huge black ants are going after my geckos

[newbietoreptiles]

what in the world are they and why are they going after my geckos i tryied everything to remove em maybe there eating the mealwormsor something

 

[mutley375]

Questions:
What part of country do you live?
Has it been dry there?

Large black ants a lot of times are carpenter ants are big time foragers for food and water. Once they establish foraging trails they may continue to use them to locate food (protein or carbs/ sweets or moisture especially if it is dry outdoors.)
Hope this helps.

 

[reptinut]

Would you mind describing how severe your situation is?

 

[Andrew]

Why not move the enclosure? Ants shouldn't be underestimated, I've lost critters to them before.

 

[acpart]

These methods may help get rid of the ants:

--put some ant traps around the cage

--put some vaseline or other such slippery thing either around the bottom outside or top outside (or both) of the tank to keep the ants out

--I think some people have also put the feet of the furniture the tank is on in water pots to keep the ants out, but I can't figure out how that would work.

Aliza

 

[newbietoreptiles]

i live in north ga usa i think i may of got rid of em i just feed the geckos one meal worm at a time so there is none in there bowl i feeed em to they dont want any more

 

[Seekeroftruth]

Make sure that they don't find their way back in. Ants can be serious. Follow the advice of the above posters and you shouldn't have any future problems.

 

[laughing dog]

they come after the poo and substrate even. scrub around with vinager or dawn on the walls and around windows, base boards, vents, doors(it distroys there scent trails), spray vinager around were you think they might be comeing from. i use toads to control my ants also. the carpenter ants will probly be found around wood, and rotting especailly. check your basement and attic if you cant find any local sourses out side, like railroad ties, or log piles especially.

 

[BalloonzForU]

I've heard the use of Cinnimon to stop them. You would sprinkle it where you find them intering the house. Not sure if it works since I've not tried it myself.

 

[bonnie]

also try a thick line of chalk. I know small ants won't cross it, but you can't have any breaks in it. make sure you destroy their scent trail. Vinegar should do that trick I would think.

 

[rawson5084]

i had that problem when i had crickets.... those ant got into the cricket cage and killed all of my crickets (i had like 7 or 8 dozen crickets)... so since i wanted to focus in just geckos i got rid of frogs so i didnt need to buy cricket any more... plus the tree frogs kept me up all night lol..... but now i move from upstairs to the basement and now i have spider problems they dont mess with the geckos or their food but they are still annoying lol

 

[GeckoGathering]

BUGGS, Ahhhhh YES

Since I try to keep all non prey pest bugs out of the house
I make a practice of spraying(course not mist) all edges(wall meet floor) of rooms.
Across all door entries(in and out), exterior window frames, and the
outside area around the house. This spray also is for possible
fleas since I have Ozzie my cat. A combination product by Enforcer
for Homes that kills fleas + flea eggs, ants, crickets, spiders and
others that cross it. Purchased at Rural King Store. (Farm Store)
or a Lowe's store.
Seems to do a great job, says effective for 7 months.
Yes I have geckos in aquariums around in the sprayed rooms.
Take care. HJ
​

 

[little98dime]

a perminant marker line will keep them from going across... its either that or a dry-erase one,... can't remember.

 

[ZooKeeperKarin]

I have also hear Borax (laundry section) works also. We sprinkle it in the camper when it's not being used.

 

[Lizard Lair]

Hey HJ - does that product have a strong smell? I've been thinking about doing what you did but wasn't sure what product would be safe to use. I worried about the lizard room air conditioner drawing in the fumes and causing problems. Hate getting spiders in the house Annnd my husband is a little paranoid about roaches escaping the lizard room. :main_robin: