In the past many years ago I would sometimes just dump ants out of test tubes or shine lights on them to try and move them. But I'm older and more patient now and sometimes I think the ants know where their nest should be better than I do.
What situations do you think its OK to persuade them to move out and what method is the least traumatic for them?
One thing I was experimenting with today was making cold spots in the setup. If I place a back of cold water on the test the test tube, they start carrying the brood out almost immediately (myrmica colony). The only issue is they just move back when the water evens out with room temperature. I feel like its a low stress way of moving them, though.
