Ants

[darkness975]

I hate ants.
I have them in the bedroom where the spiders are. I've laid down terro for them to eat and spread and die. Theyre coming from the wall outlet on that side.

Because my place is small I can't really move my spiders anywhere else. In the other room the AC runs a lot and the temp goes up and down quite a bit.

Long story short , is there any risk to the spiders being near where the ants are? They are the tiny annoying ants not the big carpenter ants.

Thanks

 

[moricollins]

I hate ants.
I have them in the bedroom where the spiders are. I've laid down terro for them to eat and spread and die. Theyre coming from the wall outlet on that side.

Because my place is small I can't really move my spiders anywhere else. In the other room the AC runs a lot and the temp goes up and down quite a bit.

Long story short , is there any risk to the spiders being near where the ants are? They are the tiny annoying ants not the big carpenter ants.

Thanks

I'd say yes there's a risk. Probably not a major risk, but there's a risk that the ants could harm the tarantulas.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

I've had to deal with tiny ants in a small apartment many times. Fortunately for your spiders, the majority of ant species are just scavengers looking for food or a better place to relocate the colony. I've had those tiny red-orange ants setup a colony in a few tarantula enclosures on multiple occasions. The only risk they pose is just annoying the hell out of the tarantulas. The only ants that pose a real danger to tarantulas, or any other living organism, are fire ants since they are aggressive predators.

Unfortunately, the only way to get rid of the ants is to spray the ants and trail with ant killer pesticide so you will have to move your spiders, and any accessories, to another room. They don't have to be moved far since the reach of the aerosol spray from the can doesn't travel far. You can move them to a bathroom, utility room, an adjacent room, etc. But if you can put them in another room with a door, like a bathroom, do it. Spray the area you see the ants and where they are coming from with the pesticide, let it dry for a couple of hours, then clean the area you sprayed with soap and water, and the ants will be gone for good.

After you clean the area with soap and water, move the spiders back in then you will be good to go. The whole process shouldn't take long, but you will need to deal with it. The ants will eventually find the spider enclosures, and quite possibly relocate the colony to one or more.

 

[Jesse607]

Terro usually works pretty well and is available to everyone, however Advion Ant Gel works extremely well, but is typically only available to pest control professionals. Is there a way you could seal around the outlet with tape or caulk and put outlet safety covers in the outlets if not being used?

 

[viper69]

I hate ants.
I have them in the bedroom where the spiders are. I've laid down terro for them to eat and spread and die. Theyre coming from the wall outlet on that side.

Because my place is small I can't really move my spiders anywhere else. In the other room the AC runs a lot and the temp goes up and down quite a bit.

Long story short , is there any risk to the spiders being near where the ants are? They are the tiny annoying ants not the big carpenter ants.

Thanks

Ants are a massive problem.

 

[kingshockey]

I hate ants.
I have them in the bedroom where the spiders are. I've laid down terro for them to eat and spread and die. Theyre coming from the wall outlet on that side.

Because my place is small I can't really move my spiders anywhere else. In the other room the AC runs a lot and the temp goes up and down quite a bit.

Long story short , is there any risk to the spiders being near where the ants are? They are the tiny annoying ants not the big carpenter ants.

Thanks

i use dawn mixed with water in a spray bottle to kill em along with food grade de powder i buy from amazon you can buy a small bag with a dispenser thing to spray out the de powder just take off the outlet cover blast the powder in the ants avoid and dont like the de i use it i my wall furnace where ants come in from

 

[chanda]

I've had a few ant invasions. The Terro liquid ant baits worked really well - you just have to be patient because it does take a few days to kill off the colony.

My collection is housed on wire baker's racks. Since each rack rests on slender legs, rather than the entire thing resting on the floor like a book case, when I've had ants in the bug room, I've put vaseline on the legs (temporarily) to deter ants from climbing up to the enclosures. On the rare occasions that an enclosure got infested, I did a complete substrate change to get rid of them.

I also spray outside around the perimeter of my home a few times a year - usually triggered by ants popping up somewhere in the house. The bug room is upstairs, so is far enough from the spray against the foundations that it doesn't affect them. (We do keep all the windows closed when spraying, just to be on the safe side.)

 

[Chebe6886]

I gave my pops a GBB Sling once and he kept it in the garage bc it’s warmer. Long story short he checked on it one day and it was dead and being eaten by red ants. So yeh they can do some serious damage. Provide a water “mote/dish” of sorts below where you keep Ts to prevent them from getting to spiders.

 

[darkness975]

Update: using Terro.
Zoom in.
I can caulk up the baseboard by one of the entrances they're getting in. But the other is an electrical outlet and it's an apartment so I can't go pulling outlets out of the walls.

