Ant problem

[vespers]

Other options that may work:
Set the mealworm container in large pan of water, ensuring there is water on all sides.
Smear a line of Vaseline around the perimeter of the container, preferably close to the bottom.
Make a small shelf to set the container on, and put each leg of the shelf/stand in a cap full of oil or cooking oil.

 

[viper69]

Other options that may work:
Set the mealworm container in large pan of water, ensuring there is water on all sides.
Smear a line of Vaseline around the perimeter of the container, preferably close to the bottom.
Make a small shelf to set the container on, and put each leg of the shelf/stand in a cap full of oil or cooking oil.

Clever on the leg idea. Then you could heat it up and fry ants!! J/K hah.

 

[BishopiMaster]

heres another video and while it clearly confuses the ants, if you look, plenty of ants walk back and fourth over it.


sure if you use extra wide side walk chalk they are more hesitant to do so, but thats also a huge chalk line.
and in the video we don't even know if they had an existing line/trail formed already, they could just be a ground of ants running around.

this video they clearly had a full on ant trail going, most likely connected to a large food source and while the chalk confuses them, they still crossed it

You're missing a possible variable here, the chalk line is much thicker in the video that I posted.

 

[Tanner Dzula]

You're missing a possible variable here, the chalk line is much thicker in the video that I posted.

there are MANY possible variables missing.

lets list them:
the thickness of the chalk.

the TYPE of chalk. -for all we know this is normal chalk and the chalk from your video could be made with insecticides.

the type of Ants. I'm no entomologist, so i can speak on the Species ID of those ants. but from what i DO know is different types of ants from different regions act and react in different ways to environmental stimuli.

the location: Do we know if the ants were going to and from a food source? maybe he drew the line in the middle of just a bunch of worker ants walking around without a defined pheromone trail marking a food source? that would give some very Skewed result if the ants are not actually trying to cross and just investigating this weird chalk line that came out of nowhere.


and of course the chalk line size is a variable as well. maybe with the smaller chalk line,they can still detect the pheromones on the other side where as with the larger they cant. thats true, it is possibly.

but without a in-depth analysis and knowing ALL the variables, it is something we don't know for sure.

 

[BishopiMaster]

there are MANY possible variables missing.

lets list them:
the thickness of the chalk.

the TYPE of chalk. -for all we know this is normal chalk and the chalk from your video could be made with insecticides.

the type of Ants. I'm no entomologist, so i can speak on the Species ID of those ants. but from what i DO know is different types of ants from different regions act and react in different ways to environmental stimuli.

the location: Do we know if the ants were going to and from a food source? maybe he drew the line in the middle of just a bunch of worker ants walking around without a defined pheromone trail marking a food source? that would give some very Skewed result if the ants are not actually trying to cross and just investigating this weird chalk line that came out of nowhere.


and of course the chalk line size is a variable as well. maybe with the smaller chalk line,they can still detect the pheromones on the other side where as with the larger they cant. thats true, it is possibly.

but without a in-depth analysis and knowing ALL the variables, it is something we don't know for sure.

Ok, this is bridging upon an appeal to futility fallacy, lets just establish we cannot say that it does not work, and the complexity involved here is not necessarily "oh well cant do.a 20 year study!".

 

[Tanner Dzula]

Ok, this is bridging upon an appeal to futility fallacy, lets just establish we cannot say that it does not work, and the complexity involved here is not necessarily "oh well cant do.a 20 year study!".

well, we can establish that in some situations it does not work. i have given a concrete example of a situation where it does not work.

in the video there are 3 layers of chalk and you can still see ants going across then. granted not in a line and not as efficiently as they were before, but they did continue to cross.

saying that using chalk lines is the go to answer to fix the problem is then NOT true, because in some situations, it does not do anything but slow them down.

 

[BishopiMaster]

well, we can establish that in some situations it does not work. i have given a concrete example of a situation where it does not work.

in the video there are 3 layers of chalk and you can still see ants going across then. granted not in a line and not as efficiently as they were before, but they did continue to cross.

saying that using chalk lines is the go to answer to fix the problem is then NOT true, because in some situations, it does not do anything but slow them down.

I never said it was the "go to" answer, i suggested it, in addition, I have ALSO provided a "concrete example" in which it does work, in which you can clearly see the ants do not cross.

 

[viper69]

... "oh well cant do.a 20 year study!".

No dedication to the cause

 

[viper69]

there are MANY possible variables missing.

lets list them:
the thickness of the chalk.

the TYPE of chalk. -for all we know this is normal chalk and the chalk from your video could be made with insecticides.

the type of Ants. I'm no entomologist, so i can speak on the Species ID of those ants. but from what i DO know is different types of ants from different regions act and react in different ways to environmental stimuli.

the location: Do we know if the ants were going to and from a food source? maybe he drew the line in the middle of just a bunch of worker ants walking around without a defined pheromone trail marking a food source? that would give some very Skewed result if the ants are not actually trying to cross and just investigating this weird chalk line that came out of nowhere.


and of course the chalk line size is a variable as well. maybe with the smaller chalk line,they can still detect the pheromones on the other side where as with the larger they cant. thats true, it is possibly.

but without a in-depth analysis and knowing ALL the variables, it is something we don't know for sure.

An excellent dissection of the variables unaccounted for, a scientist in the making!

 

[BishopiMaster]

An excellent dissection of the variables unaccounted for, a scientist in the making!

it's ye old, well everything has a million variables, if we actually evne considered the variables in arachnoculture, the cheered experience ward would dwindle