Looking for my memory to be refreshed :)

[jumbo992]

Hello!

Honestly I have lost a lot of my knowledge about keeping ants. I am looking at getting a L Niger queen + Workers from the new Edu Sci Store (Didn't know they had changed!!) Was bascially looking for some information about what type of soil, best place to keep them. General stuff to kick start the memory!

I will be having a gander through the other posts on the forum, so hopefully it will all come flooding back.

Thanks

[Zarbi]

Garden soil is a good choice, and if you are worried about it being safe you can bake it in a hot oven for about 30 minutes. A word of warning, it does smell to very earthy when hot and let it cool completely before putting any ants in it or they will cook too

[jumbo992]

Thank you very much guys Was thinking of using an Ant World set up as my mother decided to throw away my £40.00 set up >.< Anyone had much luck with them? How long would it last me for? so on...

[Kyle]

I think some people do it as to stop unwanted things likes mites or mould that in the "wild" would stay under control as they are effected by lots of variables, whereas in a set-up they can spread, and without something to counter it, they can overwhelm the set-up, or thats why I do it with soil from outside.
Hope this helps

_Kyle

[Wood~Ant]

I would only use Ant Worlds for smaller ants like Lasius niger, as I have kept a thriving colony of these in an Ant World from a newly mated queen since last August, and she has lots of brood and workers.
Having said that, I also have an old style Ant World with a colony of Formica lemani which is doing fine. It has 3 queens and plenty of healthy workers, and they all seem very happy in it

[jumbo992]

Sounds like they should be perfect for my L Niger colony

Thanks for the advice guys!