Dubia colony was attacked!!

[TalonAWD]

I decided to get into the Roach feeder route. And I bought a whole bunch of Nymphs. Excited I bought the tub, made the vents and put all the roaches with cat food, a piece of apple and water crystals.
Next day came home happy with the heating pad I bought from CVS and noticed a lot of ants. There was a line from outside all the way into the garage to the dubia container that was on top of a shelf. I opened up the Dubia container and it was a massive invasion!
There was so many ants that it was a massacre. The ants were actually carrying a couple nymphs up the side of the container. Millions of ants!!!!FAIL!:wall:

Needless to say I kinda lost the colony just 24hrs after I got them. So now I'm flippin out. I need ideas to prevent them from invading the new order I placed.
I have a 14 gallon bin from Walmart and theres two vent holes. Is there a screen that I can use that will prevent the ants from entering.
Maybe petrolium (sp?) jelly around the vent holes and along the rim of the container? Sticky tape? grease?
I can't really use a moat setup because I need to use a heater on the bottom of the container or can I?
I just need all the idea you can give me.

 

[pearldrummer]

You could get a larger but not very deep container fill it with water. Then some sort of table to put in the water. Set your roach container in there and you wont have to worry about the heat pad getting wet.

If you see any ants climbing the wire for the heating pad put some petroleum jelly on.

Thats the best I can think of.

 

[echostatic]

You could put the container on a 4 legged piece of furniture and set each leg in a bowl of water as well, if that is a better option for your setup.

 

[Matt K]

That is the easiest recommendation- set the tub with the roaches in some shallow water and the ants will not get in.

Were it me, I would then get some Amdro ant bait to put near the tub as well so the ants eat poison and die....

 

[Warren Bautista]

You could always try this.

Works to keep out ants.

 

[whitewolf]

Had the same thing happen last month. A almost a whole colony of fire ants in the bin. Lucky I lost maybe 20 of them. Caught it in time. I raised it with soapy water around the legs, ant and roach caulk around the wall for about a week, and over and out ant bait in the yard. Fire ants.

 

[loxoscelesfear]

i have yet to see ants hit my roach colony, but it has produced moths and dermestids a time or two or three.

 

[elportoed]

Boric acid works well. I heard drawing chalk line boundry and the ants won't cross it. I can't find the thread abou the chalk line though.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=151632&highlight=ants

 

[TalonAWD]

Ok so I waged war against every insect around the garage. I have yet to see a single ant. (But I know they may be back) I do have a question. I will try the ideas stated here but thought of this and wanted opinions.
I was looking for screens and found a super solar screen that has the tiniest holes. Now the ants may not get through these holes but was wondering if the screen would prevent ventillation for the roaches. I made a 12 x 6 on the top and two 2" holes (with a hole saw). I covered these with the screen. What do you think. Will they breath ok?
Heres a comparison between the old screen that was in there when I found all the ants attacking and the new one that I used to replace.

Heres an ant next to the screen for size comparison.

 

[revoltkid]

i have yet to see ants hit my roach colony, but it has produced moths and dermestids a time or two or three.

yeah i had some moths in with my lateralis, it didnt phase me much, i didnt think it did any harm

 

[whitewolf]

They should be able to breath through it. The deli cups with the cloth lids is the material I want to find now but all I can find is the stuff mantisplace sells. But it is more than I want to pay right now. I've put all kinds of stuff in those containers and it has much thinner holes. Mine got in through the closing area of the lid and container.

 

[TalonAWD]

They should be able to breath through it. The deli cups with the cloth lids is the material I want to find now but all I can find is the stuff mantisplace sells. But it is more than I want to pay right now. I've put all kinds of stuff in those containers and it has much thinner holes. Mine got in through the closing area of the lid and container.

Picture of the cloth lids for the deli cups? Thats another idea.

I did think about them fitting between the lid and container so I may put velcro all around the rim so the lid could stick to the bin.

 

[whitewolf]

This is the cloth I want for a few larger containers but I don't know what it is. Whatever it is it is kinda tough. I have washed the lids without tearing it but it's thin like coffee filter but tougher and just a tad thicker.

View attachment 80318

 

[JonnyisaGO!]

just put chili powder around the tank. like hot chili powder or even tobasco. they wont cross it or get near it. its like pepper spray to them. theres no big mess or big bulky moats. and you dont have to replace it or anything you can just leave it there

 

[BrianWI]

If you want that breathable "cloth" on the cheap, get the cloth used for under mulch in landscaping that lets water thru but not weeds. It is nearly identical to the filter material used in poultry shipping containers!

 

[mandipants]

That is the easiest recommendation- set the tub with the roaches in some shallow water and the ants will not get in.

Were it me, I would then get some Amdro ant bait to put near the tub as well so the ants eat poison and die....

Don't use pesticides in your house for any reason if you keep invertabrates as pets. Just some friendly advice

 

[szappan]

Have you tried just putting the roach tank on top of a glass table?

I've had problems with ants as well, but lucky for me, the species in question are unable to walk on the underside of the glass top. Not sure if this solution is species dependent, but it might be worth a test. It's chemical and trouble-free. You could easily build one yourself - just get a thick piece of glass and put it on something very sturdy.

This is a (somewhat ugly) example, but just so you get the idea. The key is that support for the top in in the center and not in the corners so the ants are unable to reach the top surface.

 

[TalonAWD]

Have you tried just putting the roach tank on top of a glass table?

I've had problems with ants as well, but lucky for me, the species in question are unable to walk on the underside of the glass top. Not sure if this solution is species dependent, but it might be worth a test.

I have a glass table for eating in the dining room and one time I left a glass that had a little soda remains. There were ants all over it. They can climb. I also tried packing tape and they can climb that too.

I read that baby powder works. Something about suffocating them by clogging their pores.