Which barrier is best for TINY TINY ants

[Bierschneeman]

i also have now a Pheidole colony, are they small enough i need to switch away from Talc/alchohol in favor of dry talc?

they arent quite as small, ~1.5mm for my Brachymyrmex, ~2-3mm for the Pheidole workers.

PS, The Pheidole also have a two inch wide upside down area covered in Talc/alc with no seems or ridges, circular. so this might be also helpful.

[AntsDakota]

I have a colony of 1.5mm workers.
I have yet to get an ID. but Ill guess one of the black tiny ants Like Monomorium minimum or Tertamorium... but these are just guesses.

I only had one barrier available when I claimed the colony from a plant pot, Olive Oil.

it seems to be working, they don't like trying to cross it. but I want to make sure I have the best barrier. I have heard the smaller ants have increased difficulty in barriers.
I have in house (NOW) talcum powder and Isopropyl Alchohol, Vaseline, and Olive Oil. I live in Humid Hot, Louisiana.
which do you think is best.

here is a picture of a worker. either for ID to help in decision, or to keep this thread from being boring. (its already posted in the ID center, so I am just here for barrier knowledge)

About your PM, that was a mis-id. The ants I was talking about were Lasius, either neoniger or pallitarsis. I've never kept Brachymyrmex, but I'll let you know if I find some.

[Bierschneeman]

thank you.

[noah0517]

Just did my research for my newest Monomorium minimum colony and turns out you can get (preferably) PTFE Teflon pipe lube (as opposed to ETFE). It’s only $5 at Home Depot and probably not much different elsewhere. It’s only toxic and flammable and very high temperatures as well, so you should be fine as long as you’re not using an extremely hot heat lamp (which you shouldn’t be doing anyway).

[Bierschneeman]

The Brachymyrmex formed a furrow/trail through the baby powder (no alc) they hadn't moved, just scouts.
fortunately I got my Fluon the same day, wiped it off, applied barrier, all the scouts keep falling in when they test the barrier on their return, so they are all returned.

the Fluon.... is less effective, but I am sure it lasts longer, and when I make the band wide enough , it is enough. but it sometimes takes the ant a whole inch of travel to fall off.