Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The horror; I awoke in my new apartment to find my geckos being swarmed by hundreds of ants. My maternal instincts kicked in immediately, as I plucked them from their tank and put them in a critter-keeper until I got the ants out of their tank. Luckily, they [the ants] went after my adult leopards, who are still delicate but better equiped physically than my juvenielle leos and my helmeted geckos for such an attack.

Now, after dealing with the stress of moving, I hope the kids can settle in and calm down as intended...but what to do about these ants? They are tiny, NUMEROUS, and mysterious. They did/are not going after any food in the kitchen, I'm on a second floor apartment, and can't seem to figure where they might be coming from. I'm terrified they're going to attack my pets again. I've heard that enough swarming ants can take down almost any size animal...and geckos aren't big! Help is very much appreciated.

Thank you,
Hadleejay

If they are the Argentine ants, you can use a mixture of honey or corn syrup mixed with borax. Just add a little borax(2-5%), because if you use too much, it kills the ants before they make it back to the nest. Put the mixture in a small deli cup, and set it where you see the ants coming out of the wall. I have had an endless battle with ants where I live. They love the crickets in the cages, and if you let them go for too long, they will attack your geckos, frogs, etc. Josh

Here in Miami we have the non stop killer red ants. I had a hammock in a tree that they used.
Vaseline will stop them . Just put a line around your geckos enclosure and that stops them . They sell non toxic smelling gel at garden stores thats pretty much vaseline think with some chemical . You can buy that but regular vaseline works great.
Since they are in your house kill them all so you dont get bit. Raid works great in any room where you dont have reptiles,fish,birds.
In your gecko room the idea the other person posted sounds great .

I had this problem last year with Carpenter Ants, they started by going after my small mealworms in their tupperwares, then started going into my baby Leo and Fat Tail enclosures for the mealworms, and, after a few weeks they even went after one of my baby Leos, I was HORRIFIED! I tried everything to stop them, every spray, borax, etc. None of them worked.

This year, I bought a peice of plywood and put it under my rack, and once ant season starts up again (It actually just started) I am going to put sticky fly traps on the wood all around the rack as a barrier. Hopefully they will try to get to the rack, climb on the fly paper, get stuck and die.

I very much doubt they will get past that! We will have to wait and see. They really are good problem solvers, so I wouldn't doubt it if they found a way in, like crawling up the wall and following the cord.

>>Here in Miami we have the non stop killer red ants. I had a hammock in a tree that they used.
>> Vaseline will stop them . Just put a line around your geckos enclosure and that stops them . They sell non toxic smelling gel at garden stores thats pretty much vaseline think with some chemical . You can buy that but regular vaseline works great.
>> Since they are in your house kill them all so you dont get bit. Raid works great in any room where you dont have reptiles,fish,birds.
>> In your gecko room the idea the other person posted sounds great .
-----
Jeanne Leary
www.USAGeckos.com

_____

Signature file edited; [phw 9/26/04]

The bug chalk that I buy from China Town is hands down the best anti-ant method I've ever used in my life. If you have a China Town in your city, look for it...they pretty much sell it everywhere. An Asian goods store may have it as well.
-----

Copyright © Dr. Zoltan Takacs.
All Rights Reserved.

I heard that the chalk has DDT in it. Is that true? I used to use it until a couple of people told me that. Thanks, Josh

Posted by: pdragon1 at Fri Apr 21 14:29:34 2006 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

I heard that the chalk has DDT in it. Is that true? I used to use it until a couple of people told me that. Thanks, Josh

Yes it had DDT . They sell it in some areas of Miami to. Its unlawful but small stores sell it .
Its the most effective thing there is if you have no kids or pets in the house that will ingest it .
In her case it might not be good as the ants still can make it in her geckos cage and the gecko would eat them.
The legal ant killer sprays,powder work right away but none wipe out the whole entire nest like the DDT powder .

I would be careful with that sticky fly paper, make it virtually impossible for your animals to get stuck.
-----
Lisa

1.0.0 P.m. grandis (Linus)
4.3.0 P. standingi (Toby & Kona and their 5 babies)

I'll have to try these methods!
Thanks for the tips
Ed H.

i would use duck tape lol
-----
we're here because a hobby became an obsession... if only every one had this much fun

some days your the dog, some days your the hydrant...don't know who started this saying but it's the truth

I would certainly complain to whoever runs oyur apartment complex/building. The ants are most likely coming from a less than clean neighbor. Roaches could be close behind them.

No, the place is clean. It's a seasonal, California thing (the ants). Thank you all for your recommendations.

Here in the Forida Keys we have ant issues as well. Try to raise your enclosure onto tables or stands or anything that has legs. I put the legs of the table/stand into little dishes or bowls of cooking oil. The ants cant cross it, and those that try drown. Works well for me. Good Luck.

ANTS!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo.................!!!!!

I would suggest putting double sided tape along the outside of the enclosure until you can find the source of the ants. That should trap them before they can reach your geckos.