 

[vancwa]

When I have had those annoying tiny ants I used the vacuum and a crevice tool at the spot they come from. Several times of vacuuming always did the trick. I also use a lightly wetted paper towel with Natural garden insect killer wiping the area. Stops them in their tracks. This is the first year out of 4 previous that I have not had a problem. Yea!

 

[CJJon]

Also, get the granules and hit the perimeter of your house and stop them from coming in.

 

[darkness975]

Also, get the granules and hit the perimeter of your house and stop them from coming in.

It's an apartment so its not as easy.
After the company sprays outside next week and combined with the terro and caulking the crevice I can caulk (not the electrical outlet) I guess will reassess.
The most important thing is its not really a threat to the spiders since it's a small place not much room to move them around.

 

[CJJon]

After the company sprays outside next week

That's scary. Are you prepared for this?

 

[darkness975]

That's scary. Are you prepared for this?

Yep. They do it 2 or 3 times a year. Outside only and I never have windows open whether I am home or not.
Old place with crummy screens = bugs galore and incoming rain.

 

[kingshockey]

Update: using Terro.
Zoom in.
I can caulk up the baseboard by one of the entrances they're getting in. But the other is an electrical outlet and it's an apartment so I can't go pulling outlets out of the walls.

View attachment 347624

i live in apartments to most likely the ants have a nest in the walls some place in the building all you can really do is preventive measures to make them not want to enter your place and raid your neighbors apartment instead the terro will work in time

 

[darkness975]

i live in apartments to most likely the ants have a nest in the walls some place in the building all you can really do is preventive measures to make them not want to enter your place and raid your neighbors apartment instead the terro will work in time

But in keeping with my original post it's one of the reasons I wanted to use terro is because I dont want to spray things near the spiders.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Old post here, but I just found my cricket bin swarming with ants and only 1 body and several legs left in that bin. So, I did what any sane person would do and rushed it to the bathroom sink and shouted, "Mass genocide!" as I flooded the bin. Last night, I found a couple of scouts on my T shelf and made water motes for the sub-2"ers. Going through the various recommendations, I've seen black pepper, cinnamon, diatomaceous earth, garlic and vinegar rounding out the natural deterrents (also read T's aren't happy around some of these either) and Terro looking like the poison of choice. I generally shy away from gel poisons for fear their little bodies would become tiny, poison vehicles wherever they went, but I'm reassessing that option now. Has anyone had adverse effects on their T's from any of these? I also don't want to use aerosol poisons as my current place is from the 1920's with those multiple glass slats for windows that don't seal at all.

 

[Arachnopets]

Old post here, but I just found my cricket bin swarming with ants and only 1 body and several legs left in that bin. So, I did what any sane person would do and rushed it to the bathroom sink and shouted, "Mass genocide!" as I flooded the bin. Last night, I found a couple of scouts on my T shelf and made water motes for the sub-2"ers. Going through the various recommendations, I've seen black pepper, cinnamon, diatomaceous earth, garlic and vinegar rounding out the natural deterrents (also read T's aren't happy around some of these either) and Terro looking like the poison of choice. I generally shy away from gel poisons for fear their little bodies would become tiny, poison vehicles wherever they went, but I'm reassessing that option now. Has anyone had adverse effects on their T's from any of these? I also don't want to use aerosol poisons as my current place is from the 1920's with those multiple glass slats for windows that don't seal at all.

See this thread, specifically the post by @HooahArmy , as they are an expert in the field of toxins and poisons.

 

[Matt Man]

if they are small they are probably Argentinian and they can be a PIA> First, put all the feet of your T stuff in dishes of water. So the ants would have to swim to get to your Ts. This can be done on individual cages or the racks your Ts are housed on. Second, you really need to find out where they are coming in. You need to find them working along your building and spray the heck out of it with windex. They leave a pheromone train that other ants will follow so you need to remove that trail

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

if they are small they are probably Argentinian and they can be a PIA> First, put all the feet of your T stuff in dishes of water. So the ants would have to swim to get to your Ts. This can be done on individual cages or the racks your Ts are housed on. Second, you really need to find out where they are coming in. You need to find them working along your building and spray the heck out of it with windex. They leave a pheromone train that other ants will follow so you need to remove that trail

We had them bad last summer, but they kept mostly to the kitchen (after the cat food, which I ended up making a moat for). There were so many places they were coming in, my daughter started duct taping them until I could seal them. I also used mrs myers lemon verbena cleaner to remove the pheremones (and it killed them, too). It's a neverending battle all summer, but I wasn't expecting it this soon or in this room. I just built a acacia wood shelf/table for them and have the smallest in their own moats right now. Looks like I'll have to buck it up and moat those table legs. And thank you for the info on the outside trail. I didn't do that last year, but will definitely do that now.