Castanet

Hi guys!

I'm just curious as to if anyone in the Okanagan keeps ants?

I've just started creating my own formicariums, and would love to see if there is any interest as to whether people like em or not?
Ant keeping is a fun and educational hobby, great for both kids and adults. It is truly a rewarding experience.



I'm still playing around with the design, switching to smaller magnets, instead of the big ceramic ones.

Hope to hear from you guys!

That's really cool! I've heard of ant farms but never seemed so grand as that. Are they much work in the sense like a fish tank? Cleaning tanks and filters etc.

How do you feed them ?

To feed them, all you do is give them some insects, honey/ sugar water. All I do is drop em in there. For the honey I just smear a bit somewhere for them to get. For cleaning, just a wipe on the sides of the glass and container is fine, removing old food sometimes so it doesn't mold. The ant's really maintain themselves a lot, as they are a very socially sophisticated insect.

As for the two gentlemen that love to kill em, I wouldn't want a nest in my home either , I may have used Raid here and there.

Commendable! Good on you to have quiet (non-barking, yowling) pets. No plastic bags needed for poop pickup, no fenced parks, no licenses to purchase annually. (Oops, bylaws may catch on, sorry)

Turned out we were keeping ants last winter as well. We'd see the odd one or two in the basement so didn't think much of it until we pulled the beer fridge away from the wall. Had an entire colony huddled under the fridge compressor for warmth right on the bare cement. Poor little buggers almost made it to spring but not quite as a massacre quickly ensued.

I am not at all interested in ant keeping.
They are trying to get in now that the weather is changing. Came home a few days ago to find a 20 foot long trail of odorous house ants going from the cedar hedge, across the driveway and to the house. Thousands of them marching along...
I have been battling them with sprays and bait. What a pain in the _ _ _ !

RustyCrayon wrote:I am not at all interested in ant keeping.
They are trying to get in now that the weather is changing. Came home a few days ago to find a 20 foot long trail of odorous house ants going from the cedar hedge, across the driveway and to the house. Thousands of them marching along...
I have been battling them with sprays and bait. What a pain in the _ _ _ !

Did you try the boric acid/icing sugar?
Or did you and it did not work?

RustyCrayon wrote:I am not at all interested in ant keeping.
They are trying to get in now that the weather is changing. Came home a few days ago to find a 20 foot long trail of odorous house ants going from the cedar hedge, across the driveway and to the house. Thousands of them marching along...
I have been battling them with sprays and bait. What a pain in the _ _ _ !

My Avatar, the dear little black and white creature on left side of screen, informs me that ants make a terrific sidedish with chilli, and best eaten with a brisk washdown of a Californian Red, not too tart, but just a hint of tanin on the upper palate.

Also a couple of ants, dipped in chocolate, makes a lovely dessert item at the end of a heavier repast.

Lore wrote:

RustyCrayon wrote:I am not at all interested in ant keeping.
They are trying to get in now that the weather is changing. Came home a few days ago to find a 20 foot long trail of odorous house ants going from the cedar hedge, across the driveway and to the house. Thousands of them marching along...
I have been battling them with sprays and bait. What a pain in the _ _ _ !

Did you try the boric acid/icing sugar?
Or did you and it did not work?

Dissolve the boric acid in water first then mix it with some jelly.
Most ants won't eat the granular acid or carry it back to the nest.
Works way better.

dennisle wrote:To feed them, all you do is give them some insects, honey/ sugar water. All I do is drop em in there. For the honey I just smear a bit somewhere for them to get. For cleaning, just a wipe on the sides of the glass and container is fine, removing old food sometimes so it doesn't mold. The ant's really maintain themselves a lot, as they are a very socially sophisticated insect.

As for the two gentlemen that love to kill em, I wouldn't want a nest in my home either , I may have used Raid here and there.

I had some ants attack a wall in a garage. Likely carpenter ants I must ask is there a odor with these ants? The smell in the wall was amazing, smelt like Limburger cheese, strong and sour odor.

Ken7 wrote:I had some ants attack a wall in a garage. Likely carpenter ants I must ask is there a odor with these ants? The smell in the wall was amazing, smelt like Limburger cheese, strong and sour odor.

I'm battling odorous house ants right now. They definitely have a smell when you startle or crush them. Smells like a musty rotten coconut or sour decomposing pine.

pretty sure this is the ant "keeping" thread, not ant "killing". Or else Vegas1500's comment has to be put back.

That's pretty cool - I don't think I know anyone who's kept ants before. What purpose are the magnets?