8 replies to this topic

[futurebird]

Often if ants escape I find them hanging out on the vent on the roof of their outworld trying sadly to get back home. Normally at this point I trap them and shake them back in... but it's tricky. By putting a cup in the vent as shown ants would fall in when trying to re-enter, then wait to be dumped back into the nest at the next feeding. It's almost as good as a "one way ant door"

I keep a glass jar coated on the inside with fluon for cleaning, I drop the debris I remove into the glass. If I get an ant by mistake they are trapped in this glass. When I've left this glass sitting around I've found escaped ants in it if it was near the vents to the outworld... so I think this could work.

I'd want to make it out of very smooth plastic... so no 3D printing. My vents are the ANTCUBE 50mm kind, so I could get some clear 50mm pvc pipe, fine mesh, and something for the upper lip...

Have any of you tried anything like this?

[MysticNanitic]

I like this idea. Are the escapes usually happening during feeding? Free ants are a dealbreaker for my wife, and as my colonies grow I expect I’ll have to be more vigilant. An ant trap like this might round them up before they find their way into her desk. I’ll be interested to hear how this goes! Another piece of pvc tube that slides over the first can provide a lip. Pcv cement is super strong if the pieces fit well to begin with.

[Serafine]

The most common chance for escapees is during cleaning. An ant just snaps at the brush you're using to remove the trash or sometimes live ants even sit on a pile dead ants. One also may crawl onto your arm and drop down without you noticing.

 

A single escaped ant isn't a problem - a single ant isn't even really ant. It can't do anything. Sometimes they just give up and you find them siting somewhere motionless, so you can pick them up and throw them back in.

There's also a decent chance they're getting snacked by a spider, small centipede or any other typical in-house predator.

[futurebird]

Cleaning is absolutely the most common time for escapes. I put fluon on my brush and other tools. But, I do need to take the lid off and even with a barrier lip that means that some try their luck. 

And I have found an ant being eaten by a house spider more than once. They get in to trouble quickly when they are alone. Not so mighty when you can't call on your 100 sisters to help?

Though one time TWO Camponotus discolor ants ran off together and I found them killing a house spider together. For such little gentle seeming ants that colony is by far the most vicious... they also are VERY curious about the other colonies... especially the Pogonomyrmex for some reason. 

But mostly when I clean an ant gets out, goes behind the chest of drawers. Then I just wait. She shows up later desperately trying to get back in to the nest.  And I say "oh so you don't like being out as much as you thought I see?"

Hopefully this little invention will streamline the process of getting them back into the outworld. 

Notably the Pogonomyrmex never escape, mostly because they can't climb glass, but also they just aren't as interested.
The lasius ants are also not interested in escape.

But camponotus species all seem to have some deep desire to make a satellite nest. (it's what they do in the wild) In the worst escape I had to deal with the discolor colony managed to set up such a nest in the drawer next to my art supplies. Aspirating them all was a huge chore.  

[rptraut]

Somehow the smallest of my Camponotus pennsylvanicus workers have managed to find a way out of their enclosure.  Not massive numbers, but I see them around and they forage in the greenhouse where they're set up is located.  They seem to also be able to return to outworld.  It is an Exo Terra Faunarium with the slatted top, and I believe they drop back into the outworld onto a tall piece of wood that comes close to the top.  Perhaps the ants you are trying to trap would do the same thing if they had a landing pad to aim for.  Height is critical.

 

I believe ants need to be kept busy and feel that they have a sense of purpose.  Provide a place for them to set up a "satellite nest" or guard house at each entrance or exit to the outworld and nest.  A hollow piece of wood, previously excavated wood, a pile of rocks, all provide places for them to hang out, protect their entrance, patrol the area and keep busy.

[ZTYguy]

I like the idea but as Serafine said the workers will most likely become a snack to a spider or they will just sit motionless for the rest of their days. I will occasionally find dead Acromyrmex workers under my enclosures or under/in drawers. They are most of the time covered in spider silk or accompanied by a lone spider and once I found an opened sac and some little slings feasting on some dead or dying workers.

[rptraut]

Many of my ant colonies share a shelf with Venus Fly Traps and Pitcher Plants, natures' ant traps.  They capture many of the escapees, or I place potential escapees, like those last few ants that will not leave an empty sugar water tube, into the Fly Trap container for them to exit the tube in their own time.  Very few make it out of that container alive.

[futurebird]

I came up with a better design and used it overnight.



And I caught two escapees!

 

[ANTdrew]

Ant escapes happen, but they shouldn’t be a routine occurrence.