Hi all,

the instructions on the Byformica fluon say that recommended humidity is below 45%, but now that summer's coming humidity in my house will be above that. Maybe regularly in the 60s.

I have a few questions:

Will an open setup negate high humidity? I'd imagine even if you had good ventilation the air would wear down the humidity, but it also sounds unreasonable a product as good as this would just stop working in normal summer conditions.

How do you guys keep humidity down?

What exactly are the negative effects of humidity?

Thanks.

Depends on species, but an open lid with a lip of upside down fluon is usually best. For some species, like Crematogaster, the fluon really just slows them down, so you need to manage them with a lid. The title of my reveal-all memoir as a Crematogaster keeper will be: Fluon is Not Enough

Good point about the lid!

If you don't mind me asking, how high does your humidity get in the summer?

Did you make your lid, and can you take a picture?

Fluon and anything else you use as a barrier that makes the ants "slip" is impractical. Not sure why the whole community is so hell bent on doing things that way. Eventually you don't pay attention or it needs a slight re-application somewhere and half your colony is out. I personally always have sealed lids with screens. And feeding ports would be sealed with oil around it just so I can do a quick feeding.

Fluon and anything else you use as a barrier that makes the ants "slip" is impractical. Not sure why the whole community is so hell bent on doing things that way. Eventually you don't pay attention or it needs a slight re-application somewhere and half your colony is out. I personally always have sealed lids with screens. And feeding ports would be sealed with oil around it just so I can do a quick feeding.

Another extremely good idea!

Questions: Can you provide pictures?

How do you remove garbage?

Fluon and anything else you use as a barrier that makes the ants "slip" is impractical. Not sure why the whole community is so hell bent on doing things that way. Eventually you don't pay attention or it needs a slight re-application somewhere and half your colony is out. I personally always have sealed lids with screens. And feeding ports would be sealed with oil around it just so I can do a quick feeding.

Another extremely good idea!
Questions: Can you provide pictures?
How do you remove garbage?

This isn't the best example but one I made. The screen pops out but is also air tight.

Ingenious design! Sorry if I am coming off as dense, but how do you do escape proof feeding?

 

Purpose of my question in the original post: The two colonies I need an outworld for right now are Aphaenogaster and Lasius. (Crematogaster in a few months but I'll cross that dangerous bridge when I get there). Where can I get mesh with holes smaller than those ants? You make an excellent point about disasters that happen when you slip up, a lid would definitely prevent that. I still want to make feeding as easy as possible.

 

I read somewhere for fluon reapplications, its a good idea to plug the tube and then put any foraging workers in another container as the fluon dries. I was thinking I should use a mesh lid and fluon, so if I do slip up it'll be okay, and I can use the process listed above to renew the barrier.

Fluon and anything else you use as a barrier that makes the ants "slip" is impractical. Not sure why the whole community is so hell bent on doing things that way. Eventually you don't pay attention or it needs a slight re-application somewhere and half your colony is out. I personally always have sealed lids with screens. And feeding ports would be sealed with oil around it just so I can do a quick feeding.

I don’t think anyone is “hell bent” per se, it’s just a method that works for most people. I’m not saying I don’t agree with you though.

Ingenious design! Sorry if I am coming off as dense, but how do you do escape proof feeding?
 
Purpose of my question in the original post: The two colonies I need an outworld for right now are Aphaenogaster and Lasius. (Crematogaster in a few months but I'll cross that dangerous bridge when I get there). Where can I get mesh with holes smaller than those ants? You make an excellent point about disasters that happen when you slip up, a lid would definitely prevent that. I still want to make feeding as easy as possible.
 
I read somewhere for fluon reapplications, its a good idea to plug the tube and then put any foraging workers in another container as the fluon dries. I was thinking I should use a mesh lid and fluon, so if I do slip up it'll be okay, and I can use the process listed above to renew the barrier.

The top of the container has that white screen that pops out. Then I coat the inside around it so when I do open it they're likely to fall off as I feed them. And nothing can get through that screen. I don't remember what it's called off the top of my head. It's been a few years since I bought it. Message me and I'll send you a link or maybe someone else can chime in.