Red ants infestation in enclosure! (HELP!!!)

[JamesGSixx]

So another problem. last time it was tiny house roaches now it's red ants.

I woke up this morning to look at my collection and i saw that one of the albiceps i had was trying to get out of the enclosure, which was unusual to see because she's always in her hide and i had just fed her the previous night. so i take a closer look and i see what looks to be fire ants. it wasn't in all my t's enclosure just the albiceps and the p.regalis cause i've fed them last night. I take out the carcasses after they eat but the ants seemed to have been munching on it while the t's were eating because the feeder wasn't all crumpled up and eaten. Anyways i've rehoused the albiceps, but i've kept the regalis inside the enclosure for the meantime while i spot where the ants are coming from so i can track their base and poison it.

What's the best way to deal with my situation? This is the first time this has ever happened and i don't know where the ants are coming from. Can i use ant chalk or boric/borax acid powder? I don't really want to put petroleum jelly on the enclosure as it's sticky and annoying to remove. I will rehouse the infested p.regalis as soon as i see the trail of ants. I'll be keeping an eye out just to make sure she doesn't get eaten.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Find where there coming from and put petroleum jelly there I'd also take both T's out the enclosures don't risk there health

 

[notanarachnophobe]

Get the T's out into temporary enclosures. Keep them safe and secure, away from the ants. Find the source of the ants and take steps to destroy them and prevent them returning.

 

[chanda]

Pull both Ts out and put them in temporary enclosures, then empty all of the substrate out of the old enclosures, wash the enclosures and decor, hides, water dish, thoroughly (use mild dish soap and rinse well) to eliminate or minimize chemical trails laid down by the ants, so they don't attract more ants, before putting in new substrate and setting them up again. Also wash walls, shelves, etc. where the ants had established trails.

Find where they are coming from and put out borax baits (I've had good luck with the Terro liquid ant baits - but they may not work as well for different ant species.) A barrier such as vaseline on the outside of your enclosures (just around the bottom - you don't have to smear the whole tank) would also be helpful to keep the ants from getting in again, though I do understand that it's kind of a pain to clean up.

 

[JamesGSixx]

Find where there coming from and put petroleum jelly there I'd also take both T's out the enclosures don't risk there health

put petroleum jelly on the ant nest?

Pull both Ts out and put them in temporary enclosures, then empty all of the substrate out of the old enclosures, wash the enclosures and decor, hides, water dish, thoroughly (use mild dish soap and rinse well) to eliminate or minimize chemical trails laid down by the ants, so they don't attract more ants, before putting in new substrate and setting them up again. Also wash walls, shelves, etc. where the ants had established trails.

Find where they are coming from and put out borax baits (I've had good luck with the Terro liquid ant baits - but they may not work as well for different ant species.) A barrier such as vaseline on the outside of your enclosures (just around the bottom - you don't have to smear the whole tank) would also be helpful to keep the ants from getting in again, though I do understand that it's kind of a pain to clean up.

I'll try to use borax/boric when i find their nest. hopefully it kills them fast enough before they get to the t's.

 

[notanarachnophobe]

Good luck.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I have had this exact problem several years ago and was able to get rid of the ants without pesticides. The trick with dealing with the red ants (or pharaoh ant) colonies that take up residence in tarantula enclosures is to clean out all the tarantulas with ants at the same time. The red ants tend to split their colonies and migrate to different locations depending on food availability. So if you only clean one tarantula enclosure, but have them in several, ants from another enclosure will take up residence in the one you just cleaned, or even split off into multiple colonies in enclosures you never saw them in.

Fortunately, the red ants are scavengers and are in no way predacious so they only act as an annoyance to tarantulas. When I had a red ant problem, a colony established itself with an adult female Poecilotheria ornata. I kept the ant colony with it to see what would happen and the ants kept trying to steal crickets from the mouth of the P. ornata as it was eating. The poor spider kept kicking them away (literally) and moving around the enclosure. All of the ant colonies disappeared once the substrate was replaced in every tarantula enclosure that had them. The colony with the P. ornata actually moved out on its own eventually so I didn't have to change the substrate in that one.

In my case I found several red ant colonies in my closet under clothes and a couple of other locations no where near my tarantulas that I had to take care of. Once you find all of the ant colonies and remove them, they tend to stay gone.

 

[weibkreux]

Read somewhere that ants don't like cucumbers, or you can use baby powder?

