Ant Control - Are Baits Okay?

[SharkBoy1120]

I've got a bad ant problem in my tarantula room. There are a series of steps I'm taking to get rid of them and (hopefully) prevent them from returning or at least from getting into enclosures.

I'm wondering, if I put down one of those baits where the ants take it back to the colony and it's suppose to kill the colony, if an ant has a piece of that bait and walks through an enclosure, could it hurt the t?

I've not laid anything like this yet as I want to make sure it will not hurt my spiders.

Thanks in advance for any advice/information.

 

[viper69]

It’s always a risk- Chemicals with animals

Ive used bait- no issue - BUT my Ts weren’t that close as you suggest

 

[kingshockey]

better off finding the place they are gaining access to your room from and then running a bead of caulking or vaseline to deny entry and then if possible locating the nest out side to slaughter them queen and all

 

[The Snark]

queen and all

QueenS. Depends on which species. https://scifaqs.com/how-many-queens-are-in-an-ant-colony/

 

[HooahArmy]

Hey there! Chemical and poison specialist here. I'm going to add some personal wisdom along with that of pal of mine who works as an exterminator.
I will answer in detail, since I'm certain others will also have your question and know how ant baits work.

Most ant bait work by interrupting the ants' digestive system, killing them over a period of 24-48 hours. They need to eat a decent amount for it to work, and ants usually don't eat their food while on the move. Ant naturally first bring food home and feed it to the queen and others around. Then the workers themselves will pick at the food while they're hungry. However, after they've eaten the food while at home, they'll begin to notice something is wrong. By then, the ants will want to stay at home and try 'sit out' their illness. They won't recover and will die there along with their queen and everyone else who has eaten.

Because of the way that the baits work, your Ts should be safe. Ants actively looking for food and not having found the bait will be clean. Those who have found it will want to go home, and not go bother a T since they already have a harvest. Ants that have eaten the bait will also likely not bother your Ts. They will want to go back to where they remembered the easy food find again, leaving your pals alone. Lastly, just in case some ants do encounter your T, know that most Ts don't give a hoot about the tiny specks walking around--they're just too small to be prey, and the bites of the ants will also ward them to leave them alone. Ants are primarily threats to Ts who have very recently molted.

I hope this helps!

 

[Arachnopets]

How close are your T cages to where the ants are coming in from?

We used the Terro Liquid Ant Baits and they were perfection. The ants were all gone within 12 hours (or less). We also created a "barrier" to keep them from wondering further into the house by spraying Lysol. They never crossed that barrier. They walked up to it, then turned around and went right to the bait.

I, honestly, have never seen anything work like that before. It was truly amazing and I highly recommend it.

 

[l4nsky]

I keep Terro Liquid as a nuclear option now, but I haven't had to use it yet. I did have an ant problem this past spring, but I was able to fix it by sealing the gap, using vinegar to destroy the pheromone trail, and placing some sticky traps around to catch any stragglers.

A little bit of prevention goes a long way too. Since my mini ant invasion, I've started keeping all of my tarantulas on metal shelving units that I can apply a layer of vaseline to the bottom inch or so of the legs to act as a climbing barrier. Sometimes I'll also put a vaseline barrier between the shelf levels for a bit more protection as some shelves have power running to them.

 

[Stylopidae]

Because of the way that the baits work, your Ts should be safe. Ants actively looking for food and not having found the bait will be clean. Those who have found it will want to go home, and not go bother a T since they already have a harvest. Ants that have eaten the bait will also likely not bother your Ts. They will want to go back to where they remembered the easy food find again, leaving your pals alone. Lastly, just in case some ants do encounter your T, know that most Ts don't give a hoot about the tiny specks walking around--they're just too small to be prey, and the bites of the ants will also ward them to leave them alone. Ants are primarily threats to Ts who have very recently molted.

I hope this helps!

What if a spiderling eats a gut-loaded ant?

 

[HooahArmy]

What if a spiderling eats a gut-loaded ant?

Ah! then it's time to keep the slings well-protected. I always worry myself about the pests in my house along with rowdy cats and dogs that can tip a vial to it doom. As a result, I safeguard against anything that can harm them by placing the vials in another container, high on a shelf, and well out of reach of any feisty critter or scavenger.
The force with most power to affect a T isn't the T itself, or even conditions that may change around the enclosure--it's the keeper themselves!

However, just in case one sees a sling looking to snack on ants around, immediately clear any nearby ants from around and in the sling's enclosure and get it to safety. Ant baits need repeated feedings over time to kill--they are a slow-kill poison that catches the wary insects off-guard. One ant won't harm a T, even a little fella, so if one can catch a potential ant snack before it happens or while it happens, take precautionary measures to keep it from happening again.

 

[Stylopidae]

Ah! then it's time to keep the slings well-protected. I always worry myself about the pests in my house along with rowdy cats and dogs that can tip a vial to it doom. As a result, I safeguard against anything that can harm them by placing the vials in another container, high on a shelf, and well out of reach of any feisty critter or scavenger.
The force with most power to affect a T isn't the T itself, or even conditions that may change around the enclosure--it's the keeper themselves!

