If you are thinking of getting an ant farm, there are several things that you ought to realize about keeping ants before you set up or at least colonize your farm. In fact, even before you purchase your ant farm, you should look around for which types of ants you can get hold of and then read up on what sort of colonies those ants build.
Do they build nests above and below ground or only below ground? Most regular ant farms are not designed to cope with anthills, although some, shaped like a flat-bottomed egg are built to deal with a slight anthill.
Once you know what kinds of ants you can have, you can select the variety and acquire the appropriate shaped ant farm. Most novices begin with harvester ants, which will live very happily in a normal ant farm. Your colony may grow to a few thousand members, so the next thing to think about is food for them.
Harvester ants will feed on a range of different kinds of food, but it is simpler and more hygienic if you give them sweet, crisp vegetables and fruit. For example, bits of carrot, celery and apple are very good. They are readily cut up and carried by the ants, they are nutritious and they will not rot down or start to smell bad quickly.
You will have to judge for yourself how much food to put down, but it is far better to put out fresh food every day, than leave a large chunk of something standing in the farm for days on end. If you notice that food is being left, cut back a bit.
On the other hand, if the colony is increasing in number and the food is disappearing put a little more down. Working this amount of food out is part of your job. Mould is a health hazard to ants so be on the look out for it on the food at all times.
Ants will get a lot of the moisture that they need from the food that you provide them, but they do need water as well. Not much admittedly, but you ought to drip two or three drops – literally only two or three drops of water – onto the soil every day. Whatever you do do not put so much water that a puddle forms, even a very small one.
If you want to give your ants a real delicacy, put a few granules of sugar into half a teaspoon of water and tip that onto the soil. They will love it and it will also give them a shot of energy, just as if you ate a Mars bar.
Owning an ant farm should be educational and enjoyable. Watching the ants work together to make a nest and rear their young will teach adults and children alike a lot about how insects live. It will also help remove some of the illogical fear that many people have for insects in general, including ants.
Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on many topics, but is at present involved with how to kill fire ants. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at Killing Carpenter Ants.
categories: ants,insects,pests,home improvement,home repairs,animals,gardening,landscaping,pets,biology,science,outdoors,other,uncategorised
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