The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

I've seen a lot of posts saying spiders were a great food source. while I was outside today flipping over rocks I found some spiders. they were easy to catch because they were slowed from the freezing temperatures. I don't want to feed them to my colonies because i've been told to not feed wild insects, are spiders a exception?

Guys the most amazing thing just happened. why i was spider hunting i flipped over a log and found two beautiful queens! Not what i was expecting my hands are shaking with excitement. i was surprised how close to the surface they were they. they are not camponotus and had no brood. also they were less than one inch apart.

and this is when it is exactly 32 F !

here is the link to the identification page,http://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=5463

I have heard of people boiling spiders to make it safe for their colonies, but I can't attest to how safe it is.

I think the danger comes from pesticides and parasites they could carry. Even though they are alive, some insects/spiders can carry residues of pesticides on their skin. Boiling them would reduce the quality of the proteins for the ants but solve the problem of parasites. Not sure about the pesticides though...

Here is a thought. Do not kill kill our lovable 8 legged friends? I remember first hearing people were feeding spiders and i swear I almost cried. I love ants but i adore spiders. They are helpful as biological, environmentally friendly and a free versions of pest control. They eat the annoying flies attracted by live feeders

Ant love forever guys buy also spider love for ever! So for safety for ur ants and for the love of spiders do not do it. Spiders are also durable little guys so the chances of them carrying something is high enough to be a danger to ur ants.