Vaseline contain ants?

Creobroter · Jul 10, 2017

Can I use Vaseline to keep ants from escaping their formicarium?

mconnachan · Jul 10, 2017

Use a mix of talcum powder and water - mix a thick consistency then apply to the top of the formicarium, I've seen it used to great affect on Ants Canada channel - YouTube.

schmiggle · Jul 10, 2017

I think people do use vaseline, though it becomes less effective over time. It should be pretty easy to see if it's effective--put an ant in a small container with Vaseline around the top, see if it can climb out.

schmiggle · Jul 10, 2017

I think people do use vaseline, though it becomes less effective over time. It should be pretty easy to see if it's effective--put an ant in a small container with Vaseline around the top, see if it can climb out.

ShyDragoness · Jul 10, 2017

For I second I thought this thread was about vaseline having ants in it as an ingredient

basin79 · Jul 10, 2017

I use liquid PTFE.

mconnachan · Jul 10, 2017

basin79 said:
I use liquid PTFE.

Is that really liquid Teflon - interesting, never even new it existed.

basin79 · Jul 10, 2017

mconnachan said:
Is that really liquid Teflon - interesting, never even new it existed.

Yeah. It's incredible stuff.

mconnachan · Jul 10, 2017

basin79 said:
Yeah. It's incredible stuff.

I know what PTFE is but in a liquid - well, as I've always said you learn something new every day!

basin79 · Jul 10, 2017

mconnachan said:
I know what PTFE is but in a liquid - well, as I've always said you learn something new every day!

Easy to apply to with a little brush too.

mconnachan · Jul 10, 2017

mconnachan said:
Use a mix of talcum powder and water - mix a thick consistency then apply to the top of the formicarium, I've seen it used to great affect on Ants Canada channel - YouTube.

Really does work, check out the channel - he keeps a few species in his house, it's an excellent source of information all about ants, and the talcum powder mixture is easy to make, I'm sure you've got talcum powder in your house now, it works. I'm sure it's a much cheaper alternative than liquid PTFE.

mconnachan · Jul 10, 2017

basin79 said:
Easy to apply to with a little brush too.

Is it expensive and easy to get a hold of, it's not for me, I don't keep ants, the wife would NOT be happy if I brought ants home - she'd murder me....lol

basin79 · Jul 10, 2017

mconnachan said:
Is it expensive and easy to get a hold of, it's not for me, I don't keep ants, the wife would NOT be happy if I brought ants home - she'd murder me....lol

I got my bottles from an online ant shop. Can't remember how much the bottles where but they weren't expensive. There was liquid PTFE on Amazon but I didn't know if it was the same so didn't risk it.

Ranitomeya · Jul 11, 2017

I have tried using Vaseline and it did not work at all for the Camponotus I was keeping. It didn't matter if they were large or small workers, they just crawled right over it. It does seem to deter Argentine Ants--at least until they cover it with debris to make footholds.

schmiggle · Jul 11, 2017

Ranitomeya said:
It does seem to deter Argentine Ants--at least until they cover it with debris to make footholds.

They purposefully cover it with debris? If so, that's an amazing degree of forethought

Ranitomeya · Jul 11, 2017

schmiggle said:
They purposefully cover it with debris? If so, that's an amazing degree of forethought

Yes, it's pretty alarming that they're capable of even limited problem solving. This is only after they've gotten into the enclosures I want them to keep out of, so fortunately they don't seem to have the forethought to bring debris to get past the Vaseline and only use what's inside my enclosures once they've fallen in and discovered that there's an oily barrier.

Creobroter · Jul 11, 2017

Thank you all for your replies; I have seen the ants canada youtube channel and I am aware of the talcum powder method, but just wanted to know if vaseline worked as well (as I have it). I'll just have to take that arduous walk to the shops and buy some talcum powder.
Again, thank you.

mconnachan · Jul 15, 2017

schmiggle said:
They purposefully cover it with debris? If so, that's an amazing degree of forethought

Ants have an amazing capacity of learning behaviour, that said so do many creatures in this amazing world of ours, I wish people would start to respect it the way we should, all the cures that have been decimated due to clearing rain forests of the world, just blows my mind, I'm going slightly off track now but it's still extremely important. I could sit here and go on and on, I won't, (Blessed relief) I hear you all cry.

Creobroter · Jul 18, 2017

mconnachan said:
Ants have an amazing capacity of learning behaviour, that said so do many creatures in this amazing world of ours, I wish people would start to respect it the way we should, all the cures that have been decimated due to clearing rain forests of the world, just blows my mind, I'm going slightly off track now but it's still extremely important. I could sit here and go on and on, I won't, (Blessed relief) I hear you all cry.

I completely agree. Destruction of the natural world is both immoral and short-sighted. It will ultimately lead to our demise.

The wolf · Jul 20, 2017

ShyDragoness said:
For I second I thought this thread was about vaseline having ants in it as an ingredient

Same here

Vaseline contain ants?

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