# Ant problem



## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Has anyone else ever had ants move into a vivarium and build a colony?

When it first started getting nice outside this spring I had a lot of ants coming into my house around the windows. They were just raiding the cat food bowl, or so I thought. I had a tray of seedling vegetable plants sitting in my bay window and the ants tried to make a home in it. Its the kind of tray that comes with a plastic insert that acts as a false bottom to keep the peat plugs from sitting in water when you water them. Once I went to move the vegetable plants outside, I lifted the insert and found hundreds of ants along with ant pupa filling the tray. I took it outside and threw it away. 

Next the ants did the same thing out on my deck. I had a large pot with a trellis and 12 pea plants sitting on the deck. Once the peas were harvested and the plants died, I moved the pot and found another colony of ants with eggs in between the concave bottom of the pot and the boards of my deck. 

A few days later I was looking in my green tree frog vivarium, my first vivarium with a clay background and substrate, and see over a dozen winged ant drones or young queens running around inside. I turned the vivarium around and found that the ants had excavated a colony in the clay and have a nursery for eggs up near the light, and tunnels all over the background. I started digging around in the leaf litter in the bottom of the vivarium and found my freshly dead green tree frog covered in ants under a leaf. Im really kind of baffled by this whole chain of events. I couldnt see the reproductive queen anywhere in the clay background, and I have no clue how they managed to set up colonies in three unlikely places or how to deal with this one. The frog was fine a couple days ago, and couldnt have been dead for more than a few hours.


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## camlov2 (Dec 8, 2010)

Our local store lost a whole tank of dart frogs due to smaller ants. I would say that if you see any ants in your house you need to find a way to get rid of them as quickly as possible. The moist conditions of our vivs seem to be the perfect environment for ants.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

That sucks. Sorry man. I boil a big pot of water to take care of colonies anywhere near the house. It might take a couple of pots full but it takes em out without any toxins. It would be a pity to get a freshly poisoned ant into your viv.


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## ZookeeperDoug (Jun 5, 2011)

Sevin Dust! This is a very god ant control. Safe enough that our vets let us use it in some exhibits. Not actually in any amphibian exhitibts of course, but we use in in these locations for ant control.

Entryways to buildings, windows, exhibits
Under our FF cultures- Ants were invading them at one point. I think this may be why our zoo cultures never have mites.
Around the base of food prep areas, commisary etc....
Exhibits - prettymuch everything that isn't a fish or amphibian. Its safe enought our vet isn't worried about our aviary birds injesting it from insects that might have tracked through it.

This stuff just works and is pretty safe in low dusted amounts. I sprinkled some in the carpet around the base of my vivarium stands and the container I have for my FF cultures. Both are near a door and window so ants coming in could be a problem.

Obviously you cant use this IN a viv, but it should be a pretty good future preventative when used to appropriately. There might be some concern about ants or other bugs tracking the dust in but I don't think there is too much risk.

My best example of using this is we came into the aviary one morning to find that ants had invaded our pinhead crickets being used to feed our newts, salamanders, and dart frogs. We traced them back to a back doorway. We lightly dusted around the cricket tank, and then along the path to the dor and then heavily OUTSIDE the door. Next day all the ants were just gone.

Hope this helped.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Probably the safest thing you can use around amphibian enclosures are the liquid ant baits that use borate as the active ingredient. The ants feed on it and take it back to the nest which kills that colony off. As it is boric acid based, it takes a large amount to pose a risk to the frogs. Sevin, if it isn't dosed to the colony, won't kill the colony. It only discourages them from coming in through that site. Keep in mind that Sevin (carbaryl) is listed as a carcinogen, so it may not be ideal to be dispersing in the house. 

At the Philly Zoo we routinely used the liquid baits to target ants in and around the enclosures including those with frogs in them. They were even used successfully in some enclosures with insectivores but had to be configured to prevent the feeder insects getting into the liquid. 

I would strongly suggest getting the ants identified as some of them can be very invasive in the house (example pharoh's ants) and you will regret it if they gain a good foothold.


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Thanks for all the replies! I researched Kentucky native ants and I'm pretty sure that they are Tapinoma sessile based on pictures and descriptions of that species forming colonies in potted plants.


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## Boondoggle (Dec 9, 2007)

Ed said:


> Probably the safest thing you can use around amphibian enclosures are the liquid ant baits that use borate as the active ingredient. The ants feed on it and take it back to the nest which kills that colony off. As it is boric acid based, it takes a large amount to pose a risk to the frogs.


Just wanted to second this. I had ants come in and I had some frog fatalities. After cleaning up, I put liquid borate traps in each corner of the room, and have not had ants reach the vivs again.


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## habubak (Jun 7, 2008)

Since the frog didn't appear to make it (so sad, & frustrating!), but the ants are still in there (presumably), you could do what I did when faced with an invasion of what we call "crazy ants." I'm not sure what kind of tank your viv is, but I was dealing with a typical aquarium (i.e. no front-opening doors, etc.). If these instructions aren't helpful, try searching for "CO2 bomb" to research variations.

1) make sure there are no cords or tubes leading out of the viv/tank onto the floor. Either remove water feature pumps, or unplug them & wrap the prongs in plastic bags & electrical tape (to waterproof) before setting gently into the tank. 

2) use your fingers to smear a bit of vaseline around the OUTSIDE lip or edge of the tank. Ants cannot cross it, this will prevent escapees.

3) acquire some dry ice. I bought 5 pounds at my local grocery store, and it was more than enough for my 30-gallon tank. Something like $8 total or some such. You could also try bait shops for dry ice, or some sporting/outdoor goods places will sell it (apparently, it has applications in hunting/fishing).

4) Place dry ice in tank, or in a cup into the tank. READ INSTRUCTIONS ON SAFE HANDLING - DON'T USE BARE SKIN! Cover the tank. Seal as best you can (it doesn't have to be perfect) - I used some tape around the worst of the leaks as the dry ice mist was observed leaking from it. The dry ice is frozen CO2 - as it sublimates into gas, you'll see what looks like fog (this is in reality just the water vapor in the air condensing near the cold CO2 block). Over time, the CO2, which is heavier than air, will fill up the tank and displace all the breathable air. The ant colony will suffocate. 

No need to tear down the tank. 99% of plants will be fine, however, if some leaves get too close to the cold dry ice, they can take a bit of a hit. All of mine that did, however, grew back just fine. Clay background can remain intact. You will, unfortunately, need to re-seed any micro-fauna you have in the tank, such as a clean-up crew (springs, woodlice). 

My hope is that this is helpful. I empathize with your situation!

Cheers,
Steve B.
San Antonio, TX
1.1.0 azureus
1.1.4 galacs red&black


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## ryank458 (Aug 5, 2010)

That's an incredible story. I will keep an eye out for invading ants. Sorry bout your frog!


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