Can Vaseline Keep Ants Out Of Your Pet's Food Bowl? Here's What Pet Parents Say

Having a grazer, otherwise known as a cat or dog who noshes on a bowl of food throughout the day, comes with its own challenges, especially if you have a pest problem like ants. Most types of ants are harmless, but that doesn't mean you want hundreds of them marching into your home, crawling all over your life, and stealing your food crumb by crumb. Ants are attracted to food and water, so your dog or cat's food bowls are like an ant colony paradise.

Though it's tempting to spray repellant near the area, doing so puts your fur babies at risk. Many pesticides and insecticides contain chemicals that are harmful and even poisonous to pets. Thankfully, there's a much safer and budget-friendly hack that many pet parents swear by: petroleum jelly. According to some owners, simply smearing a layer of Vaseline around your pet's bowl can keep the little critters away.

The reason this works is straightforward: Ants can't climb up a surface that has been slathered with oil. The petroleum jelly creates a physical barrier that will either trap them or cause them to slip around. Once they realize their food source is cut off, they will leave and look elsewhere. Some limited research backs up this hypothesis. One study published by Instars in 2017 found that petroleum jelly is indeed one of the more effective barrier methods for keeping pests away. Better yet, petroleum jelly, like diatomaceous earth, is relatively safe for pets if they accidentally ingest small quantities. Still, before you go smearing Fido's food bowl with Vaseline, there are a few caveats to consider.

Although many owners have championed the Vaseline hack, some have pointed out that it may not work permanently. In the East Bay Times, pet advice columnist Joan Morris explained, "Some people recommend putting petroleum jelly around the edge of the ... bowl, but the first ants become mired in the goo, and those behind climb on their bodies to reach the food." (That might signal it's time to replace your Vaseline layer.) Meanwhile, some pet parents on TikTok have experienced issues with not knowing how much petroleum jelly to apply. In a video showing their cat's food bowl, user the_cat_hotel_ said, "The Vaseline on the bowl does not work anymore." In their caption, they theorized that they "didn't put it on thick enough." But commenters had other suggestions, including putting the bowl of food in a larger bowl or on a flat plate filled with water and sprinkling a circle of cinnamon around the container (small amounts are not toxic for dogs and cats).

@the_cat_hotel_

I put Vaseline around the bottom & sides of the cat food bowl so the ants would not get to it, but I guess I didn't put it on thick enough. #catproblems #feedingtime #antproblem #catloversoftiktok🐾🐾 #antsoftiktok #whattodo

♬ original sound – The Cat Hotel

Still, that doesn't mean the hack isn't worth trying. For best results, some pet parents say you should coat the entire outside circumference of the bowl in Vaseline, not leaving any blank spots. One Reddit user shared what works for them is "putting petroleum jelly on the underside of the rim of a serving tray and placing the food and water bowls on the tray." Another user said that in addition to using petroleum jelly, they purchased a raised food bowl on a stand (similar to the Kitty Raised Cat Bowls sold on Amazon) and that it worked like a charm. One cat sitter who was dealing with an ant infestation wrote, "I eventually figured out that I could coat the outside of the bowl with Vaseline. This didn't bother the cats, but the ants could not get past it. Worked like a charm." Cat owner Jessica Kielman responded to a comment on her blog, Mom 4 Real, explaining that she adds more petroleum jelly when she notices it has worn away, "usually every couple of weeks."