Has anyone had any problems with your dummy cakes attracting ants and other tiny insects? Is there a way to cover the fondant/sugar decorations to make them less attactive to the bugs?!? Thanks!
Janice
You could use the equal amounts of borax ans sugar, mix well and leave close to where your cakes are, they will take that to their nests and that should eliminate that problem, this is a non poisonous solution.
Or you could do your dummy cakes in Hydrocal, or any other kind of plaster. Little suckers would likely break their mandibles trying to eat that.
Hmm. Sugar, appetizing appearance, and bug spray. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.
AAnd what disastrous recipe would that be, exactly? Plenty of people do that. It's a display cake. It's not for licking or eating.
Thanks HB. Where can I get Hydrocal? Is that something I could get from a hardware store? Actually my concern with the bug spray is more about the smell than worrying about whether or not someone would try to lick it.
AIt goes away. And honestly, unless you already have a big problem, it's doubtful the dummy will suddenly cause one.
A well-stocked model train dealer would likely carry Hydrocal.
Of course, if you don't need to walk on the frosting, you could get by with Plaster of Paris, from the local hardware store. More-or-less the same stuff, except that Hydrocal sets up a lot harder.
It's been a while, but as I recall, if you add organic substances to any kind of plaster, it will slow down the setting, whereas if you add inorganic substances, it will speed up the setting.
And note that when a piping bag of plaster starts to feel warm and stiff (those with dirty minds can do what they please with that), it's about to set up, so you want to disassemble and clean out the tip and the fitting while you still can!
And note that while I've worked with both kinds of gypsum plaster (mainly building model railroad scenery), I'm far from an expert, and I've never had the need to run it through a piping bag (but I know it can be done, because that's how a lot of decorative plaster work is done, e.g., in some of the historic rooms of the California State Capitol).
You could use wilton fondant instead of good stuff!!! I had some dummy cakes couple of years ago in our window display, and had one with MMF and one with Wilton and they destroyed the one with MMF and didn't touch the Wilton one.
A
Original message sent by patticake1951
You could use wilton fondant instead of good stuff!!! I had some dummy cakes couple of years ago in our window display, and had one with MMF and one with Wilton and they destroyed the one with MMF and didn't touch the Wilton one.
AMy own experience with ants mirrors everything the professional exterminators say:
Spraying for ants just gets you a bunch of dead workers, and some nasty contamination, without having any real impact on the colony. A few well-placed bait stations take out the whole colony, queen and all.
Thanks everyone! Patticake - I did use Wilton Fondant! I guess they were just really hungry after emerging from their winter break!
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