10 replies to this topic

[AntsTexas]

http://www.amazon.co...ywords=ant farm

 

 

any thoughts on this??

[Mathiacus]

Kids had one.. never really got ants in it though. It seems well made and comes with everything you need. I really do not see how it would be any different to any other home made plaster nest.

[Miles]

Don't buy these. I bought 3, and while they are the best toy-like ant nest design I have used, they have one major flaw that I don't think can be solved.

 

They dry out really quickly. I found myself misting the plaster 3-4 times a day just to keep the humidity at an acceptable level.

 

You'd be much better off getting some formicariums from Tar Heel Ants or making your own, rather than buying these.

Edited by Miles, May 15 2015 - 7:29 AM.

[AntsTexas]

Don't buy these. I bought 3, and while they are the best toy-like ant nest design I have used, they have one major flaw that I don't think can be solved.

 

They dry out really quickly. I found myself misting the plaster 3-4 times a day just to keep the humidity at an acceptable level.

 

You'd be much better off getting some formicariums from Tar Heel Ants or making your own, rather than buying these.

 

THANK YOU!!     i was thinking about buying one until now!!.....

[PTAntFan]

Mathiacus,

Why don't you copy paste your comments into a review on Amazon to save unsuspecting kids and parents some disappointment and cash?

[Ants4fun]

Mathiacus,
Why don't you copy paste your comments into a review on Amazon to save unsuspecting kids and parents some disappointment and cash?

Do you mean miles?

Kids had one.. never really got ants in it though. It seems well made and comes with everything you need. I really do not see how it would be any different to any other home made plaster nest.

He didn't use it yet...

[PTAntFan]

Yes, i did, thanks.

[Miles]

Mathiacus,

Why don't you copy paste your comments into a review on Amazon to save unsuspecting kids and parents some disappointment and cash?

Well, I'm hesitant to do so because this is the best toy formicarium I have seen - I'd hate to turn people away and have them buy a gel farm. It just isn't suited for long-term ant keeping.

[PTAntFan]

I think you should share your experience.  Either toy leads to the death of a pet unfortunately, but you could direct them to seek out homemade designs on the Internet.

[Vendayn]

Well, some/a lot of people like buying the toys because they are cheap and don't require any time to make. Homemade ant farms (not just a container with dirt), but actual ones like Tarheel makes take a lot of time and supplies to make. Then finding the right supplies can be hard. Plus its really expensive. Even fluon (which is pretty much required for ant farms without a lid), the average person who buys an Uncle Milton for their kid (who probably (not always, but a lot of kids do get bored easily) moves on after a few months or however long anyway). They probably wouldn't want to spend that much money on it.

 

The advantage with uncle milton is. You buy it. Iships to you and its pretty much ready to go. Super cheap. Some assembly, but easy enough. But, very cheap.

This ant farm, I don't know, it does go toward a bit expensive to me for what it is.

 

Except, I'd never use uncle milton or other ant farm toys. I prefer making my own (well I rely on my dad, because I have really shaky hands so I can't do powertools or most tools and I black out a lot, so that doesn't help). But, a lot of people look for cheap easy to assemble ant farms. Of course, dirt ant farms are easy as heck. But, ant farms like Tarheel or Uncle Milton style are WAY nicer and much easier to view the colony.

 

There isn't really a good ant farm product for the average person/consumer (that would buy an ant farm toy instead of home making one), that is both cheap and good for the ants. Granted, the person may not know that there is a whole hobby of ant keeping. But, a lot of people look for cheap stuff to buy and if they looked at say, Tarheel (if they did research into it) would instead buy an Uncle Milton (or this product, but same thing) for their kid or whoever. Plus, I know a couple people that just don't have time to go around finding all the supplies and spending all the time making their own homemade ant farm. As they are too busy with work, but can't afford much else except stuff like Uncle Milton.

 

And then there are the parents. I know quite a lot of parents (even in my own family) that aren't going to spend any time making an ant farm, or buying a very expensive one and will instead just buy an Uncle Milton. Which isn't good for an ant colony, and the ants die. Then kid loses interest if he found them interesting up to that point.

Edited by Vendayn, May 20 2015 - 11:37 PM.

[Vendayn]

If someone designed an affordable product (like Uncle Milton), that was also good for the ants. I imagine that would sell really well as far as ant stuff goes. Since a lot of people do choose ant farm toys because of their price, and their lack of time (or unwillingness like some in my family) to build their own ant farm. No one has done that yet. Its all expensive, compared to Uncle Milton, (but very nice) ant farms. The question goes to how to build it so you don't lose money on it, but still can make a good colony from it.

 

Plus like I said, I don't know many parents who fork over that much money (even on just supplies) just to build an ant farm (let alone buy an expensive one). At least my family, they are pretty cheap as far as that goes and that's pretty typical from what I've seen.

 

As for me. I got lucky with parents that (while busy a lot), can build stuff like ant farms and what not. And don't mind spending money on ants. A lot of people I've seen, not so much like that. So, while Uncle Milton ant farms (or again, the other ant farm toys) are rather bad for an actual ant colony, often times that's only thing a parent will buy as its really cheap. And again, probably (not always, some parents do) don't want to sit down and spend time making the ant farm or buying all the supplies.

Edited by Vendayn, May 20 2015 - 11:52 PM.