Ants in the tub!

[Herp Hugger]

I'm having a bit of an ant problem in some of my tubs. I am using Sterlite tubs with paper towel as substrate and I use flexwatt under the tub at the back for heat. Every other day or so I notice ants inside the snake's tub. Very tiny ants. They gather under the paper towel and I usually find a bunch in the water dish. I have examined the snake thoroughly as have other members of my family and we never see any ants on the snake itself, just underneath the paper towel and in the dish. I used to have aspen as a substrate and took it out in favour of the paper towel so I could get a better handle on what was happening in the tub. I have ant traps outside the bottom tub on my rack (the tub most affected) but it doesn't seem to help much. I read that lemons can help (?) Is there a safe alternative to put in the tub itself or can anyone recommend a better solution to use outside the tubs?

Thanks for your help!

[Pythonfriend]

just for fun....

here is how theoretical physicist and nobel-price-winner Richard Feynman solved his ant-problem:

http://biocontrolbeat.wordpress.com/...xic-ant-ferry/ he got rid of all of them within one hour without killing a single ant ^^

but it works. the easier way would be to find out which trail the ants are going, and where they are coming from, and keep disrupting the trail until the pheromone trail is gone and they no longer know how to get to the tub. i strongly suspect they are coming from outside, it seems really unlikely that you have an actual ant colony anywhere inside your home.

[Yamitaifu]

Are you sure they are ants and not mites


Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy snakes and that's pretty close

[ViperSRT3g]

It might be better to put your ant traps away from your snakes. This could lead them away so that they don't go to your snakes and instead go to the trap.

[Herp Hugger]

Are you sure they are ants and not mites


Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy snakes and that's pretty close

Yes, quite sure. We have an ant issue in the kitchen as well

[Herp Hugger]

It might be better to put your ant traps away from your snakes. This could lead them away so that they don't go to your snakes and instead go to the trap.

I will give that a try.

[Herp Hugger]

just for fun....

here is how theoretical physicist and nobel-price-winner Richard Feynman solved his ant-problem:

http://biocontrolbeat.wordpress.com/...xic-ant-ferry/ he got rid of all of them within one hour without killing a single ant ^^

but it works. the easier way would be to find out which trail the ants are going, and where they are coming from, and keep disrupting the trail until the pheromone trail is gone and they no longer know how to get to the tub. i strongly suspect they are coming from outside, it seems really unlikely that you have an actual ant colony anywhere inside your home.

Thanks, I will check this out when I get home from work.

[bcr229]

If they're in both the kitchen and snake room it also sounds to me like they're coming in from outside. Last year I was inundated with the tiny "sugar ants" in the herp room and bathrooms - they're attracted to heat and humidity.

I used Terro bait to get rid of them. You can find it on amazon.com. I put 2 traps in the house along the path of travel, and I was lucky enough to find the "line" outside the house where they were entering so I put one there as well. Ants were gone in a week.

[Tarotknits]

Diatomaceous earth may be your answer. Is it non toxic to humans and animals, you can sprinkle it just about anywhere and it can even kill mites!

The microscopic particles are very sharp its made of almost pure silica and what happens is the sharp particles scratch the waxy exoskeleton and the bugs just die from dehydration.

They even make a food grade diatomaceous earth and farmers are known for sprinkling it in their grain piles so they don't get bugs. You can sprinkle it in your hair, on your skin, and your dog can lick it and its still safe, and also cheap. Just make sure you get food grade and not pool grade.

When I bought my milksnake from a local petshop I asked about what do you do if you ever get mites, they use it all the time in the shop when they change the bedding and they don't get mites on their reptiles.

Here is a link that gives more information. I found it funny that the exposures to the earth are no worse than getting a little dust in your eye. Don't throw it in your eyes people!

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html

[Herp Hugger]

Thank you all for your input. I have some good ideas to try.