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Answer
Sep 19, 2020 - 09:13 AM
Ants aren't attracted to live mealworms. If you have dying mealworms or decaying vegetables in your colony, they will be attracted to the scent.
It might be a temperature problem in your tray, with heat being trapped at the bottom. Because of their castings (poop), mealworms in a tray can be 20° hotter than the surrounding air killing off your worms in the bottom and mid-layers.
Be sure they are being sifted every 3 to 4 days to keep them cool in the summertime. The bedding should be no more than 2" deep (we keep ours at 1.5") so that heat and moisture can escape through the bedding and not be 'trapped'. The heat, moisture, and castings are the perfect combination for bacteria or fungus to develop on your bedding material causing a bad odor - and attracting ants.
Using wheat bran that is light and airy will help heat and moisture escape while a course, dense bedding like oats can trap heat.
It might be a temperature problem in your tray, with heat being trapped at the bottom. Because of their castings (poop), mealworms in a tray can be 20° hotter than the surrounding air killing off your worms in the bottom and mid-layers.
Be sure they are being sifted every 3 to 4 days to keep them cool in the summertime. The bedding should be no more than 2" deep (we keep ours at 1.5") so that heat and moisture can escape through the bedding and not be 'trapped'. The heat, moisture, and castings are the perfect combination for bacteria or fungus to develop on your bedding material causing a bad odor - and attracting ants.
Using wheat bran that is light and airy will help heat and moisture escape while a course, dense bedding like oats can trap heat.
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I have had the same problem and gave up keeping mealy worms because it was just too hard, I think mice were getting in and feasting on them.
I am now trying to eradicate the ants by using a worm farm which I have tried to make difficult for te ants by putting fine mesh over the air holes ans standing the entire farm in a big tray of water, I am told that I must clean the farm with soapy water to break the pathway which was used to lead the ants to the worms,. Also vinegar will deter them so I need to clean farm also with vinegar. This is definitely the last time I will try to raise them as it has cost me heaps in the past and present setting this up,
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