10 replies to this topic

[Anhzor]

Hello everyone, for the past few days I have been researching on chemicals and biochemicals fungicide/bactericide that is ant safe.  The goal is to keep test tubes clean of toxic molds and bacteria.  I will be keeping this thread updated since I just order some potassium sorbate from amazon and I have glutaraldehyde lying around my house.

 

Methyl parabin:  Widely use as a pesticide and a preservative.  Its benefits is that it works at any ph level at a very small concentration, the downfall is that Methyl parabin is toxic to insect at higher concentration (http://insectdiets.c...7/Cohen-122.pdf).  Interestingly Methyl parabin is one of the chemical secreted by honey bees, and probably use by honey bees as a disinfectant. However I have yet to see any studies showing what it really does. Because of its relation with honey bees, it might not effect ants like it effects butterfly larvae in the study above. Methyl Parabin is also a component of byformica color formula food, use as a preservative.

 

Sorbates: Commonly sold as Potassium sorbate, it is an acidic fungicude/bactericide.  According to various studies, including the one above, sorbates are the least toxic to insect.  However, its downfall is that it only works when the ph is around 5.5.  Potassium Sorbate is the salt of Sorbic acid.

 

Propanoic acid:  An acid that has properties intermediate between acetic acid and formic acid.  Commonly use in preservative mixture along with potassium sorbate.  The benefit is that it's similar to formic acid, which might be non toxic to ants at small doses.

 

Aldehyde:  Aldehyde are a group of chemicals that are strong preservative and disinfectant.  The most common and well known aldehyde is formaldehyde, although glutaraldehyde is also common.  Some plants are able to fixate Aldehyde as a carbon source, I have using glytaraldehyde as a algeacide and a plant carbon source in my fish tanks for years with Little ill effect to the shrimp and fish that live in there.  Interestingly Formaldehyde is very similar in chemical composition and structure to formic acid.

 

Serenade:  genetically engineer bacillus subtilis that produce fungicide and bactericide chemicals.  bacillus subtilis is a common soil dwelling bacteria and is a component of many animals gut flora, including insects.  According to their website its 100% non toxic to bees (http://serenadegarden.com/faqs/).  Out of all the fungicide/bactericide listed above, this one seems to be the most promising.  The downfall is that i can not use it as ant food preservative since the bacteria will consume the food itself.

 

 

Edit:

Thiocarbamate:  A group of antifungal drug that kill fungi by blocking the transfer of esterol in fungi.  Google search show almost no toxicity to honey bees.

Edited by Anhzor, August 13 2014 - 6:42 PM.

[Anhzor]

update: Glytaraldehyde can't be use since they begin to break down after 28 hours

Edited by Anhzor, August 13 2014 - 6:05 PM.

[JoshuaGF]

There are many natural anti-bacterial things you can use. Plantain, (anti-bacterial) common plant found in yard that is also good as a salad. Dry pine sap, (anti-bacterial) in fact some ant species use dried pine sap around their nests for this very reason. Pine sap also works as an excellent glue when melted down and mixed with ash or rabbit droppings. Walnut husks or walnut leaves soaked in water, (anti-bacterial), pretty tannic though. You can make a tea out of Weeping Willow bark and that is also (anti-bacterial) All of these are also anti-fungal. For plantain, Break it up and let it soak in hot water. Not boiling, just hot. You can add this to the queens water, not only will it give her more nutrients in her water but it is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. Many other plants and barks do the same thing. Hope this helped.

[JoshuaGF]

Also before you introduce your ants to the test tube, wash your hands and test tube before you touch the cotton balls, (DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE!), A dry piece of pine sap thrown in wouldn't hurt, when she touches it the pine sap will clean and disinfect her.

[dspdrew]

Ants' saliva is already anti-fungal.

[Anhzor]

Also before you introduce your ants to the test tube, wash your hands and test tube before you touch the cotton balls, (DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING ELSE!), A dry piece of pine sap thrown in wouldn't hurt, when she touches it the pine sap will clean and disinfect her.

i like the sap idea

 

Ants' saliva is already anti-fungal.

 

yet mold will still take over and release toxins that can kill ants.

[Anhzor]

i notice that in test tube with bacteria infestation (a black to grey stain like smear on the cotton) also lack mold, i wonder if using bacillus subtilis can help reduce mold.

[drtrmiller]

The chemical in "tree sap" is turpentine, which can be harmful in the same way as citrus solvents (d-limonene) are harmful.

 

Methylparaben is widely used in low concentrations to prevent laboratory ant diets from spoiling, and is even used in Drosophila media in concentrations 500-600% greater than the butterfly study you referenced.

 

byFormica Formula products contain methylparaben and also sodium benzoate, the latter of which is found in soft drinks in concentrations up to 0.1%.  You'll need a 0.001 gram scale to accurately measure most any preservative, unless you're making industrial-size batches.

 

I tested other preservatives, and found they altered the taste of the foods I was feeding such that the ants wouldn't eat them.

 

If you're wanting to do something for your agar test tubes, why not skip agar altogether and use a non-molding water-absorbing polymer such as poly(methyl acrylate) or sodium polyacrylate, aka water crystals?  Agar, being an organic substance, has a higher propensity to mold than what is essentially a water-absorbent plastic.

Edited by drtrmiller, September 23 2014 - 9:16 PM.

[Alza]

Wow 

[Gregory2455]

Drtmiller has joined Formiculture!

[Anhzor]

The chemical in "tree sap" is turpentine, which can be harmful in the same way as citrus solvents (d-limonene) are harmful.

 

Methylparaben is widely used in low concentrations to prevent laboratory ant diets from spoiling, and is even used in Drosophila media in concentrations 500-600% greater than the butterfly study you referenced.

 

byFormica Formula products contain methylparaben and also sodium benzoate, the latter of which is found in soft drinks in concentrations up to 0.1%.  You'll need a 0.001 gram scale to accurately measure most any preservative, unless you're making industrial-size batches.

 

I tested other preservatives, and found they altered the taste of the foods I was feeding such that the ants wouldn't eat them.

 

If you're wanting to do something for your agar test tubes, why not skip agar altogether and use a non-molding water-absorbing polymer such as poly(methyl acrylate) or sodium polyacrylate, aka water crystals?  Agar, being an organic substance, has a higher propensity to mold than what is essentially a water-absorbent plastic.

 

I think that methylparaben is generally safe, I'm not trying to defame your products.

 

Agar works great because i keeps its structure while water crystals don't really have a structure and might be too wet for ants, although its a great idea to keep from regular cotton test tubes to flood.

Edited by Anhzor, September 27 2014 - 10:42 PM.