So, you’ve started ant keeping—congrats! You’ve entered a world where watching tiny insects carry crumbs becomes the highlight of your day. But like any hobby, beginner mistakes happen.
Some mistakes are harmless (ants are tougher than they look), while others can lead to disaster (accidentally drowning your queen isn’t a fun experience).
To help you avoid the most common pitfalls, here’s a list of 10 mistakes new ant keepers make—and how to fix them before your colony turns into a tiny tragedy.
1. Moving the Queen Too Much
Mistake: Constantly checking on the queen by shining lights in her test tube, shaking her setup, or moving her around like a fragile museum exhibit.
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 Stressing the queen can cause her to eat her own eggs or even stop laying entirely. Some species will even abandon the setup if disturbed too much.
How to Avoid It:
✔ Leave her alone! Check on her once a week at most, using red light if needed (ants don’t see red light well).
✔ Avoid sudden vibrations, loud noises, or temperature swings—ants like stability.
🔗 What to Do with a Queen Ant After Capture
2. Using the Wrong Test Tube Setup
Mistake: Picking the cheapest, smallest test tube and expecting it to last forever.
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 Some test tubes dry out too fast, while others mould up in weeks. If the queen runs out of water, she’s doomed.
How to Avoid It:
✔ Use 16-20mm diameter tubes—this gives enough space for the queen + workers.
✔ Set up a proper water reservoir sealed with cotton to prevent flooding.
✔ Replace mouldy test tubes before they become a fungal horror movie.
🚀 Pro Tip: Always keep backup test tubes ready—moving a colony is stressful enough without scrambling for supplies.
🔗 The Perfect Test Tube Setup for Queen Ants
3. Forgetting a Water Source
Mistake: Assuming ants don’t need a water source because “they get it from food.”
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 Without constant access to fresh water, ants can become dehydrated and sluggish—and brood will fail to develop properly.
How to Avoid It:
✔ Always provide a water source! Test tubes with a cotton-sealed water reservoir are ideal.
✔ Use mini liquid feeders for outworld hydration.
✔ Keep an eye on humidity levels—some species need higher moisture to thrive.
🚀 Pro Tip: If ants are crowding around the cotton plug of their test tube, they might be desperate for more water.
🔗 The Ultimate Ant Feeding Guide
4. Choosing the Wrong Ant Species
Mistake: Jumping straight into difficult species (looking at you, Myrmecia lovers).
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 Some species are hard to raise due to slow growth, escape risks, or humidity needs.
How to Avoid It:
✔ Stick to beginner-friendly ants like:
- Banded Sugar Ants (Camponotus consobrinus) – Easy-going, slow-growing.
- Big-Headed Ants (Pheidole sp.) – Fast-growing, fun to watch.
- Black House Ants (Ochetellus glaber) – Simple care, very active.
🚀 Pro Tip: Do your research before catching a queen—just because an ant looks cool doesn’t mean it’s beginner-friendly.
🔗 Best Australian Ant Species for Beginners
5. Overfeeding (or Underfeeding) the Colony
Mistake: Giving the colony too much food (leading to rot) or not enough protein (leading to poor brood growth).
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 Leftover food = mould, mites, and unwanted pests.
🚨 Lack of protein = weak workers and slow-growing colonies.
How to Avoid It:
✔ Offer small portions of sugars and proteins. If they eat it fast, increase the amount next time.
✔ Remove uneaten food within 24 hours to prevent mould.
🚀 Pro Tip: Larvae need protein to grow into workers, so don’t skip the pre-killed insects!
🔗 The Ultimate Ant Feeding Guide
6. Ignoring Escape Prevention
Mistake: Thinking ants won’t try to escape because they seem happy in their setup.
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 Even the happiest ants are escape artists. Once they’re loose in your house, good luck finding them!
How to Avoid It:
✔ Use PTFE (fluon) or talcum powder barriers on outworlds.
✔ Make sure formicarium lids fit tightly.
✔ Avoid soft plastic enclosures—some ants can chew through them.
🚀 Pro Tip: If you find an escapee, watch where they’re heading—ants rarely wander aimlessly, so they’ll often lead you straight to the escape point.
7. Rushing the Move to a Formicarium
Mistake: Moving ants into a large nest too soon because the small test tube looks “cramped.”
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 A big nest stresses the colony out—ants prefer tight, cozy spaces.
🚨 Too much empty space = mould and mite problems.
How to Avoid It:
✔ Keep them in test tubes until they have at least 30-50 workers.
✔ When upgrading, choose a nest that fits their size—ants expand as needed.
🚀 Pro Tip: If the queen is still sitting alone in a corner, the nest is too big!
🔗 Moving Your Queen Ant from the Founding Stage to a Formicarium
8. Using the Wrong Nest Type
Mistake: Picking a nest that doesn’t suit the species.
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 Some ants need high humidity, while others thrive in drier environments.
How to Avoid It:
✔ Acrylic/3D-printed nests – Best for Camponotus, Pheidole, Ochetellus.
✔ Ytong/plaster nests – Great for humidity-loving ants like Polyrhachis.
✔ Naturalistic setups – Ideal for Meat Ants & Bull Ants.
🚀 Pro Tip: Some ants chew through plastic—don’t put a Myrmecia in a soft plastic nest unless you want a jailbreak.
9. Not Keeping the Nest Clean
Mistake: Assuming ants will handle all the cleaning.
Why It’s Bad:
🚨 Over time, mould and waste build up, leading to mites, bacteria, and bad smells.
How to Avoid It:
✔ Remove dead ants and uneaten food regularly.
✔ If ants don’t use a trash pile, clean the outworld carefully.
✔ For test tubes, move the colony if mould appears.
🚀 Pro Tip: Some species are obsessively clean (like Camponotus), while others are filthy hoarders—adapt your cleaning to the species.
🔗 How to Keep Your Ants Safe from Mites and Pests
10. Panicking Over Normal Behaviour
Mistake: Thinking something’s wrong when ants act strangely.
Reality Check:
✅ Workers standing still? – Some species do this when resting.
✅ Ants ignoring food? – They might not be hungry yet.
✅ Queen not laying eggs? – She might be adjusting to her new environment.
🚀 Pro Tip: Before panicking, wait and observe—ants rarely act randomly.
Final Thoughts: Learn From Your Mistakes!
Everyone makes mistakes—but now you can avoid the most common ones and keep your colony happy, healthy, and escape-proof!
🐜 What was your biggest beginner mistake? Let us know in the comments! 🚀
