6 Best Ant Farm Reviews – Expert Buying Guide 2020
If you are looking for ways to teach your little one responsibility along with a bit of basic ecology, an ant farm should be helpful. We have done some researching and pulled out a list of best ant farms available out there with everything there’s to know about the kits.
Before you set out to buy one of these kits for your children, check out this ant farm reviews we have come with. Once you have gone through the article, you will be able to make a well-informed buying decision.
Image | Name | Editor's Rating | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Do You Need a Queen Ant for an Ant Farm?
You can start off with an ant farm without the queen, but when the ants start dying eventually, your farm will be short of ants. Therefore, you will have to collect ants on a regular basis or order them from online retailers to continue with the farm.
Without the queen, the worker ants you put into the farm will eat and tunnel; but, with their death, there won't be any colony for long. That's why it will be better to have the queen ant around.
6 Best Ant Farm Reviews
Here are some cool ant farms that we strongly recommend. You won’t be disappointed buying any of these.
1. Fascinations AntWorks Illuminated Blue
This product provides a perfectly visible ant tunnel by combining the AntWorks Space Age Habitat and AntWorks Illuminator together. The blue gel provides to protect the ants from any collapse in the absence of gravity.
In addition, it supplies sufficient nutrition for the farm inhabitants. The illuminator lights up the gel by making the farm look amazing. That’s why a lot of people consider this product to be the best ant farm for kids.
Since you don't have to worry about feeding the ants, you can now sit back and watch the ants more deeply. That way, you will learn how they thrive as a colony and work out the tunnels.
What’s really cool about this product is that it provides the building of 3D tunnels, thanks to the gel it comes with. Moreover, it is easy to handle.
The kit includes a high-powered zoom lens, a magnifying glass, a tunnel starter, and an instruction book. It doesn’t include ants though. You will have to order them separately.
To help you to get the ants, it comes with an ant catcher. However, ordered ants will be better for they tunnel more perfectly and survive longer.
One of the great things about this ant farm is that there is basically no upkeep needed since the blue gel provides nutrition for the ants. You only need to make sure to place the farm in a shaded location avoiding direct sunlight. The ideal temperature for the habitat would be 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit.
We would recommend this ant farm for kids who are eight years old and above. That doesn’t mean the adults can’t enjoy owning this beauty. Anyone would appreciate the provided illuminator lighting the tunnels up in dazzling colors. This product has 6.5 x 5.5 x 1.25 inches dimensions.
Pros
Cons
2. Evviva Sciences Ant Farm
When we talk about this product, the first thing that should be mentioned is its spectacular ant container. Seeing this delightful product and ants living in it, I cannot help but think that those ants must be having good times. Now, first thing’s first, and that is the product looks good.
They have added blue gel with LED lights to make it a stunner. In fact, it doesn't even give you an impression of being an ant farm by looking more like brilliant home decor. Nevertheless, that’s not all this guy is about.
In terms of technicality, it is an awesome kit. The lights and blue gel we mentioned isn’t all about decoration, you know.
Nutrients are packed into the gel in an amount more than most of the other ant farms for adults the market comes with. It provides a longer and better life for the ants so that they can dig deeper tunnels.
Therefore, this premium gel serves both educational and entertaining purposes. Ants get encouragement to dig deep from the LED light also. It makes them end up digging huge and intricate tunnels.
Another impressive feature it comes with is the magnifying glass. With this thing, you can watch the toilers when they work. What’s more, there is a stick to lend helping hands to the ants whenever they are in need.
In summary, this is the best ant farm for adults to own for the outstanding setup it comes with. For providing a happier and healthier life for the ants, it has got every essential aspect covered. In addition, it possesses properties to offer convenience to the consumer.
Pros
Cons
3. Uncle Milton 0015
The brand has produced a couple of cool ant farms. They differ only in size. This one features 6 x 9 x 1 inch in dimensions. Although this product is super suitable for home use, it might not be a great idea to have it for schools.
Like their other product, the manufacturer has included four ant ports with the package.
Despite we said that it is not a cool option for school uses, with the ant ports in place it might as well be beneficial for some classroom lessons. For you can connect it to the other ant farms through the ports, now it is not always fun to have the ants make their ways into the farm.
In fact, they are stubborn and naughty at times refusing to enter like good boys, but be content, there is an ant way connector tubing to do the job.
Another worth mentioning feature about this kit is that it comes with clean tunneling sand. Therefore, you won’t have to purchase it separately. That’s quite an advantage. What we found really cool is that this ant farm is cheap, yet offers quality performance.
They made it sturdy, so there will be no breaking of the product and escaping of the little creatures.
Accordingly, to prevent the accident, the unit comes with a tip-proof stand. Furthermore, there is a tunnel starter to start farming easily. An ant watcher's guide is also in place.
Likewise, this is a good option for anyone who is looking for a small farm and good quality. The connecting facility it provides is too cool that makes us recommend it highly. If you are intending on saving bucks, this should be the best ant farm kit for you.
Pros
Cons
4. Nature Gift Store Ant farm
Like many of the other ant farms for adults, the manufacturers have come with this ant habitat that includes blue gel packed with necessary nutrients for the ants. Ants also come with the product. You will be impressed by how the gel encourages the inhabitants to set up deep tunnels.
And thanks to it, you don't have to move a finger to feed the ants. This is such an advantage for the educational value. Since there is no feeding the ants involved, your kid will be able to pay more attention to studying them.
There are some valuable accessories that are included with the kit. A tube filled with 25 ants along with a magnifying glass comes with the package. With the glass, you can watch the tiny fascinating creature more precisely. There is also a tunnel starter tool to help the ants start working their way in.
