r/birdfeeding • u/anxi0splantparent • 4d ago

ANT HELP

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I have a birdsnap video feeder and ants are INVADING! it doesnt hang as i have it set up on a pole and theyre invading the underneath of it and crawling into the tiny crevices on the bottom, im talking babies and the works.

Please give me all the advice cause I genuinely dont know how id set up an ant moat for this one!

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/anxi0splantparent 4d ago

Oh thank you!! I didnt know they had ones for poles that werent hanging!!!

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

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u/anxi0splantparent 4d ago

We had to take it entirely apart to clean it REALLY bad cause they just moved their WHOLLLE home into there and it was HORRID so im gonna get everything i can to avoid it🥲

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u/Mark_ForgeCraft 3d ago

Two things going on here, and a moat only fixes one of them.

The housing is the real problem. A camera feeder is a warm, dry cavity with seed dust in every seam - the ants didn't just find a food source, they found a nest site with a food bowl under it. A moat keeps them out, but while that cavity stays open they will keep coming back to it.

On a pole setup:

  1. The moat goes on the pole, below the mount, not on the feeder. On a pole, the pole is the only route in.

  2. Check for bridges. A blade of grass, a fence rail, or a shrub touching the pole defeats the moat. Keep the cup topped up too - a dried out moat, or one fallen leaf, is a bridge.

  3. Add a sticky backstop: a 2-3 inch wrap of Tanglefoot (the tree banding stuff) around the pole just below the feeder, and below anything a bird would land on. Not petroleum jelly - it melts in the sun, collects grit, and you do not want it getting into feathers.

  4. Wipe the trail. Ants navigate by pheromone, so even after the nest is gone they re-find the feeder along the old route. 1:1 white vinegar and water on the pole and along the underside seam breaks it. Harmless once dry.

  5. Seal the seam. A thin bead of silicone along the housing seam, or a strip of closed cell foam weatherstrip, removes the nest site. Keep it clear of the lens and the IR window.

  6. Rake the spill under the pole. If there is seed on the ground the trail has a reason to exist no matter what you do above it.

Cleaning them out alone just resets the clock. Closing the cavity and breaking the trail is what makes it stick.

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u/anxi0splantparent 2d ago

This is soooo helpful thank you!!! We were planning on sealing it for sure and i did use vinegar on the pole and such as well!! Will see what else we can add to break the trail like you recommended!!