve. Thus killing the colony.
I have gotten rid of ants in this way. It was 3 yrs before ants returned to my property. I need to do this again this year, but it works well for awhile. :) Good Luck!

~Tina

I am terrified of ants. They are creepy and freaky and I hat e them more than anything else in the world. While I'm not a huge fan of death for critters, ants in my world should die.

The best solution works in two parts:

First is to pour a cup of bleach down your drains- sinks and tubs one a month. This prevents them from coming, especially during rains.

Second, 409 or Windex applied directly to a trail stops them in their tracks and they tend to stay gone for a long time.

**Make sure you wipe them up as some species of ants collect their dead. The extra benefit is a clean home!

I rarely suffer from ant issues now, only a few rouge ants every now and then...happy hunting!

Just use a little bit of dish washing soap and hot water. Put it in a spray bottle and spritz them. Kills then instantly.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this page and many of the suggestions listed.
I have lived a relatively ant free existence here in South Australia for the past 12 years. We have a plug in, sonic, pest control which keeps away all sorts of unwanted visitors. I usually clean my worktops, floors, etc with a solution that I put together with Lavender, Tea tree and Eucalyptus oil, white vinegar and water and that deters any ants that wander in. I also spray the door threshholds and window cills and this seems to stop them trespassing. Today however my house is swarming - this is what drove me to this site.
I too do not like to harm other creatures and believe they have a right to exist in their space but not mine. I have a rule. If they are outside the house I leave them alone. When they come into the house I have to protect my family and if I cannot remove or deter them, then I use whatever NATURAL means I have at my disposal to eliminate them,
The one benefit to this invasion is that willing or not, I have to clean out all my cupboards!

Ideally, Nature is balanced. But that doesn't mean we have to refrain from any form of destruction for the balance to be maintained. We're just as much a part of the Big Picture as everything else on the planet, and we inevitably leave our "footprint", just as everything else does. What matters is that we recognize the power of our impact and work thoughtfully and diligently to minimize the negative effects of our actions on the environment.

We kill plants and animals to eat, we kill insect pests whose numbers become unbalanced (more than their predators can eat) to preserve our crops. Whether you call it killing, harvesting, or controlling, it's still a matter of survival or necessary intervention. What matters is that we do it with intelligent consideration of possible outcomes and responsible decisions regarding sustainability.

Something must always be destroyed (that broccoli I just ate) in order for something to be created (I'm growing some hair at the moment), and that's exactly what Nature and EVERYTHING in it does. Think about it. You can't even take a breath without destroying something- the pollen that just entered your lungs with that inhalation is kaput!

Personally, I will only destroy what I have to destroy to survive and care for the creatures and things I love. To get a good vegetable crop I intervene with a little organic balancing of my own. Whether I'm killing bugs, fungus or bacteria, I'm destroying something in order to create something else- wholesome, organically grown food to feed my family. But I'm doing it without killing bees and other beneficial insects, poisoning the soil, or polluting the water table. In fact, I'm not even killing all the pests, for without some being left, the beneficials will leave and nothing will be here to stop the next wave of pests. That's what balance means. That's the essence of organic gardening.

That said, I never bothered my several ant colonies in the past because they weren't interfering with my vegetable gardens. However, late last summer the ant population exploded. The hill under the chive patch in the herb bed grew, and they were clearly disturbing the roots of some of the other plants enough to kill them. The chives were looking pretty peaked too. My guess is that the roots were being exposed to air, which dehydrates them and limits the amount of root surface that's able to absorb nutrients. Some small plants were being up-rooted, looking as if they were frost-heaved (not so in August). Garlic bulbs were even being tossed out of the ground. One day I saw a garlic plant whose top was wiggling around, and thought "Aha, now we'll see who's the culprit". I sat down with a drink to watch the show. I watched as the bulb slooowwwly pushed up to the soil surface. I quickly pulled the soil away, expecting to find a mole or vole my cats had missed, but instead found a horde of big black ants! I was amazed! I tried cornmeal, and it gradually reduced their numbers to the point that they quit digging up my garlic. Good enough! But this year I'm seeing lots of new hills and there are at least 3 distinct varieties, including tiny red ants that delivered a wicked ankle-biting when I accidentally disturbed them while weeding. We have clay soil here in NY, so tunneling critters (ants included) love to tunnel under plants with a dense, fibrous root system. They hold the soil solid and keep their tunnels from collapsing, even in rain. Since some hills are beside the veggie garden, I can see we're in for more damage than I'm willing to tolerate. It's time for some serious controls.