Moreover, you also have an instruction booklet to help your little one learn all about ant farming.
If you want the ants to live, and you do, of course, you should keep the habitat in temperature in between 40-85 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, the manufacturers recommend their ant farm for kids who are 8 years old and up.
The product offers a high educational value. Your little one should learn all the necessary lessons about how this hardworking little creature maintains its livelihood, thrives as a colony and digs the deepest of tunnels.
However, it's a shame that the farm is not equipped with an illuminator like some other products we reviewed. Nevertheless, we find this to be a quality product that ensures a proper living environment for the ants.
Pros
Cons
5. GeoSafari Ant Factory
For your little ones, this would be a really good option for the features it possesses. This product offers great educational values as well as serves as a fun toy. The brand made sure that their product helps the children to learn basic ecology, responsibility and much more.
At first, let’s talk about the impressive size of the unit. It has 9 x 15 x 2.8 inches dimensions. That’s big, you know, as far as the ant farms go. Needless to say, it will accommodate much more of the little form of life.
Besides, your little ones will also learn to be compassionate, caring and sensible. Nurturing skill will develop in them because of this large number of ants they getss to look after.
One of the nice features this tool has is the tunnel starter. With this, you can help your kid to give the ants a head start. In addition, there is a water dropper that comes along for situations when the ants need help. You can assist the ants to set up their tunnels with it.
For educational value, there is a comprehensive guide book that talks about the fascinating aspects of ant farming with tips for colony observation. Your children will learn to identify specimens and carrying out experiments once they have gone through the book.
What’s more, the book contains a chart for specimen identification as well as a display tray.
Therefore, we would recommend this ant farm for kids who are just starting off for school. You will find this ant farm equipped with all the necessary tools and more.
Pros
Cons
6. NAVADEAL Ant Farm
This product stands out as a really good choice competing with other ant farms for adults. Astonishing is the fact that it costs merely 15 bucks. Keeping in mind that it features a blue gel, that really would be a profitable deal for you to go for this kit.
For other products that come with this wonderful feature cost way much. As you may already know, the gel is there to provide food and water for the ants. Therefore, it saves a lot of your efforts in providing nutrition to the farm habitats.
On the other hand, your kid still needs the joy of experimenting. He will be able to have it too with this kit. It certainly is one of the best kits that provides high educational value. Your little one is going to enjoy studying the ants’ social structure, architecture, behavior as well as the ecosystem.
It is worth mentioning how the manufacturers have designed the product. They have separated the working area from the feeding zone so that the kids can carefully watch the ant’s lifestyle.
When your children learn about how ants eat, raise their kids and work hard, it will motivate them to be more responsible and hardworking.
Furthermore, the kit comes with some valuable accessories. These include a plastic pipette, connection caps, a cotton pad, and plastic tongs. Having these components around allows your baby boy to have better interaction with the ants.
Nevertheless, there is an issue with the size of the farm. It is really small providing accommodation for only about 15 ants. Then again, this small number shouldn’t be a concern as far as the educational values and entertainment are disturbed.
In conclusion, this is a relatively flexible option you have around. If budget is your main concern, this would be a great option. The gel base provides convenience and the accessories let the kids get properly involved in the farming.
Pros
Cons
What to Look for Before Buying?
Before you set off getting an ant farm, you should learn a few things first. Thus, you will be better able to choose the best product for yourself.
Types of Ant Farms
The market provides different types of products. Some of them feature sand filled traditional farms while the others come with nutrient-rich gel. What's special about the farms with gel is that the gel plays the role of providing nutrition for the ants.
If you want to spare yourself from the responsibility of feeding the ants, you should get one of these particular types of ant habitat.
Setup
What sort of setup you would want in your ant farm will play a vital role in choosing the right product. There are differences between the traditional sand-filled ant farms and gel equipped ones in terms of setup.
With the traditional ones, you will have to pour the sand into the habitat. On the other hand, gel kits do not require any manual setting up. The kit comes pre-filled with gel. Removing the kit from the box is all you basically have to do.
Tunnel Starter
This fine little feature can be quite crucial for effective ant farming. Since the gel is all new to the ants, you need to assure them first that it is there for them to eat and enjoy. As a consequence, they might delay starting to tunnel.
Therefore, a tunnel starter would give the ants a head start and set an example on how to dig tunnels.
Live Ants Included or Not?
Some of the products come with live ants while others don't. You might keep an eye on this matter before the purchase. If you want less work, buy one that includes live ants.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How Can I Catch Ants?
You can place a bottle filled with the water-sugar mixture as bait. After a while, ants will fill the bottle. Then you can transfer the ants to the ant habitat. You can also dig up a colony.
2. Where Should I Look for Ants?
You can get them outdoors or order them from some websites. It shouldn’t be hard at all to find enough of them in the front yard.
3. What Do the Ants Eat and Drink?
Most of them become quite delighted if they simply have water and sugar. They also love honey and maple syrup. You can add crushed multivitamin with their food to provide them with proper nutrition.
4. Where Can I Get a Refill of the Gels?
You can order them from "antgel.com". They provide instructions with the refill.
5. Is the LED Light Essential for the Farm to Function Properly?
Not necessarily, but it does encourage the ants to the tunnel. Leaving it on for a couple of hours a day is recommended. As for the visibility, there won't be any problem to see the inhabitants and the tunnels with the light off.
Final Verdict
We would be happy if our ant farm reviews helped you through the tough decision making. Let us know your thoughts on our recommendations in the comments section.