Ants and box turtles, a follow-up

[Mmathis]

Well, the ants are still there, but I've decided they're not fire ants. Maybe carpenter ants ......?

Anyway, I did a trial run for the "moat" idea [I think I posted in my other "ant" thread.....]. I had an 18" plant saucer that was a couple of inches deep, and some round pavers so decided to try that as an experiment before I committed to anything [literally] in concrete. In theory, and on the ground it looked like it should work, right? [see pic]

But here's what's going on..... Somehow, the ants are still finding their way onto the feeding area! Not in large amts., but enough that it worries me. Also, the ants are still massing around the feeding area [they know there is food there]. Yesterday, after I eliminated the ants that were actually on the feeding area, I put one of the turtles down for some dried meal worms -- a treat they normally can't resist! Well, the turtle totally freaked out and couldn't get away fast enough....and still ended up having to wade through the ants to get away.

So, I'm wondering a couple of things.....

1. was it the sight of the ants, in general? turtles do learn by association
2. if I increased the size of everything, would it help to give the turts a larger platform to eat on? [you can see in the pic that there is only room for one turtle at a time, and unless that one is very careful, chances are that part of its body is going to overhang]
3. might doing a double-moat help? IOW, widen the barrier [like an 18" saucer placed inside an even larger one]
4. and one thing about turtles, they are messy eaters, and will occas. try to drag their food off somewhere else to eat it -- which means there will be food remnants dropped which will further attract the ants

I just don't know where to go with this. I put out some ant baits yesterday. I've also ordered some food grade diatomaceous earth, but that will only kill the ants it contacts directly, so it's not something they can "take back to the queen" for colony control. I'll have to use the DE judiciously around the turtles. A couple of sources say to sprinkle the DE around the perimeter of the area you're trying to protect, but these ants are already INSIDE the habitat. And, in the case of fire ants, they are subterranian travelers so might never come in contact with the DE.

We use a pest control company, but except for spraying, because of the turtles and the pond, there's not much else they can do.

 

[Mmathis]

Another follow-up....

I checked the area several times yesterday and.......no ants, well except for a "scout" here and there. Very strange. And I dug around in the gravel and soil, which usually brings them out.

I read that carpenter ants are nocturnal, but these guys are usually always out, so I did go back and look for them again once it got dark, just to be sure.

Now surely the ant baits I put out weren't THAT effective?!?! Or were they......?

Time will tell....