The RV Forum Community
RVing message boards => The Shade Tree => Topic started by: SeilerBird on January 03, 2018, 04:32:49 AM
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I cannot figure this one out so I am turning to the intelligence of this community to see if they can solve this. I have three cats, all indoor only. I have a cat feeder that I fill with cat food once a week and they can eat whenever they want. See photo one below. For the past year or so the feeder has had a bug problem. In general I have been battling a German cockroach problem but I have had it under control now for the last few months. Except for this stupid problem. There are two pieces to this feeder and every week when I go to add more food I find a small collection of bugs in exactly the same spot. See photo 2. About a dozen tiny little bugs I cannot identify. How come they always are there and always in the same spot? I mean there are many generations killed here and they keep coming back to the same spot. There is no other bugs on the feeder and they are never anywhere else on the feeder. A few months ago I bought a different gravity feeder that was smaller. I used it for a month and had the exact same problem. Yes I clean the feeder every week.
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I bet they're in the cat food. Try a different brand.
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Can you post a good picture of the bugs?
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I bet they're in the cat food. Try a different brand.
Nope, I never buy the same brand twice.
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Can you post a good picture of the bugs?
I killed them already so it would be a few days before I could get a better photo. Here is a bad attempt at enlarging the photo.
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You may have to take some of the bugs to an entomologist.
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We had a similar problem years ago in Barbados. The food in bags was infested with tiny bugs that grew over several weeks from tiny dots to visible bugs before we discovered it. Paper bagged food can be infested this way right from the store or wholesaler, not necessarily a specific brand but perhaps from a storage problem en route.
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You may have to take some of the bugs to an entomologist.
I agree, here is a link where you might get help: http://www.pickyourown.org/countyextensionagentoffices.htm (http://www.pickyourown.org/countyextensionagentoffices.htm)
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I have the same issue... Those are hard bugs to exterminate.. Alas, Dalak exterminators are not ... Real.. (That is a joke if you don't get it forget it).
You need to fully clean out the RV or at least room in house, have a professional treat it. Wash the cat's dishes 100%
Alternative.. I am told German roaches do not freeze well. but I'd not count on that.
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Alternative.. I am told German roaches do not freeze well. but I'd not count on that.
Are you suggesting he move north?
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Are you suggesting he move north?
I've been talking to a guy home based in Pensacola, he wouldn't have to move far, not even out of the state.
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I've been talking to a guy home based in Pensacola, he wouldn't have to move far, not even out of the state.
Yeah, he could move to Perry.
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I have the same issue... Those are hard bugs to exterminate.. Alas, Dalak exterminators are not ... Real.. (That is a joke if you don't get it forget it).
You need to fully clean out the RV or at least room in house, have a professional treat it. Wash the cat's dishes 100%
Alternative.. I am told German roaches do not freeze well. but I'd not count on that.
These bugs were a problem in my last RV. I bug bombed the new RV twice before I moved in and the bugs followed me. So cleaning won't do a thing.
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Yeah, he could move to Perry.
Nope, I can't move to Perry. I used to live there and I have an ex girlfriend living there. I don't want to run into her. Plus I really really really love my present location. I am digging down and planning on living here till I die.
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Do they sell Cat Food in plastic containers?
The Glue used to seal the bags are what some bugs are attracted to.
Look where the Cat Food is made. IF it's in a cold climate that might kill any bugs that are along for the ride.
However that wouldn't help any in the Summertime. But if you can find Cat Food made in December of last year
and came from a Northern State - might be worth looking into that? What could it hurt?
Funny you said you never buy the same brand twice - you have had the Cats for how long?
You should be running out of Cat Food to buy as I don't remember a hundred brands on store shelves when I had a Cat. ;D ;D ;D
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These bugs were a problem in my last RV. I bug bombed the new RV twice before I moved in and the bugs followed me.
Soooo... The problem is NOT actually the bugs, it is you!!! ;D
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Do they sell Cat Food in plastic containers?
The Glue used to seal the bags are what some bugs are attracted to.
Look where the Cat Food is made. IF it's in a cold climate that might kill any bugs that are along for the ride.
However that wouldn't help any in the Summertime. But if you can find Cat Food made in December of last year
and came from a Northern State - might be worth looking into that? What could it hurt?
Funny you said you never buy the same brand twice - you have had the Cats for how long?
You should be running out of Cat Food to buy as I don't remember a hundred brands on store shelves when I had a Cat. ;D ;D ;D
But the real problem for me is why do the bugs go to the exact same spot? There is no logic to that. I have had Tarzan for 8 years, Jane for 7 years and Cleo for six years. What I meant was when I shop for cat food I just grab any old bag. I don't have an allegiance to any particular brand.
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Maybe they are attracted to the food, hence the return to the same place? it's a bit of a weird one. :o
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What I meant was when I shop for cat food I just grab any old bag. I don't have an allegiance to any particular brand.
Oh there's the problem. Ever hear - you get what you pay for? Try at least once, buying the most expensive food available and see if that makes a difference.
As far as returning to the same spot either there might be a low in that spot or there is a trace of something drawing them there.
