Ants+Crickets=HELL

[CMJHBFantasy]

So, this morning, as I was getting crickets for my dragon, I felt little tiny things crawling on my hands. Turn on the lights, BOOM. Ants.
Everywhere.

I took the keeper outside, picked out the ants by hand and put them in a zip lock bag, whilst making sure not ants got in with them. Afterwards, I quickly got my little dude his breakfast, then rinsed out the keeper and all it's parts thoroughly with the garden hose.

Afterwards, it was time to plan my attack. I looked up ways to get/keep ants out of the house naturally (Aside from the bearded dragon, we have cats). One of the things on the list was Tea Tree Oil, as it has a strong smell and disrupts the tracking pheromones left by ants. I got some on some gauze (No cotton balls, though they would be better), and put a couple on the shelves of the bookshelf my keeper was on, and rubbed some of the oil along their path. I then placed a couple of the soaked gauze pieces on either side of the cricket keeper in it's new location.

Hopefully, this will work long enough for the ants to die and leave the house alone.

Needless to say, I am not feeding the ants butternut squash until the dead of winter. And even then, only very sparingly.

Have you guys had any problems with ants in your crickets? What are some tricks and tips you guys use to keep them out? I want to do everything I can to keep my crickets as ant free as possible.

 

[NBGwen]

No ant issues yet...BUT...you now have me thinking we have to act on the dozen or so hills in our yard before we do :shock: (no joke, creeps are freaking EVERYWHERE). I hate the things, earwigs too (they have been getting in the house Hopefully the tea tree does it for you! I'm going to be picking up some baking soda and strong vinegar to cleanse the problem from my yard (is it considered a bad thing to want to nuke them from my yard?). :study:

 

[CMJHBFantasy]

No ant issues yet...BUT...you now have me thinking we have to act on the dozen or so hills in our yard before we do :shock: (no joke, creeps are freaking EVERYWHERE). I hate the things, earwigs too (they have been getting in the house Hopefully the tea tree does it for you! I'm going to be picking up some baking soda and strong vinegar to cleanse the problem from my yard (is it considered a bad thing to want to nuke them from my yard?). :study:

I don't think so. If I knew where they were coming from, I'd attack them at the very source! But the carpeting is so dark in the garage/office that I can't see where they got in. I just know they got all over my poor crickets.
My mom had suggested cinnamon to help get rid of them; to try putting it on some tape, then wrapping the tape sticky side out around the keeper, but I wanted to look up less messy ways, first.
So, tea tree oil for now.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry you are having trouble with ants! Geez, they are everywhere & it is very annoying!
I have heard that cinnamon works pretty well, too, but I have never tried it.
The Tea tree oil works good also. Good luck!

Tracie

 

[CMJHBFantasy]

So, I did this today, because the tea tree oil on it's own doesn't do much. I'm now also able to keep it on the opposite end of the house, now. (My sister doesn't like the sound of crickets...)
This is duct tape with cinnamon on it. I also rubbed the keeper down with tea tree oil before putting the tape on, and I sprinkled some cinnamon on the lid of the tank.
So, hopefully, the ants will leave my crickets alone, and my crickets won't have any averse affects to small amount of cinnamon...

Question: How bad would it be if I tried freeze dried crickets/buggies for a while? Just give the ants a few weeks to HECK OFF, then get him back on live crickets?

Heck, I could probably also just stock up on meal worms. They're small, but they come in better containers for wording of ants, and don't make noise....

:/
I don't know if I'll need to try something else yet, but if this cinnamon/tree oil combo simply results in a bunch of ants in my room....

 

[Gormagon]

Stay away from mealworms , their exoskeletons can cause impaction in beardies. The nutritional value is not high enough to risk it.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Get hold of a bottle of Fluon

I'm sure it's available over there , this is the stuff I have http://www.reptiledirect.com.au/p/288/AVF-250-Fluon-Insect-Film-100ml.html , only need paint it on the bottom of the keeper and it will dry and provide a very slippy surface small insects (spiders, ants, house roaches) can't climb.

My bottle was bought 8 years ago and provided you keep it very well sealed and give it very good shake before using , a little of it goes a VERY LONG WAY and the barrier lasts for years so long as no one gets a bee in her bonnet and goes crazy with a clean up.

 

[CMJHBFantasy]

Get hold of a bottle of Fluon

I'm sure it's available over there , this is the stuff I have http://www.reptiledirect.com.au/p/288/AVF-250-Fluon-Insect-Film-100ml.html , only need paint it on the bottom of the keeper and it will dry and provide a very slippy surface small insects (spiders, ants, house roaches) can't climb.

My bottle was bought 8 years ago and provided you keep it very well sealed and give it very good shake before using , a little of it goes a VERY LONG WAY and the barrier lasts for years so long as no one gets a bee in her bonnet and goes crazy with a clean up.

This sounds amazing, I just need to be able to afford it. XD
There were no ants in my crickets this morning, so having the keeper moved, rubbed with oil, and surrounded by cinnamon seems to have worked!
I don't know about putting it back in it's spot again, though. The ants will likely just find it again...