!@#$% Ants !@#$%

[Mojo Jojo]

:8o

Well, I came home from work to find that a couple hundred small ants found my tarantulas. A couple hundred got in with my A. urticans s'ling and killed it. There were a bunch in with my C. cyanopubecens, but I saved it -- at least I hope. I cleaned out all of their terrariums and gave them all fresh substrate, put them in a ten gallon aquarium and put a an inch or so of water in there to moat them up.

I am so f'ing pissed! I was so hopeful for that spider. It was my only arborial. I have had incredibly bad luck with arborials. ARGH!!!

Jon

:8o

 

[The_Phantom]

Oh, man, sorry to hear that! I hope your others will be ok. I guess thats why you are mad.

 

[blackacidevil]

Been there...but not that bad

I, too, occasionally have problems finding ants in my Spider closet but they are tiny sugar ants and they have never done much damage. Is there a way to get rid of these ants without harming the other invertebrates (ie, without using pesticides). They usually head straight for my millipede container.

 

[Devildoll]

yes there is.... strange answer... ready for it.....

Dryer sheets.... place dryer sheets near where you don't want ants... it should keep them away.....

don't know why or how it works... but i use them around my sugar gliders..

 

[Lostkat]

You can never reliably get rid of every single ant that comes along. The best way, in my opinion, to stop them getting to your T's is to make sure they can't get in the tanks. I've got pair of old tights stretched around the lid of my emilia's tank, which were initially there to prevent her and the crickets from escaping through the vent holes. However, they would also provide an effective barrier against ants and any other intruders. We have a big ant problem in this house, and we've tried everything to get rid of them. So, come the summer I'm going to put another pair of tights over my A. geniculata's tank lid as well, just to protect them both from an invasion.

 

[Nikos]

you can also create water barriers around your tanks, this will keep away the ants

 

[Doug H]

Jon ,sorry to hear of your loss. I have lost a P.regalis sling to ants,when I found them they were working on my P.cambridgei but I saved it just in time. sorry
Doug

 

[steve055]

Diatomaceous Earth that you use in pool filters makes a nice non toxic ant barricade. Pest insects cant cross it. Sprinkle it along the walls inside or out side, or around your tanks. It will keep the ants out, with out harming the Inverts. Just keep the dust to a minimum when close to their tanks.

 

[Gillian]

Jon,
Damn. I'm sorry. We have ants here as well, fairly bad. I'm constantly on the lookout. Try again..get you another baby...
Peace,
Gillian

 

[Wade]

You really want to work on getting rid of the problem from the source. Spraying is, of course, not an option.

Steve's suggestion of diatomaceous earth is probably very effective, but I just want to add that you don't want it anywhere there's any chance your captives will come into contact with it. It works because it's composed of the crushed exoskeletons of diatoms, microscopic organisms. These little shards cut though the exoskeletons (especially at the softer areas around the joints) of any arthropod that contacts it, eventually resulting in death by bleeding. Be very, very careful! You don't want to inhale it either!

Some of the commercial brands of ant baits work pretty well. The idea is that the ant carries the poisoned bait back to the colony, and eventually the colony dies. Since different species of ants go after different baits, your best bet is to mix and match brand names. It doesn't work overnight, but it helps alot! You don't have to worry about the poision getting into your animal cages because the ants take the bait straight back to the nest.

Annother method is boric acid powder (available at the hardware store). Use it under cracks around walls, anywhere you think the ants may be getting in. I forget how the boric acid actually kills the ants, but it's considered to be generally non toxic. As with diatomaceous earth, you don't want your captive critters near it.

One more tip: If you wipe surfaces in your animal area with a solution of water and white vinegar, it earases the an's scent trails that they use to find their way around. It at least slows them down.

Wade