Sugar Ants in T enclosures

[Johnny_27]

Ok guys Im having a problem. My spider shelves are getting infested with sugar ants. They seem to go after dead crickets. I feed my slings prekilled pinheads and the ants swarm the pill bottle for the cricket while the spider is eating it. I also woke up this morning to find a dead cricket in my H. maculata's enclosure that was swarmed. Im not worried about the ants harming the Ts as much as it just bothers me to see them running around in all my enclosures. The go after my milipede enclosure as well.

Any ideas on how to get rid of these things?

 

[Talkenlate04]

Well the safest way is going to be to get some ant bait traps........ but even better would be to try and remove remains a little better......
I also would go spray around the outside of your house because they are more then likely coming from out there and not infesting your house. They can get through some of the smallest spaces every in search of food.

But for the safety of your T's get on this quick.

 

[Johnny_27]

Well the safest way is going to be to get some ant bait traps........ but even better would be to try and remove remains a little better......
I also would go spray around the outside of your house because they are more then likely coming from out there and not infesting your house. They can get through some of the smallest spaces every in search of food.

But for the safety of your T's get on this quick.

Im setting up bait traps tomorrow. I fed everything yesterday so the cricket in the maculata tank must have died overnight. It was alive when i fell asleep anyways. The problem is, when i feed prekilled, they are all over it. Im thinking about putting some of that powder stuff around my windows on the outside.

I cant see these things doing too much harm to a tarantula, but then again I said the same thing before i got my stomach tattooed. ("I cant picture it hurting THAT bad"...I was wrong) Thats why im a little concerned.

 

[cheetah13mo]

Make sure you don't put something that the ants could bring in the containers your T's are in and that could harm them. i.e... pesticides or poisons.

 

[prey]

second that

I agree with cheetah concerning the buggers tracking poisons into the tank. I used to use a sugar-based liquid poison bait for sugar ants, but I think it was arsenic or something nasty. Is the powder you have orthoboric acid? That one can be effective and is one of the least potent as far as how significant any tracking amount is, but if their bellies are loaded with it I wouldn't want a sling to eat one. Hopefully the higher-tech traps are the best, but I couldn't tell you. Haven't the slightest idea how the "takes some home to the nest" things could get tracked into the tank. Sticky stuff that glues the ants in place to death sure can't hurt, though.
I know what you mean, though. The things come into my house through infinitessimal cracks in the foundation or walls.

 

[james41777]

swarming ants..possibly attacking T's are very bad especially cause ur T cannot escape.
with the ant bait i've heard of those flakes or powder that you spread around.
also, becareful with the ant killing thing..it CAN harm the tarantula.
move your tarantula to a new enclosure with new substrate.
just make sure from then u pick up the remains of food as soon as u see it, with a set of twizzers.
tarantulas tend to put the remains right infront of their shelter.
hope this helsp.

 

[Varden]

The best stuff for sugar ants is Grants Kills Ants. You can find it in the lawn and garden area and in the household pests area of your local Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, or Jerry's, whatever you have where you live. It's cheap, $5 or so buys a pack of 3 which is more than you will ever need. It looks like a bait trap, but when I apply it I pop the top off and smear a teeny, tiny sliver of the stuff right smack in the middle of the ant trail. They will swarm the stuff, and within three days no more ants. Then I generally wipe up whatever the ants didn't eat.

If you take after me in the thiftiness department, you can store the unused portion of the trap in a ziploc baggy to treat the ants again if they come back next year. Just one bait trap can last you five or more years, depending on the size of your infestation.

And for those who aren't afflicted with sugar ants, FYI, the cleanliness of your house has nothing whatsoever to do with whether they decided to move in or not. They need so very, very little to thrive that it's impossible for everyone but maybe Monk or Felix Unger to keep their place clean enough to avoid them. If you've got pets, forget it. They love cat, dog and bird food, as well as fruit-scented soaps and shampoos, the glue on envelopes and the backs of lickable stamps, and whatever else they can find that you never in your wildest dreams would have considered edible.

 

[NixHexDude]

Im not worried about the ants harming the Ts as much as it just bothers me to see them running around in all my enclosures.

I would be more concerned with the T's, personally. Ants are the #1 thing you don't want in the enclosure next to another arachnid. If the traps/powder doesn't work, you might try some type of anti-climbing gel on the outside of the enclosures.

 

[Hedorah99]

You can put something on the outside of the tank ot prevent them from getting in. Use either Bug Stop (which you can buy from most roach dealers) or use some vaseline. Vaseline is a little messier but it works. Put a line of it on the outside of the enclosure at the top. Bug Stop has a similar application and does not leave that greasy residue so it may be worth your while to buy a jar of it. Either one will prevent the ants from being able to get in. If you do bait, since they cannot enter the tanks,their is no chance of them tracking poison in with them. As far as bait. We use a product called Terro at the zoo. Its a small squeeze botle of a clear liquid. Basically its sugar water with some poison in it.

 

[6StringSamurai]

Ants leave a residue behind them that other ants follow to find food. I used to live in a crappy apartment and I managed to keep the ants away from the Ts by just spraying my T shelves and the walls and floor around it with water with a little bit of dish soap mixed in with it and wiping it clean whenever I saw some hanging around near there.

It's totally safe for the Ts, might be worth a shot.

Good luck, ants suck.

 

[Johnny_27]

Ants leave a residue behind them that other ants follow to find food. I used to live in a crappy apartment and I managed to keep the ants away from the Ts by just spraying my T shelves and the walls and floor around it with water with a little bit of dish soap mixed in with it and wiping it clean whenever I saw some hanging around near there.

It's totally safe for the Ts, might be worth a shot.

Good luck, ants suck.

Thanks for all the good replys guys. I think Im gonna try the dish soap one first. If that doesnt work, I'll try the other methods. If theres anyway I can get rid of them without poison, Im gonna try that first.

The reason im not super concerned about the Ts is that these ants dont seem to want to kill anything, they just wanna eat whats allready dead. I dont think they'll go after my spiders directly. If it was something like fire ants, my spiders would be FAR away from my house.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

The reason im not super concerned about the Ts is that these ants dont seem to want to kill anything, they just wanna eat whats allready dead. I dont think they'll go after my spiders directly. If it was something like fire ants, my spiders would be FAR away from my house.

I have the same sort of ants running around too. If a tarantula tank has mold in it, the ants go and establish themselves in the spider tank like it was an ant farm. Never hurt the tarantula, as mentioned, they went after things that were already dead or sweet. Very nerve racking and bothersome nonetheless.

- Lonnie

 

[krtrman]

get some white vinegar and dilute it ever so slightly with tap water. dab it on a rag and wipe where the ants are climbing. the vinegar should not hurt the tarantulas but it will get rid of the ants. ants hate vinegar. this should help.