 

[Major 78]

As an antkeeper I find a few things people replied as hilarious. First off, these "red ants" or "pharaoh ants" are known as Solenopsis Invicta, RIFA. (Red invasive fire ant.) There are no pharaoh ants in the US @AphonopelmaTX . These ants are notorious for being the classic escape artist. Petroleum jelly only works on 1 or two ant species, and definitely not on these. Even the "put your table legs in bowls of water so the drown when trying to climb up" method isn't gonna work, as these guys make massive rafts across rivers. Baby power is like throwingair at them, nothing. Fluon is an effective barrier but after a couple days they will break through. This species is almost impossible to get rid of, and if there's one colony in your area, that means there's gonna be more... And @weibkreux cucumbers will do nothing but feed the ants. I suggest you completely wash out enclosures, put them in a whole other part of your house, and then put them back into the enclosures. Use ant bait traps on them, use pesticides, use a god damn flame thrower if you have one! Very hard to get rid of. For more experienced answers than your gonna get on arachnoboards I suggest going to Formiculture.com, an antkeeping community who deal with this pest species all the time. Good luck!

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

First off, these "red ants" or "pharaoh ants" are known as Solenopsis Invicta, RIFA. (Red invasive fire ant.) There are no pharaoh ants in the US @AphonopelmaTX .

Since you called me out, I figure I would respond despite the condescending tone of your reply which really should be ignored.

Perhaps the use of common names is confusing matters. The ants I was referring to, and was describing my experience with, as pharaoh ants is the species Monomorium pharaonis which most certainly do occur in the USA and are common in metropolitan areas. There was nothing in the OP's post which confirmed that the troublesome ants are Solenopsis invicta except that they "look like fire ants." I assumed the OP's ants were Monomorium pharaonis since the ants were scavenging and not actively swarming and killing the tarantulas they took up residence with. The behavior sounded familiar to the behavior of the pharaoh ants. Since I just now noticed the OP is located in the Philippines, who knows what species they really are. Without a proper identification of the ants in question, I'm not sure how anyone can provide accurate information on what to do about their occurrence.

 

[Major 78]

Since you called me out, I figure I would respond despite the condescending tone of your reply which really should be ignored.

Perhaps the use of common names is confusing matters. The ants I was referring to, and was describing my experience with, as pharaoh ants is the species Monomorium pharaonis which most certainly do occur in the USA and are common in metropolitan areas. There was nothing in the OP's post which confirmed that the troublesome ants are Solenopsis invicta except that they "look like fire ants." I assumed the OP's ants were Monomorium pharaonis since the ants were scavenging and not actively swarming and killing the tarantulas they took up residence with. The behavior sounded familiar to the behavior of the pharaoh ants. Since I just now noticed the OP is located in the Philippines, who knows what species they really are. Without a proper identification of the ants in question, I'm not sure how anyone can provide accurate information on what to do about their occurrence.

Excuse me for the tone of my reply, I did not have the intention to seem rude even though it may have came across as that. My sincerest apologies. I find it difficult to show tone over internet because of the lack of facial expression and body language... But I will inform that the information below is meant to sound as friendly as possible.

Seeing as the OP is in the Philippines, this is almost definitely Monomorium Pharaonis. They are a common pest in the Philippines. These are a little easier to get rid of than Solenopsis Invicta, but nonetheless fairly difficult. I know someone who lives in the Philippines and deals with these ants invading his invert enclosures. He takes a bit of his GBB’s webbing and puts it around the top, where wild ants will get caught. He uses gluon as well, and some of his enclosures have moats. He keeps many other inverts in his enclosures that will prey on the M. Pharoanis.

 

[Nightstalker47]

Excuse me for the tone of my reply, I did not have the intention to seem rude even though it may have came across as that. My sincerest apologies. I find it difficult to show tone over internet because of the lack of facial expression and body language... But I will inform that the information below is meant to sound as friendly as possible.

Seeing as the OP is in the Philippines, this is almost definitely Monomorium Pharaonis. They are a common pest in the Philippines. These are a little easier to get rid of than Solenopsis Invicta, but nonetheless fairly difficult. I know someone who lives in the Philippines and deals with these ants invading his invert enclosures. He takes a bit of his GBB’s webbing and puts it around the top, where wild ants will get caught. He uses gluon as well, and some of his enclosures have moats. He keeps many other inverts in his enclosures that will prey on the M. Pharoanis.

I read your post for what it was, dont worry...we aren't all so easily offended. That ant forum seems to be tip top, and the best place to be looking for advice on such issues.

 

[Major 78]

I read your post for what it was, dont worry...we aren't all so easily offended. That ant forum seems to be tip top, and the best place to be looking for advice on such issues.