# Large Black ants colonizing my crickets



## jejton (Sep 3, 2006)

I keep crickets in a 5 gallon tank to feed my reptiles ( I dont breed them but buy a larger quantity every other week and this way I can gutload and space them out ). Lately I've started noticing a large black ant species colonizing the tank. I clean out the tank in between batches, with a good bleach/water soak, yet the ants keep coming back. Whereas at first I thought they were only raiding the tank for food ( still cant figure out if they are killing and eating the crickets, or just stealing the food and/or dead crickets since I've seen them carry away all of the above but I haven't noticed an exceptionally high cricket loss rate ) however last time I noticed eggs glued onto one of the egg cartons so now I believe they actually make a nest there. The ants are black, pretty large ( haven't taken a ruler to them but the larger individuals are easily 1 cm. ) and though what I think the are soldiers have tried to bite me, they never penetrated my skin or sprayed me. I've avoided bait traps until now because I dont want them getting into my dragon or skink's enclosures and passing on the poison. Last week I experimented with feeding one to my skink and dragon ( haven't tried with my cham or timor monitor ) and the skink looks, sniffs and ignores while my dragon gobbles them with gusto with no ill effect. I dont mind the free feeders but they are becoming annoying crawling around other parts of the house. BTW I live in Long Island, NY. So any theories as to what they are?


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## Freeradical53 (Jan 25, 2008)

Ants dont cross water, so you can set your tank in shallow water and get rid of them.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

You can try this stuff painted on the outside of the tank in a band.. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51124

In the meantime, double sided tape run completely around the tank and replaced every day or two will keep them out. You can also use vaseline but it is just too messy in most cases. 
The stuff used in research labs is called fluon but it is expensive and the smallest amount you have to purchase is a quart. 

Ed


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

Ed said:


> You can try this stuff painted on the outside of the tank in a band.. Insect-a-slip bug barrier - FaunaClassifieds
> 
> In the meantime, double sided tape run completely around the tank and replaced every day or two will keep them out. You can also use vaseline but it is just too messy in most cases.
> The stuff used in research labs is called fluon but it is expensive and the smallest amount you have to purchase is a quart.
> ...


i always thought a thin layer of Vaseline worked better than bug-stop


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

There can be variations in how wel bug stop and similar products work depending on the temperature and humidity. It loses effectiveness over time. 

Ed


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