Thanks everybody for the new suggestions. I think I'll first try mixing the different ant species together as somebody's Grandma suggested. It's a very clever idea, and I bet it will work. If not, I'll try the borax and honey.

BTW, I've used the sonic pest repellent indoors and it was very effective. I highly recommend it for anyone with an indoor ant or other bug problem, and it doesn't kill them, for those of you who are karma-concerned. Works on mice too! Not bad for something under $30 that you only have to buy once, is clean, and safe for pets, kids, and the environment.

Use Boric Acid powder, organic and it works.

I see some concern about killings and sharing the ants with the rest of the world. We just moved onto a house with some property that has been vacant for nearly a year, allowing many different kinds of normal unwanted wild life on property. I love animals I really do, don't get me wrong. But I'd like to enjoy my yard and I can't do that if I step on it and my legs are covered in black ants. I also have a dog that I want her to enjoy the yard as well. No doubt we need ants to decompose the soil and dead things. However, I want to make a garden and enjoy my fenced in yard and I can't do that long as those ants are there. My dog for one has allergies to ants and many other chemicals used for getting rid of bugs. It's not fair to her nor to my feet to get bitten by these things.

That being said, I am gmo free,an wish to try some of these non chemicals ways to get rid of these ants. I have a couple bags of cornmeal so I will try from there. I just hope the rain won't wash too much of it away!

Not sure if this helps but I live in tx and all ants here bite! Our carpenter ants get HUGE at least 2 1/2-3 inches long. And trust me those giant pinchers HURT!! Then of course we have fire ants, crazy raspberry ants, and every ant in between, just bigger and much more aggressive. The only product I've found that truly works for me is Spinosad fire ant control. I believe its organic and OMRI approved.( Although I don't think it works for the crazy rasp ants) Of cousre u could try Dia Earth powder too.I really Hope whatever u do use works!! Good luck!!!!!
Lyna

So far ... and it does not look promising in the near future ... if they are the 'crazy ant', there ain't no treatment worth a penny. Discovered this today once we determined what we are being invaded with. Google 'ant invasion', and you'll get a ton of postings. Right now, wife and I are depressed because, with no way to control, we envision our having to move from our newly acquired house here in lower Texas.

Now ... if the many professional articles I came across, that address no control ... including collage investigations and information ... if you have a truly workable control process, then please advise; asap. Thanks

Spread powdered Boric Acid (you can buy this at most local grocery stores or find it in your hardware stores, I got mine at Family Dollar), around the areas where the ants seem to get into your house.

Boric acid in powder form is reasonably safe to handle, just dont get it wet and on you or your family and pets. It's purpose is to dissolve the exoskeleton of insects as a form of control. Once they learn that they don't want to go there, they will stop coming in.

If you can find the nest itself, dissolve some boric acid in warm water (do this outside the house) and pour it down their ant hole. This will probably destroy any plants you get it on as well, but it will definitely kill the ants.

Ammonia kills ants on contact. There is enough of it in Windex with Ammonia D to kill them on contact. For colonies, including fire ants, I've poured a quart bottle of ammonia into the mound followed by two or three pots of boiling water. NOTHING emerged nor took up residence. Cinnamon sticks will keep them out of flower pots and drawers, but ammonia works on contact. I've read that a weak solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle sprayed on your counters will also kill them and prevent their return.

Now that I know its illegal I think I'll drop by the dollar store and pick up some Chinese Insecticide Chalk.

To Pam: there is no way to lure the queen out. She is programmed by nature to stay deep in her colony and lay eggs and never come out. You can only get her out by digging her up or burning or drowning the nest.

To ShiningStarLives: your big black winged ants may well be termites (not true ants, but somewhat ant-like in appearance) or carpenter ants that are moving to start a new colony. In either case, yes they CAN do quite a bit of harm. After they've lunched on your husband's favorite guitar/cello/whatever they will cheerfully move on to the wooden beams, siding, floors, and joists of your house, and can utterly destroy them, leading to costly repairs or complete ruin in a surprisingly short time. You need to find out exactly WHAT you have and HOW to get rid of them.

My favorite method for destroying hills of ants in the yard is boiling water, which destroys only the local pests and does not contaminate the ground or water. For in the house, a citrus soap for all cleaning and mopping, boosted with 1/2 cup borax laundry booster; it seems to work against the ants, and the borax also kills roaches, or you may call them waterbugs--those nasty brown beetle-looking things. And it's safe (hey, you can add it to your laundry!) for babies and pets.

