30 replies to this topic

[Batspiderfish]

It's fine! As ant keepers, we try to get by with as few mistakes as possible. When we do make mistakes, we can learn from them. Everything has a learning curve.

[Vendayn]

If it helps. When I was new, I kept a Solenopsis invicta colony and used stick bridges to connect containers.

 

It worked, until the colony grew huge. Then they rained down off the stick bridges like rain.

 

Then to fix it, I used vaseline. Someone told me it was the best barrier (back then). To clean off vaseline with hundreds of escaping ants every 15-20 minutes took literally over 7 hours of cleaning. Cleaning vaseline is the most annoying thing to ever do. Maybe off glass it isn't so bad, but never use it on plastic. Oh and it obviously was as useless as any barrier ever could be.

 

Then to make matters worse, back then I always thought my ants needed more water for some reason. So to "clean" the rest of the vaseline and to water my ants (maybe I thought they were like a plant that needed water to grow? No idea, I was pretty young) I poured water on the sides to get rid of the excess vaseline.

 

So, here we have the biggest disaster and mess you can imagine. Ants everywhere (Solenopsis invicta at that!), vaseline all over the soil, and now its a complete oily watery swamp for them.

 

I just put them outside after that (which was another huge mistake, because Solenopsis invicta are invasive. Now I only release ants I get locally. I don't even release ants if they are from the desert or whatever), but Argentine ants killed the Solenopsis invicta anyway (there were billions of Argentine ants all over the place). So it worked out. Except it was my first actual successful colony, and I turned it into a complete disaster. But it all started when I used the worst barrier ever, vaseline. Oh and never use stick bridges, unless the ant species is extremely good at climbing (like Leafcutters).

Edited by Vendayn, November 29 2016 - 12:03 PM.

[T.C.]

If it helps. When I was new, I kept a Solenopsis invicta colony and used stick bridges to connect containers.

 

It worked, until the colony grew huge. Then they rained down off the stick bridges like rain.

 

Then to fix it, I used vaseline. Someone told me it was the best barrier (back then). To clean off vaseline with hundreds of escaping ants every 15-20 minutes took literally over 7 hours of cleaning. Cleaning vaseline is the most annoying thing to ever do. Maybe off glass it isn't so bad, but never use it on plastic. Oh and it obviously was as useless as any barrier ever could be.

 

Then to make matters worse, back then I always thought my ants needed more water for some reason. So to "clean" the rest of the vaseline and to water my ants (maybe I thought they were like a plant that needed water to grow? No idea, I was pretty young) I poured water on the sides to get rid of the excess vaseline.

 

So, here we have the biggest disaster and mess you can imagine. Ants everywhere (Solenopsis invicta at that!), vaseline all over the soil, and now its a complete oily watery swamp for them.

 

I just put them outside after that (which was another huge mistake, because Solenopsis invicta are invasive. Now I only release ants I get locally. I don't even release ants if they are from the desert or whatever), but Argentine ants killed the Solenopsis invicta anyway (there were billions of Argentine ants all over the place). So it worked out. Except it was my first actual successful colony, and I turned it into a complete disaster. But it all started when I used the worst barrier ever, vaseline. Oh and never use stick bridges, unless the ant species is extremely good at climbing (like Leafcutters).

Haha, yeah i can imagine how that could be a disaster.

[Saftron]

Wow T.C. lol I read this whole thing and at first I didn't read the date so I was like T.C. are you an idiot? 

[T.C.]

Wow T.C. lol I read this whole thing and at first I didn't read the date so I was like T.C. are you an idiot? 

Yeah, I really hope people do read the date, as well as the first post to the last! . lol This was just something that had bothered me ever since I realized a person would have to be a fool to argue ID's with batspiderfish. Also I still ask myself today, why would you move your ant colony like you did? I feel super dumb still, but at least it's off my chest!

Edited by T.C., December 2 2016 - 11:20 AM.

[OTHER]

We probably all made these mistakes. I think its super awesome to committing you was wrong

[SamKeepsAnts]

READ THIS AND TAKE A PIC

[T.C.]

READ THIS AND TAKE A PIC

You just had to bring this back up?

 

[sgheaton]

Typical cheese head..

[SamKeepsAnts]

yes i did lol

[T.C.]

Content removed by author

Edited by T.C., November 27 2017 - 3:56 PM.