The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

I have heard of the problem of overfeeding ant colonies, and I have an ant colony that I feed a lot. Will everything be okay if I remove all the uneaten food from the outworld after the ants have eaten, or is it still worth limiting the amount of food that I give the ants? Will the amount of food that I give my ant colony have any negative effects apart from moulding?

I honestly have no clue. I just feed mine a big glob of raw honey and just keep feeding them insects until they refuse to accept them.

How big is the colony? Estimated amount of workers? The fear is valid, if the ants leave uneaten food in the out world or the nest, it could attract unwanted pests like flies or parasitic mites. Play around a little with how much you feed them, if there's too much excess after it seems the colony has had it's fill then try a little less. I have a carpenter ant colony of around 200 workers. Three crickets every other day seems to be the right amount for them, no crickets are left to rot and a small bottle cap full of honey is there for when they choose to have something sweet. Hope this helps

My colony is a Lasius niger colony, and it is very small, consisting of around 12 workers and one queen. They eat unpredictably, sometimes taking or leaving food.

Thank you for your help.