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Lowth01: Help - Messor barbarus (16. Sep 2007 17:03)

Hey. I have a M essor barbarus colony and they still young. I had 6 workers but two have died in the space of two days :O. The first one i figured drowned cus i found in near the water but the second one im not too sure about. I use parrafin oil to prevent them from escaping but it has dripped down into the basin and i found the second ant near some that has dripped down. Could this have killed it? surely the parrafin oil wuldnt pose them too much of a problem? grrrrrr help

sithmaster676: (16. Sep 2007 18:29)

paraffin oil could definitely kill an ant if it ate it or it the fumes were to intense i would recommend getting rid of the paraffin oil and use either ptfe or Petroleum jelly (Vaseline) these work just as well and i use them with my colonies and have had no problems with either
Sithmaster676

Lowth01: (17. Sep 2007 13:00)

ahh that wuld be the problem then. argh i thought it was safe :(

miszt: (17. Sep 2007 14:00)

Parrafin oil is safe, although if an Ant gets coated in it, then it could get suffocated

Lowth01: (17. Sep 2007 14:22)

Ok I removed all parrifin oil just incase :wink: vaseline never seemed to work for me, ive seen some walk right over it

miszt: (17. Sep 2007 14:46)

maybe put your setup on an island?

sithmaster676: (17. Sep 2007 20:37)

yeah i have my formica fusca colony on an island and they don't go near the water mainly because they are scared of it so that may be a good idea unless it is a large setup
sithmaster676