How to catch a queen Ant?

[Austria-russia]

Im trying to catch a queen ant for my ant farm Ive made. I ffound a ants nest but I cant seem to find the queen no matter how far I dig and its near a tree so one of the roots is down below in the nest and I had to give up digging after a while and the next morning the little buggers had already began covering up where Ive been digging. so does anyone know how to lure the queen ant out of the nest?

your not going to want to catch one when you see it...

[Kreigan]

Do you know by chance how long they mate for like 1 whole day or like a certain amount of hours? And yeah I ddint really wanna dig it up I like ants but I thought that was the only way.

Usually at least two days in a row - on odd occasions (Depends on the climate), they may do so more than once a year.

But how can it be that hard to find(I sound ignorant don't I?) From what I have learned over time is that any ant queen is down there, you just got to keep looking.

Well, I'd have to guess here - I have never dug for one myself, the times I saw one was when the sidewalks were covered in them :-p But typically, if the nest's endangered, the queen tends to flee - so, that'd be a pretty obvious issue, nevermind the general complexity of a nest.

Flooding, perhaps? Run a garden hose into the next for a couple of days, long enough for the water to penetrate to sanctum sanctorum and I bet the workers start hauling the larvae and queen out of there.

I still say, get a puppy.

I live in an apartmant complex and the nest is across the parkinglot in font of my apartment. I know both of the neighbors and both dont care but I dont have a long enough hose and that would block people from pulling into the parking lot.

[Kreigan]

Im trying to catch a queen ant for my ant farm Ive made. I ffound a ants nest but I cant seem to find the queen no matter how far I dig and its near a tree so one of the roots is down below in the nest and I had to give up digging after a while and the next morning the little buggers had already began covering up where Ive been digging. so does anyone know how to lure the queen ant out of the nest?

your not going to want to catch one when you see it...

Well I know their ugly but I mean sieroiusly how bad can it be their ants.

[Austria-russia]

wait I just googled imaged them and they don't look like what i thought they did go right ahead I was thinking of asomething else

[Arthropoda Ingens]

Anyway - ideally, pay attention when going outside in the late summer. At some point, there'll be swarmin' ants. Once this occurs, you best look for a sunny, stony place - a parking lot serves very well. Not one made wholly from asphalt, but with little stones over a normal ground covering, and a bit of vegetation around -, and wait. In the early evening, during late swarming/ the first few hours afterwards, you should be able to find shittons of queens on the ground, post-mating. Just collect 'em.

Okay, so this is a rather optimistic outlook. In some places this works, while other places appear almost antless - it happens. But if there's significant swarming in your area, such a place makes it very easy to collect. No grass or bushes for the queens to hide.

Just make sure you do it the very evening the swarming occurs. The next say, the queens will be either dug in, or eaten by a wide variety of predators.

[Farnhamia]

Do you know by chance how long they mate for like 1 whole day or like a certain amount of hours? And yeah I ddint really wanna dig it up I like ants but I thought that was the only way.

Usually at least two days in a row - on odd occasions (Depends on the climate), they may do so more than once a year.

But how can it be that hard to find(I sound ignorant don't I?) From what I have learned over time is that any ant queen is down there, you just got to keep looking.

Well, I'd have to guess here - I have never dug for one myself, the times I saw one was when the sidewalks were covered in them :-p But typically, if the nest's endangered, the queen tends to flee - so, that'd be a pretty obvious issue, nevermind the general complexity of a nest.

Flooding, perhaps? Run a garden hose into the next for a couple of days, long enough for the water to penetrate to sanctum sanctorum and I bet the workers start hauling the larvae and queen out of there.

I still say, get a puppy.

I live in an apartmant complex and the nest is across the parkinglot in font of my apartment. I know both of the neighbors and both dont care but I dont have a long enough hose and that would block people from pulling into the parking lot.

That's a problem. Have you tried live-ants.com? I didn't see any mention of queens, really, but they have an 800 number you could call.

[Austria-russia]

I still say get a puppy as well

[Arthropoda Ingens]

Dogs are dirty, filthy, and evil animals.

At least make it a kitten. Kittens are cute.

Ants are awesome, though.

This said, the most awesome of all are spiders. Spiders are <3

[Panzerjaeger]

Ant colonies are a lot like trenches. So adopt WW1 strategies to counter it.

^This. Lots of artillery, saps and mustard gas should do the trick. Maybe the occasional overpowered landmine.

[North Suran]

Ant colonies are a lot like trenches. So adopt WW1 strategies to counter it.

^This. Lots of artillery, saps and mustard gas should do the trick. Maybe the occasional overpowered landmine.

Poppycock!

What you need is a good ol' fashioned cavalry charge!

[Panzerjaeger]

Ant colonies are a lot like trenches. So adopt WW1 strategies to counter it.

^This. Lots of artillery, saps and mustard gas should do the trick. Maybe the occasional overpowered landmine.

Poppycock!

What you need is a good ol' fashioned cavalry charge!

