How to Make a Simple Outworld - AntsCanada Tutorial #32

Summary

This video tutorial guides viewers on creating a captivating and functional living space for a captive ant colony. It emphasizes the importance of both a nest section and an 'out world' for foraging and waste management. The host demonstrates how to construct a simple out world using a critter crawler, grout, fake plants, and other materials, ensuring a simple design to prevent ants from nesting there. The process includes mixing grout, shaping the out world, adding decorations, and finishing with sand for a natural look, resulting in an appealing and practical habitat for the ants.

Takeaways

• 🏠 A captive ant colony requires a nest section and an out world section for foraging, establishing garbage sites, and burial grounds.
• 📏 Larger out worlds or more of them are better for larger colonies, providing more space for ants to explore and function.
• 🛠️ To create an out world, a critter crawler or aquarium with rounded edges is recommended to prevent ants from escaping.
• 🔨 For creating entry holes in plastic, use cone or ball-shaped drill bits, or alternatively, heat a knife to bore a hole.
• 💧 Reinforce the entry hole with silicone caulking to ensure no ants can escape through it.
• 🌿 Decorate the out world with materials like books for elevation, grout for a hard surface, fake plants, twigs, and stones.
• 🛖 Use grout instead of soil to prevent ants from digging and nesting in the out world, which should be slanted to increase surface area.
• 🎨 Mix grout with water to a toothpaste-like consistency for easy application and to avoid inhaling dust, which can cause allergic reactions.
• 🌳 Decorate with simple, not overly intricate designs to avoid providing too many hiding places for ants.
• 🗺️ Rocks and twigs are used to create natural-looking paths and rocky outcrops, enhancing the visual appeal of the out world.
• 🏜️ Sand is used as a final covering to give the out world a naturalistic finish, with different grains for varied textures.

Q & A

What are the two essential sections for a captive ant colony's living space?

A captive ant colony needs a nest section and an outworld section, also known as a basin, where ants can forage, establish garbage sites, and burial grounds.

Why is it beneficial to have a larger outworld for an ant colony?

A larger outworld or having multiple outworlds is beneficial, especially for large colonies, because it provides more space for foraging and other activities, promoting a healthier and more active colony.

What type of container is recommended for creating an outworld and why?

A critter crawler made of acrylic is recommended because its rounded edges make it harder for some species of ants to escape compared to containers with straight, squared edges.

What materials are needed to create the outworld?

Materials needed include a critter crawler, books, grout (or cement), fake plants, twigs, a tub, a stirring tool, stones, sphagnum moss, and sand.

What is the purpose of tilting the outworld upwards using books?

Tilting the outworld upwards increases the surface area within the home, providing more space for the ants to explore and making the display more visually appealing.

Why should grout be used instead of soil for the outworld base?

Grout should be used instead of soil to prevent ants from digging into the earth portion of the outworld, ensuring they stay in the designated nest area rather than nesting in the outworld.

What should the consistency of the grout mixture be?

The grout mixture should be as thick as toothpaste or have a consistency similar to loose peanut butter or melting ice cream.

Why should real plants be avoided in the outworld?

Real plants should be avoided because they require soil and water, which can lead to ants creating nests in the outworld. Fake plants are recommended to avoid this issue.

What is the importance of not making the outworld decorations too intricate?

Decorations should not be too intricate to prevent ants from hiding and nesting in the outworld. A simpler design makes it easier to clean and manage the ant colony.

What is the final step in creating the outworld and why is it important?

The final step is to add sand over the exposed grout to give the outworld a naturalistic finish. This step is important for aesthetic purposes and to ensure the grout is fully covered and protected.

Outlines

00:00

🐜 Designing an Ant Colony's Living Space

This paragraph introduces the concept of designing a captive ant colony's living space, emphasizing the importance of having both a nest section and an 'out world' or basin for foraging, garbage, and burial grounds. It suggests that larger out worlds are beneficial for larger colonies. The tutorial then begins to explain how to create a simple out world using a critter crawler made of acrylic, highlighting the benefits of rounded edges for containing certain ant species. The video demonstrates reinforcing a hole with silicone caulking to prevent ant escape.

05:01

🛠️ Creating the Out World Terrain with Grout

The speaker details the process of creating the out world's terrain using grout, which is chosen over direct soil to prevent ants from digging and nesting in the out world. They mix grout with water to achieve a toothpaste-like consistency, cautioning against adding too much water and ensuring thorough mixing to avoid unmixed grout. The grout is then added to the out world, with advice to slope it upwards for increased surface area and better visibility. The paragraph also covers the initial shaping of the out world, including the creation of pools and nooks, and the importance of not overcomplicating the design to prevent ants from hiding and nesting within the out world.

