Chibi-chibis, sugar birds come to the feeders every day along with their competitors, the troupials.
We buy rough sugar in 50 kilo sacks; comes from Venezuela.
The problem is ANTS; they do like sugar.
I would like to design one large container with an ant-proof lid or should that read ant-resistant?
Has to hold a 50 kilo sack and be mobile.
Plastic is not rat proof; metal rusts quickly in the marine environment and being a woodworker…………………….. ………. …………
Ideas welcome.
Cant remember who wrote the song.
Replies
perhaps performed by the archies?
I think you're right gm; been a long time since I heard it.
skid,
Well, wood isn't rat-proof either. Also the disadvantage of needing allowance for movement which will make ant-proofing difficult. How about a metal liner for the rats, plus rubber/plastic weatherseal/gasket for the ants?
Or an aardvark, augmented by a terrier?
Cheers,
Ray
Ray,
If we crossed an aardvark with a terrier would that do the trick??
Think we are leaning towards sheet goods lined with metal and a baked enamel finish; the top will be the tricky part.
Pasa bon tarde.
Wow, it'll be hard to make something ant-proof!. A moat comes to mind, LOL! They find food via smell, I do believe, and whatever scout finds it then goes back home and lets everyone else know about it.
The rats would most likely find it by smell too, so I'd be tempted (if you want to use wood), to use something with a pretty good smell of its own (odiferous cedar, LOL, or camphor or something. Line the inside with something less obnoxious, then double-bag the sugar and use a really good tight tie to close it off. Have some kind of inset top and use a good gasket, and a fastener that keeps it really snug.
I think most anti-ant things with, say, hummingbird feeders involve a gooey substance that keeps them from crossing over -- hence the moat idea.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 7/8/2006 11:53 am by forestgirl
Forestgirl,
You are on the right track with moats; the feeders already have them on top; sugar below; frustrates the ants coming down the suspension wires.
The sack container would need a much bigger moat; how wide; how deep; how many crocodiles??
I dont want to use smelly wood; the smell might transfer somehow to the sugar and we use the same sugar the birds get; it is much coarser than the white stuff that is refined to death; sweeter too. The sugar sacks are very porous; I think they have to breathe.
Metal liners seem to be a good idea; I'll work some more on that.
For the lid, a compression gasket maybe and auto type hood locks although not that strong.
Pasa bon noche.
I had been thinking about a "draw latch" earlier, but couldn't remember what they were called. Here's one of many at Lee Valley.
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&cat=3,41399,41433,48576&p=48576forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Nice catalog Forestgirl; lovely pictures; great idea; danki.
Our "hardware"?? store regularly runs out of stain and if you ask for square drive screws they look at you like you just arrived from Mars.
Will you settle for bungee cords??
I was thinking of Jeep hood latches; quite a few rusting away.
Pasa bon dia.
"Will you settle for bungee cords??" Depends on how strong the rats are and how organized the ants are, ROFL!!!
Here on Bainbridge, we have these forest ants that make HUGE hills out of fallen needles and other debris. They are very, very impressive! Similar to this one in Finland.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Indeed very impressive ant hills; great little architects and builders.
I was told to scatter used coffee grounds to discourage ants; didn't work; they were re-brewing the stuff and looking for donuts.
The sugar container design is coming along nicely now; thanks for the help.
Pasa bon noche.
to all those who helped with SUGAH SUGAH
ahh HONEY HONEY
you are my CANDY GIRLS
Danki
i Pasa bon noche
Hope I'm too late to the discussion, but I topic caught my eye. I was just wondering if you had considered a used Rum aging barrel? If they are made from white oak as most Americans distillers use, the alcohol will seep through the wood and reacts with the tannic acid. We see lots of these full and half barrels for sale in the US, because they are used only once and then resold to Scottish distillers et al, to help with the taste they are looking for.
I would think the tannic acid would keep most ants out and haven't heard of drunken rats running around distilleries, I'm sure the taste would keep most rats at bay. Seal the banding against the salt air, and figure out a good sealing top. Since you are in that part of the world where maritime museums exists, you might check there. The sailors of old had to keep their food stuffs protected from the salt water some how.
Food for thought.
Thanks Mike,
You're never too late for a post.
Funnily enough I did think of a barrel; we have lots of rum and rum runners but no barrels.
Might be fun making one; no white oak though; we do have cedar (too smelly for foodstuffs) and lots of mahogany.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Pasa bon noche.
How 'bout using a dead refrigerator for storage? If its door seal still works, it should be ant-proof and rat-proof.
An idea I never thought of Jamie.
Size may be a problem in the kitchen; perhaps it could go outside; we put an old freezer outside next to the washing machine; it holds laundry powder etc.
I'll run it past the "Boss".
Pasa bon noche.
AWE, HONEY, HONEY
sorry.
Jeff
Stop. Stop I say .... before the infection spreads and we have all the lyrics to the song, one to a post! :)
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
we could switch over to def leopard and pour some sugah on me!
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