Aye, that could work too. He just needs the right kind of élan.

[Kreigan]

Dogs are dirty, filthy, and evil animals.

At least make it a kitten. Kittens are cute.

Ants are awesome, though.

This said, the most awesome of all are spiders. Spiders are <3

Spiders are creepy I hate how they walk and ehh how they just look creeps me out

[Kreigan]

Do you know by chance how long they mate for like 1 whole day or like a certain amount of hours? And yeah I ddint really wanna dig it up I like ants but I thought that was the only way.

Usually at least two days in a row - on odd occasions (Depends on the climate), they may do so more than once a year.

But how can it be that hard to find(I sound ignorant don't I?) From what I have learned over time is that any ant queen is down there, you just got to keep looking.

Well, I'd have to guess here - I have never dug for one myself, the times I saw one was when the sidewalks were covered in them :-p But typically, if the nest's endangered, the queen tends to flee - so, that'd be a pretty obvious issue, nevermind the general complexity of a nest.

Flooding, perhaps? Run a garden hose into the next for a couple of days, long enough for the water to penetrate to sanctum sanctorum and I bet the workers start hauling the larvae and queen out of there.

I still say, get a puppy.

I live in an apartmant complex and the nest is across the parkinglot in font of my apartment. I know both of the neighbors and both dont care but I dont have a long enough hose and that would block people from pulling into the parking lot.

That's a problem. Have you tried live-ants.com? I didn't see any mention of queens, really, but they have an 800 number you could call.

Yeah see its illegal to buy a queen ant in the US, dont know why since I think its ridiculos but yea beleive me I would have bougth a queen if it was legal rather than try and dig up or catch one during mating season.

[Jalkil]

Dogs are dirty, filthy, and evil animals.

Say that again and I will name you my eternal enemy! My dog is the most cutest, little dog I have ever seen... Ofcourse she IS a little fat but then she was the one who wanted to have my bread...

[Buffett and Colbert]

Why are you trying to catch a queen ant?

[Brandenburg-Altmark]

Why are you trying to catch a queen ant?

Ostensibly to start a colony from scratch in a farm. It's very interesting to watch them work.

[Geniasis]

Ant colonies are a lot like trenches. So adopt WW1 strategies to counter it.

Oh ok ill just go pull out the mustard gas and and atillery then bomb and gas them out, thanks.

It would solve that specific problem. Of course I assume that problems and solutions exist in a void and don't have any other effects on the rest of the world. That would be silly.

No, no. Tanks. You have to invent tanks, then you can roll over their little myrmydon trenches and capture the queen. Fabulous.

Don't be daft, the survivors can always rebuild. We have to irradiate the soil with nukes.

[Glorious Homeland]

Im trying to catch a queen ant for my ant farm Ive made. I ffound a ants nest but I cant seem to find the queen no matter how far I dig and its near a tree so one of the roots is down below in the nest and I had to give up digging after a while and the next morning the little buggers had already began covering up where Ive been digging. so does anyone know how to lure the queen ant out of the nest?

Ants have a breeding season, where all the queens from all the nests sprout wings and fly off to make a new nest......a perfect opportunity to catch one.

This, have patience and check on the colony every day around a certain month, forget when it is; but it'll be quite obvious given the amount of winged males and females about the ground.

[Katganistan]

Don't they sell them specifically for ant farms?

[edit]Ah I see -- they don't. How big a farm are you talking? Seems like with her laying hundreds of eggs a day your farm will die pretty quickly.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp& ... 0ccbc1a062

[Serrland]

Do ants migrate away from a nest that's been smoked out? I know when the bloody pocket gophers cause mischief in my garden it's best to go out there with some little smoke-bombs and smoke them out - they get out and stay out long enough to close in the holes, and then they don't really want to come back. I don't know if ants work the same way, but you might be able to smoke out the queen.

[Pandarchy]

Im trying to catch a queen ant for my ant farm Ive made. I ffound a ants nest but I cant seem to find the queen no matter how far I dig and its near a tree so one of the roots is down below in the nest and I had to give up digging after a while and the next morning the little buggers had already began covering up where Ive been digging. so does anyone know how to lure the queen ant out of the nest?

Ants have a breeding season, where all the queens from all the nests sprout wings and fly off to make a new nest......a perfect opportunity to catch one.

Not exactly true... its when all newly born queens take flight. They already have wings when they come out of their cocoons. Once they are impregnated and land, they lose their wings. The issue is also the male ants are flying around at that time... and its difficult to tell which ones are male and female without experience.

You don't just get a magnifying glass and look for little wee-wees then?

[Communist Balkania]

Ant colonies are a lot like trenches. So adopt WW1 strategies to counter it.

Mustard Gas?

[Wamitoria]

Ant colonies are a lot like trenches. So adopt WW1 strategies to counter it.

Mustard Gas?

No, bayonet charges.

[Communist Balkania]

I could see that happening to, like the neighbors look over and see you spraying yellow gas over a large portion of your yard and then firing a cannon at it.