ants! >:(

[hassman789]

Well this morning I woke up to find ants were planning an attack on my juvi B. smithi. I found like 5 or 6 around the enclosure and like 2 or 3 inside the enclosure. I squished as many as I could but I still think there is 2 or 3 inside. I'm worried so I moved that tarantula and my slings next to it into another room. I'll be looking through the ant threads now on how to prevent it. Scary stuff!

 

[JadeWilliamson]

Well this morning I woke up to find ants were planning an attack on my juvi B. smithi. I found like 5 or 6 around the enclosure and like 2 or 3 inside the enclosure. I squished as many as I could but I still think there is 2 or 3 inside. I'm worried so I moved that tarantula and my slings next to it into another room. I'll be looking through the ant threads now on how to prevent it. Scary stuff!

Put candy on the floor. The'll forget all about your T! ;P

Take some extra effort to ensure that all the ants are out of the actual enclosure. If they're not too small for your B smithi to want to eat, the high amounts of formic acid and such can hurt or kill your T.

 

[hassman789]

Well it sure is a good thing I moved them! I came home to a total ant invasion on the table they were on, they took the life of a true spider from outside (not too upset honestly). So then I had to take action. I went through the shelf and found about 100 having fun in some old hamster food. I vaccumed them all up and sprayed RAID where they were coming from after moving all the tarantulas to a different room where they will stay for about 3 weeks. I am in awe of what could have happened to my slings, so glad I acted quickly!

 

[Sukai94]

I am afraid of any invert poison, or poison in my house in general.

To get rid of them you need to do two things. First you need to take away the motive. Ants usually leave T's alone. They are after the crickets. I once had over 1,000 live pinhead crickets taken be a colony of ants over the course of a few hours. Take all food remains out of the T's enclosure.

The second step to to make the T's enclosures difficult to reach. All the shelving I keep my tarantulas on have legs. Each one of the legs has a small 3oz (or so) deli cup filled with water. If you are unable to do this you can smear Vaseline along the base of a cabinet. This is not as effective as water but it still helps.

Vacuum the room often.

Ever since I have had no ant problems. I hope this helps.

 

[Bill S]

Ants usually leave T's alone. They are after the crickets. I once had over 1,000 live pinhead crickets taken be a colony of ants over the course of a few hours.

The ants are after three things - food, moisture, and a place to build a nest. I've never heard of a species of ants that selects crickets and ignores other arthropods. Last year I had an invasion of my tarantula room by ants - they invaded suddenly and got into several cages - mostly tarantula cages, but also a giant centipede cage. They killed the centipede and a couple of the spiders. (They did not get into the cricket cage.)

I too am very nervous about using insecticides in the vicinity of my tarantulas. (Or any place else, for that matter.) However, I did use ant baits in this case. The good thing about ant baits is that the baits do not spread into cages, and the ants carry the poison bait back to the nest and wipe out the colony from within. Since then I keep a close watch for ants, and keep a bait trap on each shelf.

 

[neubii18]

I've had problems with Argentine ants many times in the past.They've taken the life of my very first leopard gecko,as well as,more recently,20 H.hottentotta scorplings.I've found that a mixture of cleanliness,constant checking of cages during the summer months,and putting vaseline on the sides of the more valuable specimens seems to work.

 

[mr bug guy]

I've had problems with Argentine ants many times in the past.They've taken the life of my very first leopard gecko,as well as,more recently,20 H.hottentotta scorplings.I've found that a mixture of cleanliness,constant checking of cages during the summer months,and putting vaseline on the sides of the more valuable specimens seems to work.

yup if u have arrgentine they have huge collonys and this bait the other guy is talking will work for one queen argentine have not just one queen but up to 5 and stick toghether so if u have these\ kind id ethier 1 move to a different house 2 get a exterminaterone that knows how to kill argentine ants) or 3 dig up all the ants and kill the queens but if u have argentine ants i woudnlt worry about your spiders i would worry about your house being taken by these ants also its summer the dry season these ants go on a hunt for water so this could be another reason there in ur spiders cage

 

[Bill S]

yup if u have arrgentine they have huge collonys and this bait the other guy is talking will work for one queen argentine have not just one queen but up to 5 and stick toghether so if u have these\ kind id ethier 1 move to a different house 2 get a exterminaterone that knows how to kill argentine ants) or 3 dig up all the ants and kill the queens but if u have argentine ants i woudnlt worry about your spiders i would worry about your house being taken by these ants also its summer the dry season these ants go on a hunt for water so this could be another reason there in ur spiders cage

I think the ants ate your punctation.

 

[hassman789]

thanks for all the responses. I will be keeping the tarantulas in another room for 3 weeks and I will try and make things a little more ant proof.

 

[Bill S]

Even in another room - keep your eyes open for the ants. They send out scouts that can range quite a ways. But once they find what they are looking for it takes very little time for the rest of the colony to get the information.

 

[TGod]

I have suffered an ant problem is well in my room where my T is kept, an actual nest. I had to buy ant poison and kill the bastads mwahahaha.

 

[Apollo Justice]

Some natural ant repelants:
Cinnamon Sticks & Garlic Cloves

Place cinnamon sticks or garlic in areas where you have seen ants enter, such as in window tracks, by doors and in corners around your home. While garlic cloves aren’t as aromatically pleasing as cinnamon sticks, they work really well. Just peel and slice a few cloves and place them where you notice the ants. Last year we had some unexplained ants that kept invading my daughter’s dresser so we placed the cloves on the dresser. After a day or two, we replaced them with fresh cloves and the ants never returned.

You can also place cinnamon sticks around the pantry for extra protection. Once, I ran out of cinnamon and used cloves instead – it worked just as well. I actually witnessed ants crawling away from the cloves.

Black Pepper:

Sprinkle black pepper where you see ants. The ants will immediately scatter. Pay attention to where they run; chances are they will be exiting your house and you’ll be able to treat the entry area with pepper too.

Mint:

Mint destroys the smelling capabilities of ants and prevents them from entering your home. There are several ways to use mint to prevent ant infestations. First, plant mint around your home, especially near doors and close to areas where you have seen anthills. Second, place mint leaves in and around windows. If ants are entering your pantry, place some mint leaves on the shelves and in the corners.

Other Plants

Here is a list of some other plants which have been known to be effective at warding off ants. The idea is the stronger the smell, the more likely the plant is to keep the ants away:

Basil
Chili peppers
Eucalyptus
Garlic
Lavender
Peppermint
Rosemary
Thyme
Persistence is the key when trying natural ant control remedies. If one of these methods doesn’t work for you, then try another. You may need to repeat it a few times.

I myself use the ground pepper it keep them away from my T's and it doesn't seem to bother my T's at all
I hope these are useful tips