Can you put the metal part in the oven at high temp to kill any trace or microscopic subjects that are drawing them to that area?
One other idea is can you line the bowl with wax paper and tape it around the edge and then see if they appear on top
of the wax paper or underneath the wax paper?
Also just to be clear - do these bugs appear everyday? Do the Cats finish the food in less than 12 hours?
Have you tried smaller amounts of food (but maybe more often if you want the Cats to have the same amount everyday) with
the same results?
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Maybe they are attracted to the food, hence the return to the same place? it's a bit of a weird one. :o
Well they must like something, but I don't understand how this gets passed on generation to generation and even after I moved and changed food dishes.
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Oh there's the problem. Ever hear - you get what you pay for? Try at least once, buying the most expensive food available and see if that makes a difference.
Yes I have heard that and I have never believed it for a second. I buy all my food based on how the poop looks. If an animal has normal looking poop then the food is correct. If there is problems with the food then it shows up in the poop first.
As far as returning to the same spot either there might be a low in that spot or there is a trace of something drawing them there.
Except this problem occurred with two different feeding dishes that were two different sizes.
Can you put the metal part in the oven at high temp to kill any trace or microscopic subjects that are drawing them to that area?
One again it happened on two different bowls.
Also just to be clear - do these bugs appear everyday? Do the Cats finish the food in less than 12 hours?
Have you tried smaller amounts of food (but maybe more often if you want the Cats to have the same amount everyday) with the same results?
I fill up their feeder and the food lasts about a week. I have always free fed (full food bowl 24/7) all my animals all my life. They generally return within a few days.
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Yes I have heard that and I have never believed it for a second.
This coming from the guy that bought a Pixel 2 for almost a Grand? ;D ;D ;D
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This coming from the guy that bought a Pixel 2 for almost a Grand? ;D ;D ;D
We are just the opposite. We buy expensive dog food (damn dog has allergies to almost everything) and take pictures with the free phone that came with the plan.
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This coming from the guy that bought a Pixel 2 for almost a Grand? ;D ;D ;D
Yep. I never claimed that I got my moneys worth, I only said it has the best camera in a phone at the moment. Go shopping at Amazon and you will find many items for sale by Amazon that are much cheaper than that same item is at a boutique electronics store. So how can two identical items priced differently be getting what you paid for it? Here is a great example of not 'getting what you paid for it'. It is an auction listing on eBay for the very first US Beatles album called Introducing the Beatles on VeeJay. Buy it now price is $841. It is a counterfeit. So the buyer is really getting screwed. It is basically worthless to any real Beatles collector.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/INTRODUCING-THE-BEATLES-1960S-LP-FACTORY-SEALED-STEREO-FACTORY-SEALED/391944071746?hash=item5b41afea42:g:v2kAAOSwZaFZ0ai3
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Your cats might be carriers. Could the bugs be some kind of mites? A vet should be able to determine if the cats are infested.
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Your cats might be carriers. Could the bugs be some kind of mites? A vet should be able to determine if the cats are infested.
The cats do have a few fleas, in fact I ordered the Advantage today. But they are not infested with anything.
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Do you buy the food from the same store? If so, try another, might be the store has the bugs...
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Are you suggesting he move north?
Uh, no, as I said, I was told that. but I'd not count on it.
I do know they get less active when it gets cool however. Way less long about 60 degrees.
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The bugs he showed in the photo do not look like roaches. They look more like weavles.
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Do you buy the food from the same store? If so, try another, might be the store has the bugs...
The food has come from many different stores. You are missing the point. I don't care about where the bugs come from, nor do I really care about how to kill them. I am wondering why they return to the exact same spot generation after generation and even when I change food dishes and move to a different site.
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Because they're in the dry cat food when you buy it. Real simple.
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Because they're in the dry cat food when you buy it. Real simple.
As I have said many times I don't care where the bugs come from. I wonder why generation after generation they inhabit the same spot. The cat food comes from many different sources so they cannot come from the food.
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The food has come from many different stores. You are missing the point. I don't care about where the bugs come from, nor do I really care about how to kill them. I am wondering why they return to the exact same spot generation after generation and even when I change food dishes and move to a different site.
Wild guess here, but if all things are the same I would say temperature. Regardless of the bowl, if it's positioned in the same spot religiously the only variable would be temperature. Maybe there is a hot/cool spot that is attractive for the critters. Of course this all goes out the window if the bowl is placed in different areas.
Corky
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Do you pour the entire bag of food into the feeder? If not, where do keep the opened bag? As to why the bugs keep appearing in the same spot time after time, not sure anyone here can answer that. You live in Florida. I was born and raised in Florida. Bugs, like humidity and Yankees :) are A way of life if you live in Florida. You may just have to learn to live with them.
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Wild guess here, but if all things are the same I would say temperature. Regardless of the bowl, if it's positioned in the same spot religiously the only variable would be temperature. Maybe there is a hot/cool spot that is attractive for the critters. Of course this all goes out the window if the bowl is placed in different areas.
Corky
It has been in three different rooms and in two different RVs.
