I was discussing with my wife the properties of honey and she asked posed a question about removing honey with coconut oil. And a light bulb went up (btw I couldn't answer her I wanted to try some experiments first ... and I was stuck on this thought.
I read, camponotus, specifically can not walk on a sloping upside down glass with olive oil. The thought came to me. If that's true could coconut oil be used in a similar manner? Is it toxic to ants? I know coconut oil has alot of the same anti bacterial and fungal properties as honey. And to be completely honest if I could use something a little less on the processed side such as talc powder and rubbing alchohol(I get it evaporates but still something in me says we're missing something here) or fluon would it work\be just as effective. Has anyone tried it as an experiment? If not perhaps there's an experiment we could try different species different amounts. Again assuming it's ant safe of course.
A different thought on BARRIER and ant Escape
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A different thought on BARRIER and ant Escape
Ants are life's most successful invaders. Understand and respect that power.
- Batspiderfish
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Re: A different thought on BARRIER and ant Escape
Talcum is a mineral and alcohol is a volatile liquid that evaporates very quickly. Isopropanol or wood alcohol is cheap, but doesn't exist in nature at the quantities we produce it. You could just as easily use ethanol/unflavored spirits if you're concerned about the health of your ants. Talcum is the best barrier to keep ants in aside from PTFE. Oils are not reliable, less sanitary, and arguably more processed.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.
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Re: A different thought on BARRIER and ant Escape
Well see this is informative but I'm just curious has there been any studies on the affects of alchohol on ants, I understand it dries fairly quickly but there may still be a chance(albeit very minute) that ants would get to it before the full evaporation time. As for the arguably more processed k agree to a point but that's why it's arguable (if for say you have the knowledge of how to process it without resorting to factory ingredients which are sometimes questionable at best.
Ants are life's most successful invaders. Understand and respect that power.
- Batspiderfish
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Re: A different thought on BARRIER and ant Escape
Ethanol is already naturally present to some extent in all animal bodies. It is one of the byproducts of anaerobic metabolism. I wouldn't give your ants straight alcohol, but ethanol is something a sugar-loving species already faces exposure to.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.
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Re: A different thought on BARRIER and ant Escape
Forgive the lowbrow. .. Neat. If I ever stop learning something I better be dead
Ants are life's most successful invaders. Understand and respect that power.
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