55 replies to this topic

[M_Ants]

Please contribute anything you did wrong that killed your ants. It will help others like me NOT do those things. Include stuff like chemicals you found in some products or other not obvious stuff you did wrong. Stuff like I didn't feed them is obvious. Sorry if this thread already exists. 

[TennesseeAnts]

For me it was mostly apples that had been contaminated with pesticides and honey with the same issue. I only use sugar water now, plus the ants like it better.

[M_Ants]

Any other plastic/materials used for ant stuff I should look out for other than bpa?

[TennesseeAnts]

Any other plastic/materials used for ant stuff I should look out for other than bpa?

Drew had a colony killed by un-cured plastidip. 

[Thunder_Birds]

My big problem I have had with my ants, is over heating them. I have had my ants outside with a heating lamp on a day that got to like 100 degrees, and I almost killed my small camponotus colony. Fortunately I was able to save the queen, but 14 workers died. And another time I killed a Mermica colony doing that  

[M_Ants]

I have a temp controller thing with a sensor for that exact reason

[Thunder_Birds]

That’s good

[Manitobant]

Ants gassing themselves. This is an issue if you are keeping ants with a strong acid or odor, such as rufa group formica, acanthomyops and tapinoma. It usually happens when the ants are stressed, such as after a move or after a sudden opening of the test tube or formicarium.

[M_Ants]

Is hot glue bad?

[Antkid12]

Is hot glue bad?

No, its safe.

[M_Ants]

I'm making a liquid feeder that works like the gravity fed dog bowls. I cut a plastic test tube and then sanded flat with a belt sander. It melted a bit and turned dark and now I'm afraid to use it. 

Edited by M_Ants, June 28 2020 - 3:08 PM.

[ANTdrew]

I’ve never lost a colony I’ve kept. Heat, variety of protein, common sense, and more heat is all really you need to be successful.

[OhNoNotAgain]

I lost colonies early on (40 years ago?) because no internet, no clue.

 

But most recently I've lost ants and other invertebrates through watering issues. If ants (or other inverts) run out of water, they die FAST.

I lost half a Tetramorium colony because their water ran out. I only noticed in time thanks to having read someone's journal about ants gathering in the outworld trying to escape.

 

And sometimes inverts just die for no apparent reason.

Edited by OhNoNotAgain, June 28 2020 - 4:40 PM.

[lanl87]

Placing the lid back on the outworld when the alcohol + baby powder barrier isn't dry yet. The whole colony got contact drunk. They weren't moving for 10-15 minutes. They would've died had i kept the lid on. Always let your barrier dry before you put the lid back on.

[M_Ants]

I tried making the dog bowl style ant waterer. Didn't work. 

[FSTP]

I've lost ants to failed  thermostat controllers and them getting cooked by heating elements. So always make sure the thermostat is rated for the wattage heater you're using.

[Canadant]

Forgetting about them over winter. I usually have a few queens or founding colonies in test tubes and kinda slump in the later months of the long canadian winter. The water dries up and I find them dead.

Also, I had a pretty significant die off of my Camponotus novaeboracensis most likely due to not hibernating them properly. I just don't have the fridge space. I'm looking to other options this winter most likely a cheap beer fridge found second hand (as a member suggested to me). Big thanks to the suggestions I got in that thread.

Tl;dr: Me!

[ponerinecat]

I killed my ants by feeding them necessary sugars    The queen decided it would be fun to take a bath in it and wiped it all over the brood and newly eclosed nanitics as well as the tube.

[AntsDakota]

Some weird disease.

[cewtsoul]

Had a special tarheel ant nest made for small ants. Was sure it would be ok because it was "tarheel". Well anyway they got into the water well. Lost a very nice colony.