7 replies to this topic

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

just one yes/no question really:

 

Should it be reasonably possible to reliably contain Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis in a no lid outworld setup?

 

 

 

Details:

I have a colony at or over 300. I had them in outworlds with no lids for a fairly long time. Fluon barrier keeping them in, maybe a couple spots i should'a done better on.

 

However at some point we started finding an escapee about once a week. Like out and about in the house not near the formicarium. But i never actually seen one escape or even get close.

And this is a major no no in my house. My honey is a bug hater all around they are just pure little walking poo piles from her POV. It's gross for any bug to touch you let alone the fear of pain if it is know they bite/sting.

After about the 5th week in a row of her finding an escapee while home alone, i was obligated to return to using the lids again.

 

 

I really want to return to no lids, it is a big deal to me. But i also want her to feel relaxed and comfortable in her own home as anyone should expect to.

 

 

I need some voice of experience to say if this is even a reasonable possibility or a pipe dream i should abandon.

 

 

If i had an open top outworld, with a half inch inner lip top edge and that had a fluon barrier, so the ants had to walk upside down and over the fluon.

Is that going to be a reliable Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis prison yard? Or is the nature of keeping these ants open lid just that there will be some loose ants in the house from time to time no matter what, unless i keep lids on them?



Part of the problem is that with so many ants, high walls(8" on one outworld), and my meat hook hands. It's about impossible to do cleaning/feeding work without getting one or two on me. And it is also easy to not even feel them on you, so they can get on me, fall off, and be free. While i never even know about it, till my honey finds them later.

This is why i imagined a wide shallow wall open design should make it easier to reach in/around and not get ants on me.
But this design and size (12"x27") is no lid and wouldn't get one. So i don't wanna go to my honey for an ask on this, nor spend money on a new outworld. Until i can hear from a voice of experience about it first, to give me a sense of my potential to succeed or not.

 

 

Thanks for any time and experience you can share.

[UtahAnts]

I was never able to pull a lid-less outworld off with my colony of about 500. I was only using olive oil however. Perhaps an inverted lip with fluon over the walls would solve the problem?

 

This guy has an amazing table setup, maybe not the most compact design but it sure showcases their natural behavior!

[ANTdrew]

Absolute yes. If I can contain Crematogaster in open top lids, you can contain Pogonomyrmex.

[Nare]

Absolute yes. If I can contain Crematogaster in open top lids, you can contain Pogonomyrmex.

Curious about how you do that. I found some nice desk organizers that are a perfect size for a small outworld but they don't come with lids. I've used a fluon barrier but still had a worker escape (could have been a skill issue on my part though). Does yours have a lip? Did you use any special technique to apply the fluon? Does the thing have corners?

[ANTdrew]

My open top setup is a display case. It has a lid, but I cut out a big hole in the middle of it to make a lip. I used to line it with fluon, but now I’m finding that talc mixed with alcohol makes a much better barrier. You just need to reapply it when they start wearing it down. This is easy for me because I have another lid from the same type of container that I just swap out. The box has beveled corners.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

My open top setup is a display case. It has a lid, but I cut out a big hole in the middle of it to make a lip. I used to line it with fluon, but now I’m finding that talc mixed with alcohol makes a much better barrier. You just need to reapply it when they start wearing it down. This is easy for me because I have another lid from the same type of container that I just swap out. The box has beveled corners.

talc and alcohol better than fluon?

What's the mix ratio? How often do you seem to need to reapply? What % alcohol you using?

 

I almost imagine i'm cursed on this particular front.
The last straw was one the crawled across her cutting table while she was working on it.
After which she still found one in the car a couple weeks later(yes out in the car). And just the other day we were in the kitchen shortly after i had done some outworld maintenance, and one fell off me from somewhere onto my foot in front of her.
Didn't even know it was on me until it fell to land on my foot and i felt it.

 

So at least the lids on has seemed to prove they are not escaping in some way i have not found yet. But it has also shown working in the outworlds and not allowing escapees has not been working out fully.

Edited by Full_Frontal_Yeti, June 1 2024 - 7:06 AM.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

I was never able to pull a lid-less outworld off with my colony of about 500. I was only using olive oil however. Perhaps an inverted lip with fluon over the walls would solve the problem?

 

This guy has an amazing table setup, maybe not the most compact design but it sure showcases their natural behavior!

Ok that is way cool and along the lines of what i imagined to use a $20 kiddie pool for as a massive outworld.
I note that this appears to be being kept in some kind of shed or other locaiton not inside the home proper (unfinished walls and such in the background).

But i do love the very large space low wall style of that outworld, even if it looks as if there's no view into the nest proper to be had. Thanks for posting this link.


 

[ANTdrew]

I don’t really measure the ratio of talc to alcohol. You just want to make a slurry that you can paint on. The ants wear it away as they test it over time, but it will last a good while unless you have obscenely huge colonies like mine. I’ve given up trying stop Crematogaster with fluon. It never works long term.