staceyobu Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I'm planning on doing an ant farm for science in a few weeks. We bought a gel ant farm for them. Any recommendations on catching your own vs ordering them online? I *despise* ants (bad run in with fire ants at the age of four). The idea of trying to catch ants skeeves me out. The idea of paying for them is not so great either. Either way, we need ants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I'd order them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I would order them; they are only a few dollars, plus shipping. The ants come sealed up in a handy-dandy tube and transferring from tube to farm is a breeze. I have tried to catch them before and the reality is -- ants only show up when they are not wanted! Try to catch the good ants and they scatter to the four winds and you are left with only fire ants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I'd order them if I lived in the US. I've done both though. Catching isn't too difficult. Just set out some honey and come back in 30 minutes to see if they are the right size for your ant farm. They act more normal if you get a bunch of eggs and larva along with the ants though. If you can find their nest you will have to quickly scoop up ants and eggs/larva in the first minute. That wouldn't work for a gel ant farm though because you don't want dirt mixed with the gel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie in MS Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 We are all different and I say do what makes you comfy! ;) For myself, I can't see paying one dime for something we have in an enormous abundance. Hehe. I did transfer ants to our *farm* (a jar in a jar), but living in the south I do know what fire ants are and they are dangerous. So if you feel leery because of a prior experience then shell out the dough. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I'll be glad to send you some! We just moved and our lovely new home has a major ant problem. Hats off to you for doing an ant farm for your kiddos! Liz This is me right now - battling ants in the kitchen and bathroom. Even with pest control coming to help, they keep coming back. I'm afraid that I would *never* allow an ant farm after this. I really, really hate the vile little creatures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 :grouphug: Pest control did nothing for our ants either. We shall prevail though! Liz This is just another reason I can't wait to move to our permanent location, and hopefully to a place that isn't built on an ant hill :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I think it would be hard to get "clean" ants for a gel ant farm catching them yourself. We found an organic ant repellent that contains mint, eucalyptus, rosemary and probably some other things-you spray it where they're coming in and it disrupts their trails and seems to work pretty well for a week or two (depending on how much rain you get). I like it because it also ends up leaving a nice scent that eventually spreads through the house-although you don't want to eat in the kitchen right after spraying because everything will taste like mint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 They "come with" most ant farms you buy now. There's a slip you send in with your address and they arrive in a little vial. Just don't let your dh open them in the house and dump them everywhere by accident.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfantasticfour Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 You can catch them pretty easily by putting a large sheet of aluminum foil on the floor, with a pile of sugar in the middle. I have heard that if you don't have a queen, not only will they not behave naturally (because it's not a true colony without a queen, and without her, there is no future) and will die fairly soon. Best bet, I would say, is research suppliers, and make sure you get one that also sends a queen, and also check with your local agricultural extension service over which species of ant are legal and ok to get for your ant farm, because there may be problems with foreign invasive species, and if you get a colony plus queen of one of those, you can't then ever release them, and then you'll be stuck with a colony that outgrows the container and needs to split off to form a new colony, but just ditching them in the wild would be illegal as well as unconscionable. This is why I haven't done the ant farm thing yet with my kids. I just had to go and research first, like always, and I realized how complicated it could get. If someone else figures out all these caveats, I'd benefit from their knowledge, and go ahead with the ant farm project for my kids. It is fascinating, and there has to be a good way to go about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 You can catch them pretty easily by putting a large sheet of aluminum foil on the floor, with a pile of sugar in the middle. I have heard that if you don't have a queen, not only will they not behave naturally (because it's not a true colony without a queen, and without her, there is no future) and will die fairly soon. Best bet, I would say, is research suppliers, and make sure you get one that also sends a queen, and also check with your local agricultural extension service over which species of ant are legal and ok to get for your ant farm, because there may be problems with foreign invasive species, and if you get a colony plus queen of one of those, you can't then ever release them, and then you'll be stuck with a colony that outgrows the container and needs to split off to form a new colony, but just ditching them in the wild would be illegal as well as unconscionable. This is why I haven't done the ant farm thing yet with my kids. I just had to go and research first, like always, and I realized how complicated it could get. If someone else figures out all these caveats, I'd benefit from their knowledge, and go ahead with the ant farm project for my kids. It is fascinating, and there has to be a good way to go about it. This is interesting. The stuff I had read said they typically don't send queens, so eventually all the ants die. I had read some complaints that the last survivors acted dazed and lost. However, most of the reviews have said they still dig tunnels and are pretty cool to watch. Maybe I'm a complete sadist, but I *want* them to all die eventually. I really don't want to release an ant colony into our back yard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 We've always ordered, and we've had good experience with that. I can't remember from whom we ordered, but I know that they sent up replacement ants when all the ants died in my hot mailbox....so watch the weather when you are expecting them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 So, I know this is a really old thread, but can anybody tell me how often you have to provide stuff for ants living in one of those gel colonies? My son wants one for his birthday, but we travel fairly often. I'd rather not return to tragedy after a week away... thoughts from those who've had something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 So, I know this is a really old thread, but can anybody tell me how often you have to provide stuff for ants living in one of those gel colonies? My son wants one for his birthday, but we travel fairly often. I'd rather not return to tragedy after a week away... thoughts from those who've had something like this? This was my thread! We already finished it. The only recommendation is to open the gel thing once a week for a couple of seconds to add in oxygen. However, the ants stayed in the top of ours a lot, so I don't know if we even opened it weekly. The gel includes all their nutrients, so you don't have to feed them or add water or anything. They do most of the digging in the first week. So, definitely get it when you will be able to watch them for a couple days. After the first week, most of the excitement ends. They crawl around but don't build new tunnels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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