Ants in my enclosure

[MyrtlesMum0131]

Hello,
I'm building an outside enclosure for my Russian, and while letting her roam around in the space today I noticed a big swarm of ants where she started to dig. They crawled over her but didn't seem to want to sting her. One got pretty close to her eye but she smashed it herself and I gave her a cool water bath later to wash it off. She's not living in the enclosure yet, but it should be finished day after tomorrow. I dug around experimentally and the ants seem confined to about 1 sq. ft so I'm guessing they have an ant hole nearby. Is there anything I can do to get rid of them? I obviously don't want to use ant killer because I'm going to be planting the space later on and don't want her to eat any of it by mistake. Any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
MyrtlesMum0131

 

[JoesMum]

I don't know which country you are in... and hence don't know the ferocity of your ants. If you're in the UK, or elsewhere in northern Europe, don't worry. The ants are not going to do any harm. My garden is overrun with the things.

 

[MyrtlesMum0131]

I don't know which country you are in... and hence don't know the ferocity of your ants. If you're in the UK, or elsewhere in northern Europe, don't worry. The ants are not going to do any harm. My garden is overrun with the things.

I live in southeastern America. The ants are pretty small and as of now I'm not quite sure whether they're black or red.
Thanks for the reply!

 

[Careym13]

I have ants in my outdoor enclosure too, which is interesting considering its on a raised balcony. I have been looking into using Diatomaceous earth, the food grade organic version. I believe others on this forum have had success with it.

 

[Nanchantress]

I agree with the above. Food grade diatomaceous earth (can be bought at a feed store...I think it is used for chickens and other farm animals) is safe around turtles. It dries out the exoskeleton of the ants but does not harm larger animals.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I bought some DE at HOME DEPOT.COM
Food grade only. That is important.
For some reason, they only sell it online from home depot. (St. Ives brand)

 

[mystery_girl]

If you have any local farm stores, they sell it too. We have been using it for years for ants and fleas.

 

[MyrtlesMum0131]

Thanks everyone! I'll probably hit Home Depot pretty soon and get some DE soon.

 

[Careym13]

I just ordered some on Amazon. Hoping it works!

 

[DawnH]

I swear by food grade DE. I use it every three months on my yard and don't have a pest problem (fire ants are a huge concern here.) You can find it at most feed stores (Tractor Supply, etc.) Be sure (again) to only get FOOD GRADE. The other kind is a toxic pool chemical that will kill your tort. The stuff really is amazing and has a host of wonderful qualities for all pets (we have cats, dogs, chickens, ferret and a cockatiel as well as our tort.) I have been using it for years now (no harsh chemicals here) and can't say enough good things about it...

http://www.richsoil.com/diatomaceous-earth.jsp