God told Adam to "fill the earth and take dominion over it"--surprisingly, "take dominion" can also be translated "make it your home". He also brought all the creatures to Adam to be named; in many ancient cultures the naming of a thing meant you had authority over it, you were boss of it. So I figure that in my house, I have the right to see that the ants stay out by whatever means necessary, and in my domain (my yard) I have a right to force them to move over, or even move out, same as I'd do if a squatter moved into my tool shed.

Respect and best wishes to all you gentle tolerant souls, but three fire-ant bites have been more than sufficient to erode my good will toward those little devil-spawn. Down with fire-ants!!!

Wow what a wonderful thread, Most ants don't bother me and I don't bother them,, but fire ants are the exception. Here in southwest Florida they overrun everything. I am so tired of trying to do a yard project and not getting it done because I got so bit up. I have tried the various commercial fire ant killers that are available at home depot. Nothing seems to last long. Shoot I am mostly organic gardening but I'm to the point that I would set off a nuclear bomb if I thought it would get rid of the fire ants. I not only get sores that last for months from fire ant bites I get extreme achy joints and feel ill if too many bite me. What is the most effective way for a poor person to keep fire ants off their property. I feel desperate it is destroying my love of gardening.

Coarse ground black pepper as a mulch and soil amendment kicked the ants out of my garden, but every month I have to sprinkle some more. I have kids and dogs so I can't use anything else other than pepper and neem oil for insect issues. They don't get rid of the ants either, they just move elsewhere. But if you just want them out of the area right away...pepper.

Someone asked about the effect fire ants have on ticks in this thread about 10 years ago. ;) Just in case anyone else was wondering, yes, they will wipe ticks off the face of the earth, given a chance.

On our ranch we had ticks so bad there were areas it literally looked like the ground was moving there were so many ticks. Once the fire ants moved in, we never saw another tick.

Of course the fire ants became just about as big a pest, but over the years they seemed to moderate their aggressive behavior somewhat. Still though, it takes Amdro sprinkled around regular use areas about once a year to keep the boundaries set.

While I try to go about things in a natural way, and eat/live organically, I won't tolerate ants in my home because I 've been bitten, several times. The last time was a little over a week ago, where I found them in the linen closet in the master bedroom. As luck would have it, it was time for the exterminator to come on Tuesday. To do a quick elimination I used Windex, which did the trick, but am sure there was a mound on the outside wall which needed to go. The exterminator did what exterminators do, and the problem has been solved. I usually have only one 'visitation' a year, and it's always summertime after a good rain. Such was the case that weekend.

Easy. Orange peels. Just throw them where the ants are. The whole colony will e gone in a day. It works and it's easy. Enjoy your orange juice as you say bye to the ants.

My favorite method for destroying hills of ants in the yard is boiling water, which destroys only the local pests and does not contaminate the ground or water. For in the house, a citrus soap for all cleaning and mopping, boosted with 1/2 cup borax laundry booster; it seems to work against the ants, and the borax also kills roaches, or you may call them water bugs--those nasty brown beetle-looking things. And it's safe (hey, you can add it to your laundry!) for babies and pets.

Here is a link that might be useful: Classifieds

The boiling water method is the best I have found, nothing will "get rid of" fire ants but it will make them manageable.

I live in the woods in a camper I have did many things. The best with no chemicals is follow them home. Take a water hose, turn it on high. Then where their hills are, put the forced water end in a hill. Push it down as far as you can. Let it run. Go down at least 9 inches. The way they build their upper tunnels it protects them from rain. It collapses and seals them in dry. So when you push the hose deep into their tunnel system you are going beyond their collapsing system it will drown their queens.