However, just in case one sees a sling looking to snack on ants around, immediately clear any nearby ants from around and in the sling's enclosure and get it to safety. Ant baits need repeated feedings over time to kill--they are a slow-kill poison that catches the wary insects off-guard. One ant won't harm a T, even a little fella, so if one can catch a potential ant snack before it happens or while it happens, take precautionary measures to keep it from happening again.

So...just to translate this, and put it back out there to make sure I understand:

If you're using ant baits around the house, take precautions to make sure your spiders don't eat the ants.

 

[darkness975]

Terro

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Real lemon, for the non-chemical, deterrent option..much more labor intensive though in the reapplication.

 

[The Snark]

Terro Liquid Ant Baits

"The ingredients of this product are water, sugar and borax."
Nice. Gets the job done without exotic toxins. Their formula is 5% borax. Make your own. You can add liquid paraffin sparingly to keep the stuff from evaporating for a while..

 

[viper69]

Hey there! Chemical and poison specialist here. I'm going to add some personal wisdom along with that of pal of mine who works as an exterminator.
I will answer in detail, since I'm certain others will also have your question and know how ant baits work.

Most ant bait work by interrupting the ants' digestive system, killing them over a period of 24-48 hours. They need to eat a decent amount for it to work, and ants usually don't eat their food while on the move. Ant naturally first bring food home and feed it to the queen and others around. Then the workers themselves will pick at the food while they're hungry. However, after they've eaten the food while at home, they'll begin to notice something is wrong. By then, the ants will want to stay at home and try 'sit out' their illness. They won't recover and will die there along with their queen and everyone else who has eaten.

Because of the way that the baits work, your Ts should be safe. Ants actively looking for food and not having found the bait will be clean. Those who have found it will want to go home, and not go bother a T since they already have a harvest. Ants that have eaten the bait will also likely not bother your Ts. They will want to go back to where they remembered the easy food find again, leaving your pals alone. Lastly, just in case some ants do encounter your T, know that most Ts don't give a hoot about the tiny specks walking around--they're just too small to be prey, and the bites of the ants will also ward them to leave them alone. Ants are primarily threats to Ts who have very recently molted.

I hope this helps!

Always look forward to your posts

 

[SharkBoy1120]

How close are your T cages to where the ants are coming in from?

We used the Terro Liquid Ant Baits and they were perfection. The ants were all gone within 12 hours (or less). We also created a "barrier" to keep them from wondering further into the house by spraying Lysol. They never crossed that barrier. They walked up to it, then turned around and went right to the bait.

I, honestly, have never seen anything work like that before. It was truly amazing and I highly recommend it.

I've got the Terro liquid baits around EVERYWHERE, and they do work great, but literally completely fill with ants within 48hrs. Where I live it's pretty common for ant problems, and I spray outside, spray all rooms without spiders, baits everywhere and even the liquid baits in the spider room cause I'm not as concerned about those baits. I've recently determined that the ants are likely living in the vents, and I haven't run AC or heat in about 2 months, so that may be why they're thriving so well now?

I was considering wiping down various areas with vinegar cause I've heard that helps, do you have any personal experience using vinegar as ant repellant?

 

[thedragonslapper]

I keep a sprinkled barrier of cinnamon all around the base my T shelf to keep ants away.

 

[Arachnopets]

I've got the Terro liquid baits around EVERYWHERE, and they do work great, but literally completely fill with ants within 48hrs. Where I live it's pretty common for ant problems, and I spray outside, spray all rooms without spiders, baits everywhere and even the liquid baits in the spider room cause I'm not as concerned about those baits. I've recently determined that the ants are likely living in the vents, and I haven't run AC or heat in about 2 months, so that may be why they're thriving so well now?

I was considering wiping down various areas with vinegar cause I've heard that helps, do you have any personal experience using vinegar as ant repellant?

Just to clarify, the purpose of the Lysol "barrier" was to remove any pheromones that might have been left. Without the pheromone trail, they just had no reason to continue in that direction any more, hence heading straight for the bait. The Lysol is only temporary, of course. However, the bait worked quick enough that we did not have to reapply the "barrier" to redirect the ants.

Yes, it does completely fill with ants. This is so those ants will then bring the bait back to their colony, and essentially feed the Queen and the entire colony will die off. If you are continuing to see ants, then you most likely have multiple colonies, which would mean a much larger issue.

We do not have any personal experience with vinegar, sorry.

 

[Frogdaddy]

How close are your T cages to where the ants are coming in from?

We used the Terro Liquid Ant Baits and they were perfection. The ants were all gone within 12 hours (or less). We also created a "barrier" to keep them from wondering further into the house by spraying Lysol. They never crossed that barrier. They walked up to it, then turned around and went right to the bait.

I, honestly, have never seen anything work like that before. It was truly amazing and I highly recommend it.

I completely agree. I've been using the Terro any baits around the house for two years now and they are awesome. No issues with ants entering any enclosures. I 100% endorse their product and I would do a commercial for less than my normal 1 million dollar fee.