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Do you pour the entire bag of food into the feeder? If not, where do keep the opened bag? As to why the bugs keep appearing in the same spot time after time, not sure anyone here can answer that. You live in Florida. I was born and raised in Florida. Bugs, like humidity and Yankees :) are A way of life if you live in Florida. You may just have to learn to live with them.
I sometimes buy five pound bags and toss it all in or buy larger bags and use it for a few fills.
I am not complaining about the bugs. This is Florida, bug capitol of the world. I love it here. Birds eat bugs and I am a bird photographer so I know that the reason there are so many birds in Florida is because of so many bugs. I just want to know why they end up in the exact same spot.
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Just about anything made with dry grain will have bugs in it. Including human food.
https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/pantrypests304.shtml
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Just about anything made with dry grain will have bugs in it. Including human food.
https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/pantrypests304.shtml
I know that. I am trying to figure out why they keep returning to the same spot.
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I know that. I am trying to figure out why they keep returning to the same spot.
Are you trying to figure out why they return to the same spot? :o
Have you tried wiping up the area with soap and water. Maybe some grease spilled there, then they find the food? Also, try some Terro liquid ant bait. If they like the smell, it has Borax in it, they will eat, return to the nest (I would assume under your cabinets or in some container you have moved from Rig to Rig) and kill them. I know they are not ants, but I've had great lick with Borax on little unknown bugs.
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Starting to understand the question now, but as "same spot", do you mean the food bowl as the "same spot", or if you move the food bowl to a different location in your fiver, the bugs go where the food bowl was originally?
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I think he means the same spot within the bowl.
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Go back to the first post, second photo and enlarge the photo. You can see the bugs congregated on what appears to be the lip of the shute leading to the bowl. He says this is where the bugs are every time he sees them. He wants to know why this particular spot.
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One website I saw said that cockroach droppings and skeletons emit a chemical that attracts others. I guess if they are really attracted to that food then that is why they keep reappearing in the same place.
You sure do come up with some tough questions Tom ;D ;D
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Go back to the first post, second photo and enlarge the photo. You can see the bugs congregated on what appears to be the lip of the shute leading to the bowl. He says this is where the bugs are every time he sees them. He wants to know why this particular spot.
Bingo!
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Bingo!
Do I get a prize?
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Do I get a prize?
Yes, you win a bunch of small bugs. ;D
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Yes, you win a bunch of small bugs. ;D
That prize bugs me. ;D
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How about when the cats eat. Do they drool? Could it be from the cats saliva dripping at the same place all the time attracting the bugs? Or if they have a flea collar, is it rubbing on the edge of the bowl and that's what's attracting them.
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How about when the cats eat. Do they drool? Could it be from the cats saliva dripping at the same place all the time attracting the bugs? Or if they have a flea collar, is it rubbing on the edge of the bowl and that's what's attracting them.
The cats don't come within four inches of the spot they are collecting. There is a huge bowl that covers the top. No drool, no flea collars.
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I give up.
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I give up.
You beat me to it.
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It has me so confused because there just is no logical reason for the bugs to congregate in the same spot like that. I didn't think anyone would have an answer but it never hurts to ask. Thanks for the help guys. :)
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Why do people rebuild their house in the same place on the floodplain after being flooded out? Because they like it there.
Try putting a small amount of non-toxic insect repellant there to make it less attractive to the pests.
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Why do people rebuild their house in the same place on the floodplain after being flooded out? Because they like it there.
Try putting a small amount of non-toxic insect repellant there to make it less attractive to the pests.
Good suggestion Lou, I will pick some up tomorrow at Walmart. Thanks.
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Not fair. Lou didn't solve the mystery. :-[
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Not fair. Lou didn't solve the mystery. :-[
No he didn't but he did offer a great suggestion. :D
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Maybe that lip is where the continuously get stuck on their way in/out? Especially if you are finding them dead or even some dead and some alive it would explain it. Regardless of generation they would all have the same instinct to go after the cat food anyway. Both bowls could have posed a similar problem for them since the design with the lip is similar. This happens in my skylight with lady bugs. Once they go in none of them can come out so even though they’re all coming from different areas, they look like they’re all meeting up in this one spot on the screen to bake themselves to death.
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I know that. I am trying to figure out why they keep returning to the same spot.
Well with everything eleminated I would say they like the taste of the bowl! See ....that was easy, next problem
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Well with everything eleminated I would say they like the taste of the bowl! See ....that was easy, next problem
Nice try, but I have had the exact same problem with two completely different designed food bowls.
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Could it have anything to do with where the food enters the bowl?
Ernie
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Could it have anything to do with where the food enters the bowl?
Ernie
I have no idea, that's why I posted this question. The point where the bowl meets the base is about 8 inches long. The fact they always use this exact same spot is so baffling.
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Maybe that's where the cat(s) move them to. Dogs and cats both can be very selective about what they eat. The last miniature poodle we had would pick out the brown boned shaped pieces out of her food.
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Maybe that's where the cat(s) move them to. Dogs and cats both can be very selective about what they eat. The last miniature poodle we had would pick out the brown boned shaped pieces out of her food.
The cats can't get to within 6 inches of the bugs so they can't move them.