How to Keep Ants Out of a Chicken Coop

By John Walker · Backyard chicken keeper in Dallas, Texas since 2017

How to keep ants out of a chicken coop? Start by removing what attracts them: ants in a coop are a nuisance, and fire ants are a real danger, because they bite and sting, and they can kill chicks and stress adult hens. Ants come into the coop for the same reasons they come into a kitchen: food, water, and shelter. Spilled feed, a damp coop, and cracks in the wood all invite them in, and once a colony finds the coop, it will keep coming back. The good news is that ants can be kept out with cleaning, sealing, and chicken-safe barriers, without using sprays that would harm the birds. This guide explains how to find the ants, get rid of them, and keep them out.

How to keep ants out of a chicken coop?

To keep ants out of a chicken coop, remove what attracts them, block how they get in, and use barriers that are safe for chickens. Clean up spilled feed every day, keep the coop dry, seal cracks in the wood, and put a barrier such as food-grade diatomaceous earth around the coop.

Start by finding where the ants come from. Follow the trail back to the nest, which is often in the soil outside the coop or under the coop floor. A nest in the run can be dug out, while a nest under the coop may need the coop moved or lifted to reach it.

Remove the food source first. Store feed in sealed bins, sweep up spilled feed daily, and do not leave feed out overnight. Ants follow a scent trail to food, and if the food is gone, the trail fades and the ants look elsewhere.

Keep the coop dry, because ants need water as well as food. Fix leaks, raise drinkers so they cannot spill into the bedding, and change wet bedding at once. A dry coop is far less inviting to ants than a damp one.

Why ants come into chicken coops

Ants come into chicken coops for food, water, and shelter, and a coop offers all three. Spilled feed is the biggest draw, because it is easy food, and a feeder that spills a little each day will feed a colony for weeks.

Water is the second draw. A leaking drinker, a damp floor, or a puddle in the run gives ants the water they need, and they will set up a trail to it. In dry weather, a damp coop is even more attractive to ants.

Shelter is the third draw. A coop with cracks, gaps, and hollow wood gives ants a place to nest, and a nest inside the coop is hard to remove without taking the coop apart. Old, rotting wood is the worst, because it is soft and easy for ants to hollow out.

Chickens themselves are also a draw, because ants eat eggs and can attack chicks. A coop with eggs left in the nest, or with weak chicks, is a target, and fire ants in particular will attack anything they can sting.

Fire ants in the chicken coop

Fire ants are the most dangerous ants for chickens, because they bite and sting, and a swarm can kill a chick or a weak hen. Fire ants are reddish-brown, they build dome-shaped mounds in the soil, and they sting in groups when their nest is disturbed.

A chick that falls into a fire ant mound can be stung hundreds of times and die quickly, while an adult hen that stands in a mound will be stung on the legs and may stop laying from the stress. Fire ants also eat eggs, and they can damage the coop by hollowing out wood.

If you find a fire ant mound in the run, act at once. Move the birds away, and treat the mound with boiling water poured slowly into the nest, which kills the colony without chemicals. Repeat the treatment after a few days if the ants return.

Do not use ant poison or fire ant bait in the coop or run, because the birds can eat it and be poisoned. If a chemical treatment is needed, use it only outside the run, where the birds cannot reach it, and ask your extension office for a product that is safe around poultry.

Chicken-safe ways to remove ants

The safest way to remove ants is to clean and to use physical barriers. Sweep the coop, remove all bedding, and scrub the floor and roosts with hot, soapy water. This removes the scent trails that ants follow, and it forces them to start again.

Food-grade diatomaceous earth is a safe barrier for chickens. It is a fine powder made from fossilised algae, and it works by drying out insects that walk through it. Sprinkle it around the coop, in cracks, and along ant trails, and reapply it after rain, because it stops working when wet.

Vinegar is another safe option. Wipe down the coop with a mix of equal parts vinegar and water, which removes the scent trails and makes the wood less inviting. Do not spray vinegar on the birds, and do not use it in the drinker.

Boiling water is the best treatment for a nest in the soil. Pour it slowly into the nest entrance in the morning, when the ants are inside, and repeat it after a few days. This kills the colony without any chemicals, and it is safe to use in the run once the birds are moved away.

Sealing the coop against ants

Seal cracks and gaps in the coop with caulk or wood filler, because ants get in through gaps as small as a millimetre. Pay attention to the joints where the walls meet the floor, the corners, and the areas around the door and the nest boxes.

Replace rotting wood, because soft wood is easy for ants to hollow out and nest in. A coop built from sound, dry wood with tight joints is far harder for ants to enter than an old coop with gaps and rot.

Raise the coop off the ground on legs, if you can, and put the legs in tins of water or oil, which act as a moat that ants cannot cross. This is an old trick, and it works well for small coops, although it needs the tins to be kept full and clean.

Keep the area around the coop clear. Cut back grass and weeds that touch the coop, because they give ants a bridge to the walls, and clear away brush piles and rubbish where ants nest. A clear space around the coop is easier to check and easier to keep ant-free.

What not to use against ants

Do not use ant sprays or powders made for houses in the coop, because most contain chemicals that are toxic to chickens. A bird that eats a poisoned ant, or that breathes in spray, can be harmed, and the eggs can be affected as well.

Do not use ant bait stations in the coop or run, because the birds can peck at them and eat the bait. Bait is designed to be carried back to the nest, and a chicken that eats it will be poisoned, even if the bait is in a station.

Do not pour petrol, diesel, or other fuels on an ant nest, because these are toxic, they pollute the soil, and they are a fire risk. Boiling water is safer, cheaper, and just as effective for a nest in the run.

Do not use borax-based ant killers in the coop, because borax is toxic to chickens if they eat it. Borax is used in some home ant remedies, but it has no place in a chicken coop, where the birds peck at everything on the ground.

Keeping ants out for good

Keeping ants out for good is a matter of routine, not a one-off fix. Sweep up spilled feed every day, store feed in sealed bins, and check the coop weekly for new cracks, damp spots, and ant trails. A weekly check takes a few minutes and catches problems early.

Check the run after rain, because rain drives ants to higher, drier ground, and the coop is often the driest place around. A check after a storm is worth more than a check on a dry day, because that is when ants move.

Keep the dust bath dry and under cover, because a dry dust bath helps the birds keep mites and lice away, and it also gives you a place to add diatomaceous earth that stays dry and effective. A wet dust bath is useless for the birds and inviting for ants.

If ants keep coming back despite your efforts, look for the nest outside the coop. A nest in a nearby tree, a compost heap, or a brush pile will keep sending ants to the coop, and the nest needs to be dealt with at its source, not just at the coop wall.

Sources: poultry.extension.org and University of Minnesota Extension poultry.

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