ANTSTORE World of Ants

[sam2000]

Hi,
Its good to see my little ants have started to leave the test tube, but to find them outside my ant farm wasn't what I had planned! LOL

It seems my ants are getting underneath the lid of my glass arena. I thought the idea of the lid was so you do not have to bother with the hassle of using PTFE etc! Should I be using PTFE as well as the lid? Of course I will have to when to colony grows otherwise they will escape every time I open the lid to feed them, but surely there is no point in having a lid if the ants can get underneath it!!

Look forward to any replies and suggestions.
Sam

[sithmaster676]

i would use PTFE anyway it is good and a lot easier to use when the colony is small and it will also solve your problem of the escaping ants
Sithmaster676

[Sced]

You sure your putting the lid on properly? The lid is near enough air tight, well myn is. Check if its got chipped or anything.

[sam2000]

Yes sith it looks like I will have to invest in some PTFE Do you know where the best place to buy it from in Britain? Obviously I do not want to pay the postage charges from Germany

Sced, yes I am putting the lid on properly. I have tried it every possible way to find a better fit, but is still doesn't fit tight

[Sced]

oh ok
Well cornish crispa sell it.

not sure on link, google it

[sam2000]

Thanks Sced, I will have a google

[JimmyVe]

A lid is not 100% secure. So i to would suggest to use PTFE with the lid. It is always better to have 2 anti-escape things.

[sam2000]

Cheers for the replies Guys! PTFE ordered

[JimmyVe]

That to is not a 100% Sam2000. but if you use the lid with it i'm sure they are not going to escape that easy any more.

[Leevers]

haha yeah PTFE is definetly the go

[Kale^^]

PTFE is good, but the only thing that sucks is that when it is poured over silicon.. The ants still have grip, and some have escaped like that. I have glass farm basin and the glasses are put together with silicon, if it was hid (silicon) the whole thing would be ant proof.

[JimmyVe]

That is true, PTFE dos not work on silicone.

[mpir]

@ Kale

I also have glass farm that was originaly intended for a fish tank. I solved this problem by cutting away silicon from the top down for about 3 cm. And I scrached away the small left overs of silicon with the razor. I applied ptfe and for now it works... of course I also use lid.

[tomocb]

I have just discovered the same problem.

I have found that the metal frame of the lid is too big for the dimensions of the glass arena.

In addition, the glass roof inside the metal frame is too small. And lastly, the height of the glass walls are uneven!!

This creates quite a large gap between the roof and the top of the glass walls where the ants can come and go as they please.

I emailed the store and they suggested that I purchase some self adhesive strips. However, I don't think they realise that the glass arena is unfit for purpose.

I'm happy for them to send me some strips so that it I can try and solve the problem that way. But I think I may need to return the glass arena, which isn't a problem but is a hassle.

[sam2000]

I have found that my arena lid has a tighter fit if I put it on upside down. Of course it is prone to be knocked off but at least it stops the ants from escaping!!