Diatomaceous earth (DE) will mechanically kill any creepy crawly nusiance critter by acting as a drying agent, dehydrating it to death. Because DE is silica based diatoms ( microscopic glass-like shards), it will cut into the joints of any critter that walks through it. allowing the dehydration to hasten. I use it for ants, roaches, fleas on my animals, mites, aphids on plants, flies in my chicken coop. It also deoderizes. It is available at all feed or tractor supply type stores ad food grade to use for animals which has a gray or reddish color from the bentonite clay in it (up to 6%) or you can get human food grade from health food stores (Too expensive) or from online stores like diatomaceousearth.com which is white with less than 2% bentonite clay. I feed it to my cats and chickens for worming and rub it into their fur to kill fleas, ticks, and mites. I also take one Tablespoonful daily in juice or my smoothie to keep my digestive system free of yeast and pathogenic bacteria, increase silica which helps calcium, selenium, and phosphorus absorption, and too many other good things to mention here. It is inexpensive and best of all non-toxic. Dr. Lyn

I did have small problems with ants, but not on a large scale that required a lot of effort to put 'em down. What I stumbled upon today is, I believe, a very effective method to fight off ant intrusions. It's actually pretty simple - just draw a line of chalk every time you see ants walking in a line towards your house. They will stop right there at the spot. The only problems could be the rainy weather and a multitude of chalk lines, if you are attacked from all sides. You can find more info on this here:

Here is a link that might be useful: How to get rid of ants effectively

For an interior ant trail, a thin line of Bon Ami powder stops them. Bye bye, ants.

It is mildly abrasive.

If you don't want ants in your house simply use white chalk like kids use in elementary school. Draw a line around the area you don't want them to intrude (i.e. perimeter of the house). Ants don't cross chalk lines.

Do this and ants will no longer enter your house. If you want to test it out, when you see a line of ants, use the chalk to break up the line. Not one ant will go over it.

Sometimes, the cats throw up, and, within a short time, ants are all over it. This usually occurred in the closets, where we couldn't see the vomit. I have wood floors in the closet. I oiled them with cedar oil from Ace Hardware on a rag, and haven't seen an ant anywhere near this house since. I think I may be onto something. But I would NOT get the oil on the carpet. It soaks in and dries up on the wood floor, but I think it would leave a stain on soft surfaces. I wonder if putting some cedar oil on cotton balls and putting those near the spots where the ants seem to be entering the house would work.

What is fascinating is to see the LONG single ant line trail of the teeny ?sugar ants! They come down the sidewalk in a long single trail for blocks & all seem to be programmed for a single destination... nary a single one out of line!! If I move a few out of line, they go right back in formation!
And yes, those little things do sting!! I get a special kind of drops for the sugar ants as the other ant sprays seem to have no effect on them tiny critters: TERRO .. a thick liquid with borax. I drop a drop in each of the tiny hole in the hills & (with persistence!) they seem to go away! For the horrible red ants, Hubby pours some kerosene or gasoline down the holes & later lights it! I went crazy with a red ant bite on my toe & calls to the ERs, Urgent care, etc. was no help ("soak foot in a pail of ice cubes", etc.!) except to say I had to somehow get the stinger out of the flesh! After digging out a sizable amount of my toe flesh (!), I must have gotten the stinger out as IMMEDIATELY the awful pain was gone! No, I have no sympathy for those red fire ants!

Hi, everyone. I always thought ants would be found in the kitchen, on the first floor. However, the only room we are finding ants is in the bathroom on the 3rd floor. They don't seem to be coming in from outside. And they are at their worst in the winter time (very cold, Canada). Does anyone know why this would be?

angcolpat,
WInter is cold in Canada, they come in for the warm temps. And heat rises, and they also LOVE moisture, so the bathroom makes sense.
Ants move in walls.

Regarding Diatomaceous Earth as an oral "preventative"...

- There is no mechanism for DE to "clean the gut" of bacteria or yeast. Some bacteria may adhere to the diatoms, but it is strictly a random event.
- Thus, there is also no mechanism for DE to preferentially "clean the gut" of pathogenic bacteria vs "good" bacteria.
- Oral DE is effective for parasites in some breeds of chickens in the same way we have been talking about it in the environment with ants. Basically the microscopic sharp edges of the diatoms cut the worms and eggs up and kill them.
-- Note that the chicken/bird gut is evolutionarily designed to eat dirt and "scratch". The mammal gut is not.
- Given the latter, I would be reluctant to subject the gut of any mammal that I want to live longer than a chicken to multitudes of micro-abrasions of DE. I suspect that the intestinal walls of those people that have done it without ill effect are somewhat protected by food, especially fiber, in the gut. Be that as it may, I would never eat it, nor give my dog or cat DE as a substitute for a wormer.

Sorry to sound so sharp on this one, the folks on the rose forums where I hang out when I have time know that I don't like to be that way. However, I'm a microbiologist and find it really disturbing when potentially harmful folk(lore) medicine gets lumped into beneficial herbal, holistic, natural, take your pick medicine. Western medicine doesn't have all the answers, but basic science umbrellas both modalities by the necessity of proving cause and effect. There is absolutely no mechanism for DE to be antibacterial in the way suggested above.

