6 replies to this topic

[Vendayn]

As a follow up to my post here

 

http://www.formicult...olony-11-08-15/

 

During the summer I briefly had a Monomorium ergatogyna colony and fluon didn't work 100%. M. ergatogyna have really small workers and better at escaping than Solenopsis molesta. I used the same container, a plastic 2.5 gallon fish (tank?), and i washed it out as I always do (soap, hot water and some bleach), but...

 

During the summer when it was hot and dry, cooking oil was the only one that kept my Monomorium ergatogyna colony from escaping. They could cross the fluon, a bit of issue crossing it, but the occasional worker would very slowly cross it, and I applied it exactly the same as I always do. But, now that its much colder and more humid overall, the M. ergatogyna can cross the cooking oil without any issue and now fluon does a vastly better job at keeping them in.

 

I do keep them in the garage where its warmer and drier than usual, but usually the garage door is partly open so it is still affected by the weather a bit.

 

Anyone notice anything like that, where at different times of year when its usually colder/hotter/drier/humid, that different ant barriers work differently?

 

Or is it just a coincidence or other factors are in play, when the cooking oil (olive oil) worked before, but now it doesn't. And fluon now works better at keeping them in, when it didn't before. Nothing else different that I'm doing, only thing different from what I can tell is the season change.

Edited by Vendayn, November 9 2015 - 10:20 PM.

[Alza]

Fluon doesent work at all for me...My solenopsis climbed that real quick, so I had to come out with the upgraded technology, and I pulled the mango lotion on them They arent getting passed that. So far it works in the summer which is good.

[dspdrew]

As a follow up to my post here

 

http://www.formicult...olony-11-08-15/

 

During the summer I briefly had a Monomorium ergatogyna colony and fluon didn't work 100%. M. ergatogyna have really small workers and better at escaping than Solenopsis molesta. I used the same container, a plastic 2.5 gallon fish (tank?), and i washed it out as I always do (soap, hot water and some bleach), but...

 

During the summer when it was hot and dry, cooking oil was the only one that kept my Monomorium ergatogyna colony from escaping. They could cross the fluon, a bit of issue crossing it, but the occasional worker would very slowly cross it, and I applied it exactly the same as I always do. But, now that its much colder and more humid overall, the M. ergatogyna can cross the cooking oil without any issue and now fluon does a vastly better job at keeping them in.

 

I do keep them in the garage where its warmer and drier than usual, but usually the garage door is partly open so it is still affected by the weather a bit.

 

Anyone notice anything like that, where at different times of year when its usually colder/hotter/drier/humid, that different ant barriers work differently?

 

Or is it just a coincidence or other factors are in play, when the cooking oil (olive oil) worked before, but now it doesn't. And fluon now works better at keeping them in, when it didn't before. Nothing else different that I'm doing, only thing different from what I can tell is the season change.

 

It's actually much less humid here now than it was in the summer. Our dew point this summer hovered around 70-75 F (about the same as Florida), while now it's averaging around 40F (very dry).

[drtrmiller]

Agreed, winter in the northern hemisphere is almost universally the least humid season.  Fluon is only effective at lower humidities with open-top setups.

 

Anyone who says Fluon isn't working for them, simply isn't using it properly.

[Crystals]

My ants are inside, which limits the humidity swings greatly.  My humidity is about 50% for most of the year, with an increase in spring and fall to about 70%.

My barriers work about the same all year long.

 

I use olive oil for Myrmica and Formica, and only need to touch it up every 3 months or so.

I use fluon for Camponotus.

 

Fluon won't work well if there is silicone in a corner joint (like an aquarium).  Then you simply put a lip on top the foraging area and coat the underside with fluon.

[antmaniac]

Could dusts or other particles in the air, which landed on the barrier play a role in this?

[Vendayn]

As an addition. I noticed different qualities of plastic actually work better.

 

Cheap plastic containers that are bendable and you generally find as fish tanks at pet stores actually don't work nearly as good.

 

I noticed plastics that are of higher quality (more expensive though), work with a higher range of barriers. For example, my polycarbonate containers I got from bed, bath and beyond and further beyond work with every ant with any barrier. They are 20 dollar storage containers, so not really on the cheap side.

 

However, when I made this post, I used a cheap plastic fish tank I had from petco or petsmart and it didn't really work for small ants. Ants like S. invicta and Monomorium could more easily cross the same barriers (cooking oil+fluon) that they couldn't at all with polycarbonate containers with the same combo of barriers (and applied the same exact way). For bigger ants, it doesn't seem to matter as much (like Pogonomyrmex can't really climb at all).

 

I'm guessing plastic like polycarbonate has less roughness and more smooth, than the cheaper plastics. Even acrylic containers didn't really work that great.

Edited by Vendayn, December 4 2015 - 10:58 PM.