10:02

🎨 Decorating the Ant Out World with Natural Elements

This section focuses on decorating the ant out world with elements like fake plants, rocks, and twigs to create a natural-looking environment without the risk of ants nesting in the out world. The speaker advises against using real plants due to the need for soil and water, which could encourage ants to nest outside their designated area. They demonstrate how to arrange the decorations, including placing taller plants at the back for visual appeal and ensuring the out world remains accessible for easy cleaning and ant activity. The addition of rocks and twigs is discussed, along with the use of sand to cover exposed grout areas, aiming for a naturalistic finish. The use of sphagnum moss is also suggested for its natural appearance and to deter ants from nesting, with a reminder to let the grout dry overnight before introducing the ants to their new environment.

Keywords

💡Ant Colony

An ant colony refers to a group of ants living together, typically consisting of a queen, workers, and males. In the video, the focus is on designing a living space for a captive ant colony, emphasizing the importance of both a nest section and an out world section for their survival and well-being.

💡Nest Section

The nest section is a part of the ant colony's living space where ants reside and breed. It is crucial for the ants' shelter and reproduction. The video discusses the need for a well-designed nest section in conjunction with an out world section for a complete living environment.

💡Out World

The out world, also known as a basin, is the area in an ant colony's living space where ants forage, establish garbage sites, and burial grounds. The video emphasizes that a larger out world or multiple out worlds are beneficial, especially for larger colonies, and provides a tutorial on creating a simple out world.

💡Critter Crawler

A critter crawler is a type of container used for housing small animals, in this case, ants. The video mentions using an acrylic critter crawler with rounded edges, which is effective in containing ants and preventing escape, highlighting its importance in the design of the out world.

💡Grout

Grout is a type of cementitious material used to secure tiles to the ground and join them. In the video, grout is used to create a solid, non-diggable surface in the out world, preventing ants from digging into the earth portion and staying within the foraging material.

💡Fake Plants

Fake plants are artificial greenery used for decoration. The video suggests using fake plants in the out world to avoid the need for soil and water, which could encourage ants to nest in the out world instead of the designated areas.

💡Gravel and Pebbles

Gravel and pebbles are small stones used in the out world to create a natural-looking environment. The video mentions using gravel to add texture and visual interest to the out world, while also discussing the importance of not making the out world too heavy.

💡Spagna Moss

Spagna moss is a type of moss used for decoration in the video. It is suggested as a natural finish for the out world, providing a realistic look. However, the video also cautions that ants with opportunistic nesting habits might nest in the moss, so it should be used with consideration.

💡Decoration

Decoration in the context of the video refers to the various elements used to design the out world, such as fake plants, rocks, and twigs. The video emphasizes the importance of keeping decorations simple and not too intricate to prevent ants from hiding and potentially nesting in the out world.

💡Silicone Caulking

Silicone caulking is a type of sealant used to reinforce holes in the critter crawler. In the video, it is used to ensure that no ants can escape through the holes, highlighting its role in maintaining the integrity of the ant colony's living space.

💡Tub and Stirring Tool

A tub and stirring tool are used to mix grout in the video. This is an essential step in creating the out world, as the grout needs to be mixed to the right consistency, similar to toothpaste, to be effectively applied to the out world's surface.

Highlights

Designing a captive ant colony's living space involves creating a nest section and an out world section.

A larger out world or more out worlds are beneficial, especially for larger ant colonies.

The tutorial demonstrates how to make a simple out world for an ant colony.

Using a critter crawler made of acrylic is recommended due to its rounded edges which are harder for ants to escape.

Reinforcing the hole with silicone caulking prevents ants from escaping.

Materials needed for the out world include books, grout, tile, fake plants, twigs, a tub, a stirring tool, stones, Spagna moss, and sand.

Tilting the out world upwards increases surface area for ants to wander and improves display.

Grout is used instead of direct soil to prevent ants from digging into the earth portion.

Mixing grout should be done carefully to avoid inhaling dust and potential allergic reactions.

The grout should have a consistency similar to toothpaste or loose peanut butter.

Decorating the out world should be simple to avoid ants hiding and moving into the area.

Fake plants are preferred over real ones to prevent ants from creating nests in the out world.

Adding rocks and twigs provides a naturalistic look and feel to the out world.

Sphagnum moss can be used to give a natural finish, especially if ants are not opportunistic in nesting habits.

Letting the grout dry overnight results in a beautiful and simply made out world the next day.

Ensure decorations do not go past the barrier to maintain the integrity of the out world.

The video includes a humorous moment where the creator accidentally creates a hole in the out world.