Rant over, I appreciate the helpful hints about ants. We have what I think are red pavement ants that bite very bit as hard as what it sounds like fire ants do and I need to find some better alternatives. Thanks to all.
Best, Kerin

I have tried cornmeal borax bleach and lots of
recommended remedys although tanzy does work as long as its fresh picked but no luck for 10 years with anything else ..the war has gone on in bathroom kitchen bedroom and living room.this year my chickens free range in my yard..coincidence idk but not one ant anyplace all spring and sumner. We did have a
terribly snowy and extremely cold winter too.Lots of zero days One of the 2 obliterated them totally. Yey!

I have tried cornmeal borax bleach and lots of
recommended remedys although tanzy does work as long as its fresh picked but no luck for 10 years with anything else ..the war has gone on in bathroom kitchen bedroom and living room.this year my chickens free range in my yard..coincidence idk but not one ant anyplace all spring and sumner. We did have a
terribly snowy and extremely cold winter too.Lots of zero days One of the 2 obliterated them totally. Yey!

Hi
seem to be more ways to eliminate ants than there are types of ants!! lol IME a truce is about all you can hope for lol goodluck gary

My newly remodeled kitchen has attracted these teeny ants, mainly around the sink run. They were coming from 2 diff directions - on the counter and traveling up from the floor(?) by the dishwasher. I tried a couple of things that I found on this thread. Tried (1) mint jelly and boric acid mix. I couldn't take the number of ants this concoction attracted. (2) cornmeal and boric acid mix. It was fascinating watching them take chunks of acid and continue to come back for more. Watching them, I did find out how they were getting onto sink area, but they just kept returning for more. I couldn't handle seeing lots of ants in the sink first thing in the morning before having coffee. (3) ground cinnamon - ding, ding, ding! WINNER! Working with a toothpick I filled a very small gap with the cinnamon and haven't seen an ant since. It was immediate. Thanks GW!

I'm glad you found something fast to alleviate your ant problem. While the cinnamon will repel them in the short term, their taking chunks of the Boric Acid back to the nest where they share it with everyone else will actually kill the nest, preventing those ants return. I agree with you, I hate the blamed things, but I put up with them a while longer, feeding them the Boric Acid because I wanted that nest to collapse. No ants, no possibility of their return. Repelling them from one entry point still allows the possibility of them finding a second, or more. Kim

DE (Diatomaceous Earth) works great! It has the ability to cut through their exoskeletons so they tend to stay away.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

Look under pest control.

Hmmm…Deep Thoughts. I wonder if those who are spiritual about not killing ants because of karma are supporters of abortion.

You gotta be kidding....

All you have to do to stop ants is use a wet rag and wipe away their scent trail. I did that twice at my last home and it worked like a charm. Luckily I don't have them at this home.

We had some Allegheny Mound Ants on our deck and porch although we did not know what they were at first. We called our local pest control company, PestFree and they took care of the ants for us. There is even an interesting blog on their site if anyone is interested. http://www.pestfreenow.com/allegheny-mound-ant/

Here is a link that might be useful: PestFree Blog

I found a nifty little natural method to kill ants without using chemicals. It is a little unorthodox but it has been working flawlessly for me over the past few years.

Okay, first of all, that is a video advertisement, not a method. Secondly it literally sounds like a snake oil cure all solution to everything that ails you. Thirdly, the oily chemicals he suggests using, without telling you how, are CHEMICALS. How can you say it kills ants without chemicals?

I'm not clicking through to his blog. Who knows how much more time I would waste following his lame teasers?

dealing with ants. I've had my share of ants all over the sink, in the cat food, in the dog food. If the colony resides under your house (even a concrete pad) not much you can do there. However, what I have done over the years to keep them out of the house is this: I would follow the particular parade and locate where they are coming in and once they are gone I would make sure that small crack in the pain on a window sill or cupboard is sealed. I would locate every ant hill I can find in the yard, and FEED THEM! Now you can poison them with bread and honey and poison, or you can feed them. Buy a cheap 5 pound bag of dog or cat food (dry stuff) and crush it down and sprinkle it around the ant hill. They will never venture further than what you feed them. I discovered this when I had a 40 pound bag of dog food filled with thousands of ants. Put the bag outside, and eventually they will all leave the bag and head home, leaving the bag free and clear of ants. They're happy, you're happy... win/win situation!

