¿How do I handle Electric Fire Ants (Wassmannia auropunctata) in a Blatticompost bin?

SmokeyBlue

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 30, 2021
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2
Hi all. I’m Caesar, just joined last week and this is my first post. I’m in Puerto Rico, for those wondering about my climate.

I’ve put in an order for several species of Roaches, and I intended to use some of them for composting. But I recently set up a worm bin in the same area I was gonna use for the roach bin (not much space available, small yard), and the worm bin was recently invaded by tiny Wassmannia Ants. And there’s my concern: I don’t want them swarming my roach bins when I set them up, and I’m unwilling to use poison on them (there’s no centralized nest anyway).

Ask anyone from PR or Hawaii, they’ll tell you Wassmannia stings can ruin your afternoon. Their presence isn’t much of a surprise, they’re all over my yard, to the point where I’ve actually gotten a bit used to the stings. But they swarmed the worm bin to the point of looking like red sand in parts. The worms seemed to have coexisted so far. To deal with them, I flooded the bin and have left it lidless for over a week. It’s not a permanent solution (there’s still plenty in there) but it got rid of the large swarms.

These ants are dangerous to other bugs (and macrofauna as well). They’d be a death sentence to a roach bin. I was recommended diatomaceous earth for my worm bin, but I can’t use it for the roach bin, it’d kill the roaches too (as it is, I didn’t use it on the worm bin ‘cause I wanted to leave the other colonizing arthropods there). There’s no conceivable way of eradicating this species, short of poisoning the whole ecosystem in the yard.

Is there anything I can do to keep a roach bin safe from these? My family doesn’t mind me keeping bugs indoors, but I don’t think they’d appreciate me doing actual composting indoors, and I don’t have a garage.
 

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SmokeyBlue

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 30, 2021
Messages
2
Can you put the bin on top of a larger tray or board and cover the edges of the tray with diatomaceous earth?
Sounds doable! But that general location receives rain. Would I need to replace the moist DE or build a small shelter there? It’s in the shade of a palm tree in the rear of the side yard.
 

Albireo Wulfbooper

Arachnoprince
Joined
Aug 1, 2019
Messages
1,606
Sounds doable! But that general location receives rain. Would I need to replace the moist DE or build a small shelter there? It’s in the shade of a palm tree in the rear of the side yard.
Wet diatomaceous earth isn’t effective, but becomes effective again once it dries out, so a shelter of some sort would definitely be a good idea to maintain its effectiveness more consistently.
 

Acro

Aziz! Light!
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 1, 2006
Messages
235
If you can sit the bin on a surface with legs (like a small table) or if the bin has legs itself, you can put each leg in a bowl of water (or use a large tray of water for all 4 legs). The water will help prevent the ants from crossing into the table legs and entering the bin. You're basically making a moat.

Good Luck!
 

Albireo Wulfbooper

Arachnoprince
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Aug 1, 2019
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1,606
If they're anything like the fire ants in Texas, a little water won't slow them down, but it might be worth a try
 

schmiggle

Arachnoking
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
2,220
If you can sit the bin on a surface with legs (like a small table) or if the bin has legs itself, you can put each leg in a bowl of water (or use a large tray of water for all 4 legs). The water will help prevent the ants from crossing into the table legs and entering the bin. You're basically making a moat.

Good Luck!
If they're anything like the fire ants in Texas, a little water won't slow them down, but it might be worth a try
Might work better mixed with a bit of soap to reduce surface tension. Fire ants are a floodplain species, and it doesn't look like electric ants are, so the water has a higher chance of working, IMO (but they are widespread and adaptable ants, so really who knows).
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
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Aug 8, 2005
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11,045
In a wet location petroleum jelly (Vaseline) would probably work better. You could sprinkle sulfur powder on the goo to give the ants serious issues. They don't like the odor and enough contact kills them.
 
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