How About an Ant Farm?

I'm sure that your parents may say "no" because they think of the ants that invade houses and eat food or gnaw at the wood in the walls. If you have a proper ant farm and learn how to prevent them from escaping, you will see the wonderful world of these fascinating creatures.

What is an ant farm?

Ants love to make tunnels underground. You need to have a glass or clear plastic container so you can see inside. Some people use a glass or plastic jar, fishbowl or small aquarium. You need to put peat moss or sand in the container. If you plan to have dark ants, use light-colored sand. Use peat moss if you have light-colored ants. Dampen the sand or peat moss with water; otherwise, the tunnels will collapse if it's too dry.

As soon as you put the ants in the container, they will get busy and start digging. You should also put some small twigs and stones on top of the sand so they have something to explore. There are some little decorations you can get at pet stores.

To prevent the ants from escaping, you can use a screen that has small mesh as a lid. Some people use a cloth that is tightly stretched across the top of the container, or you can poke very tiny air holes in a metal lid. Be sure the ants cannot get through the holes! I've also heard that if you put Vaseline along the top edges of the container, the ants will not crawl over it.

If you don't want to make your own ant farm, you can buy a ready-made one at a toy store or pet store. There are lots of different styles to choose from. Some look like space ships or cities.

Whatever you use for an ant farm, do not move it once the ants are settled in. If you move it, their tunnels will cave in.

What do ants like to eat?

First of all, ants need water. The easiest way to give them water is to put a cotton ball dampened with water in the farm about every 2 days. Some people fill a test tube with water and plug the end with a cotton ball.

Ants like to eat little pieces of fruit and vegetables or a mixture of honey & water, bread crumbs, or bread dipped in water & sugar or bread dipped in honey. Do not feed them too much or use big pieces. The ants carry the food down their tunnels to a storage space.

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