Someone mentioned diatomaceous earth earlier, and I've had good luck with that indoors and out. It is pure white and looks like ultrafine flour, but it's basically pure chalk in its natural state. The remains of these tiny diatomes are sharp on a microscopic level, and cut up insects' exoskeletons, which causes the insects to lose body fluid, and they basically dry up!

The only word of warning is to be careful NOT to inhale the dust while applying it. Use a mask. Ants, fleas, bedbugs are all vulnerable to this. It washes out of fabric with no problem.

thanks for all the people who recommended using borax.....worked like a charm!

OK got some corn meal now what??

Keep the borax and diatomaceous earth away from where your pets may inhale them, too. If it's harmful to you, it's harmful to them.

I had so many ants in my bedroom one year that they were crawling over my feet and me while I sat at the computer. They were all different sizes and colours ranging from tiny to quite large. I know ants are beneficial in the garden and I believe in live and let live, but this was too much. ( I later found hundreds of tiny holes with little piles of sand beside them (ant colonies) all over the gravel driveway that circled the house.) I only wanted to target the ones coming in the house. This is what I used, but I doubled the recipe and kept the leftover cotton balls soaking in a little glass jar for later if needed. I ended up giving them to someone else who also had an ant problem. I have also made this for a couple of others. In each case it worked within a week to 10 days no more ants in the house. I left the ones in the yard alone as they are beneficial. It works because ants greet others from their nest and pass it on so the colony stops coming in the house. I have animals and kids, so I put these treated cotton balls on the outside of my window sills (two per sill-one on each side), my doorways, and wherever there was plumbing or wires coming into the house. It is borax based and an animal or child would have to eat a lot to make them sick (I think salt is almost as toxic). Here is the recipe:

Ant
killer
Recipe

Sorry
it took so long.

1 Tbs Boric Acid or borax (laundry)--I used Borax as I had it on hand.
1
tsp sugar
4 oz water
cotton balls

Stir together
and then soak the cotton balls and place in path of ants.

For those that have ants that are not attracted to sugar, you might try dipping the treated balls in a little oil, or even replacing the water with oil. It should work, but I haven't tried it. Please leave a comment if it does. Thanks.

To hottubjoe - I know this is an OLD but useful thread. Re cats and oils even natural ones. Cats do not have the liver enzyme system to metabolize fragrance products including natural oils. When I lived in NYC I had those cedar blocks for moths in my teeeeny closet. They can be very toxic to them. There are different types of cedar products and they must be phenol-free. (see Wondercide pheno free cedar products and their discussion on safe for cats) And Cedar cide (which I have used for bugs in the house) I always put my cat in another room just to be super safe.

"""""""""""""""""Cats, which are highly sensitive to odors and many essential oils, can suffer adverse side effects from improperly formulated cedar oil. Phenols, which are naturally present in several essential oils, can be outright fatal to cats, especially smaller individuals such as kittens. An inability to metabolize this common ingredient is what renders some types of cedar oil harmful to cats. Furthermore, some species of cedar—like Western red cedar—are naturally toxic to both pets and people, and should never be used in topical pet products.

Firstly, Cedarcide cedar oil never contains phenols or phenolic compounds. Secondly, because we use only the highest quality cedar oil sourced from only pet-safe cedar trees (Juniperus ashei, to be specific), our products are always non-toxic, all natural, and safe for pets. Using a multi-step filtration process, our cedar oil is purified of all unnecessary contaminants—including any potentially harmful ingredients like phenols.

However, as with any topical pet product, you should test your cat for possible sensitivity or allergy to cedar oil with a small initial application."""""""""""""""""""""

...........................................

I am stunned at how many pet products for cats have highly toxic chemicals (esp natural ones) in them and even once called a company - they said they know but most people want it. Fragrant cat litter as well.

((Many liquid potpourri products and essential oils, including oil of cinnamon, citrus, pennyroyal, peppermint, pine, sweet birch, tea tree (melaleuca), wintergreen, and ylang ylang, are poisonous to cats. Both ingestion and skin exposure can be toxic.

Essential Oil and Liquid Potpourri Poisoning in Cats | VCA ... ))

(I studied pre vet long long ago and use natural holistic products since of age (18) although our mother (an RN) grew up on a farm and was pretty "natural".)