Transcripts

hey what's up guys welcome to the ads

Canada and channel where we talk about

ants as some of you might already know

or maybe you'll soon find out one of the

most fun things about keeping a net

colony is designing their living space a

captive ant colony needs two sections to

their living space they need a nest

section and they need an out world

section also known as a basin where your

ants will be able to forage establish

garbage sites and burial grounds in fact

as a rule the larger the out world or

the more out worlds you have the better

especially for large colonies and so

this tutorial explores how to make your

own simple out world

alright guys and so now I'm going to

show you how to do a simple out world

first what you need is you need a

critter crawler this one's made of

acrylic most are and I like using credit

colors because the edges here are

rounded and I find some of the harder to

contain species find it harder to escape

aquaria that have rounded edges as

opposed to complete straight you know

squared edges so yeah I find them very

effective if you can find an aquarium

larger than this that's circular or and

doesn't have edges even better and in

that case you'll have to find a drill

bit that can drill glass but in my case

you can use um drill bits that are

specifically used for plastic they are

either cone shaped or ball shaped um or

you can do it just kind of ghetto home

styles like you just heat up a knife a

sharp knife and then you bore a hole you

could do that too um but yeah so that's

what I've done and I've reinforced the

hole with some silicone caulking just so

no ants escape I mean as you can see

here I have my barrier already there

ready to go of insect asleep right okay

so things you'll need is you

eat some books you'll need some grout

tile and grout they sell tile and grout

in well your local hardware store it's

used to secure tiles to the ground and

join them you'll of course need some

fake plants which you can purchase

pretty much anywhere but I find if

you're in North America Dollarama has

some great fake plants to choose from

and I'll show you how you can arrange

those some twigs like this twig here you

don't want to get too complicated and

I'll explain why later you'll need a

some sort of tub and stirring tool to

mix the grout you'll also need some

stones I've got a few gravel like

pebbles here I like to use a little bit

of Spagna moss and you'll need some sand

you can see here I've got like a really

nice gravelly sand that you can use

children's place and this fine all of

those okay so to start you're going to

want to tilt your Outworld upwards and

so you'll put books at the bottom just

so it tilts kind of upwards you see that

and what that does is when your grout

hardens you can have it slanted and what

the slant does is it increases your

surface area in your home so more

surface for your ends to wander the

better that's great and I think just the

display is better when they're the earth

is kind of slanted upwards you can see

more of the out world alright so the

first step is we need to mix some rope

my favorite you can also use cement if

you don't have access to grow and the

reason why you want to use grout

instead of just direct soil assuming

you're not going for a natural mist is

because the ants won't be able to dig

into the earth portion which is a good

thing because you want them to stay in

your for material and not nest in your

out world rate so I'm just going to pour

some grub there all right I'm not sure

if I'm going to use the whole bag the

grout also comes in different colors now

I find it helps to wear a mask when

you're doing this because the dust gets

really cool kind of gets everywhere and

it gets messy and it gets in the air and

sometimes it causes people to talk to

have allergic reactions so if you could

do this with a mask or do it somewhere

where it's nicely ventilated like a

garage or outside that would be great

all right so now that we have our grout

and there now we just have to add water

now you kind of have to make sure you

don't add too much water the consistency

should be as thick as toothpaste and I

think I'm editing up next and see how

that power just rises into the air

sometimes that inhaling that is not so

good

the advantage about using the whole bag

is if you've added too much water you

can just simply add okay so basically

the consistency should look like this

you see like loose peanut butter slash

melting ice cream consistency so that's

essentially all going on you don't want

to have bubbles of unmixed grill so

you're going to step really well alright

so from here I'm going to add it to the

elbow 5s not to get it all on the sides

because if you do you're gonna have to

work extra hard to whiten that off just

take it across you are the creator of

the out world you are the landscaper you

get to decide how you want this over to

look now I recommend boring the holes

first because it's just easier that we

before doing this work if you have

really small ends you may have problems

in the future with it as being able to

fit between the acrylic and in this

realm section so what I would recommend

it is if you're thinking small things

add some sort of screw at the bottom

just so the plate doesn't separate it

looks something like that and I think

that I sloping

now you can use this time to shape pools

or you know little nooks and crannies

that you want in your world and I've got

some of the grout onto the acrylic so

for that I'm going to need to wipe it

okay so the next step is to add the

decoration so um if you want you can

actually set in a test tube so that

there can be an official area where you

put the test tubes full of water for

your ends completely up to you I don't I

just make my opals it is kind of rugged

natural looking so I like to use fake

plants again the problem with using real

plants is they need soil and of course

plants need water and when there's water

and soil together you have ants creating

nests and you don't want the ants moving

into your out world right another thing

to keep in mind with that in mind is

that you don't want to decorate it too

intricate because the ants will be able

to hide if it's too intricate and there

are too many hiding places the ants will

move in there so you want to keep it

just simple not too not too complicated

me my favorite are grasses so I like to

also use plants with flowers but kind of

limited on supplies here you can use

whatever you like you are the designer

of your ends space I like to vary the

greenery a little bit you

Phoebe this here now I like to keep

tallest plants at the back and shorter

plants towards the front it's just for

me it's visually appealing that way call

me a fan actually alright now I'm going

to try using some of this here got some

stick these note back you see I'm not

using the whole plant just little

sections because I'm just trying to

imagine the space here alright so

something like that totally okay we've

got some open area for the ants to

forage in in any area in the out world

is pretty accessible to my hand or

whatever I'm using to clean up you've

got to keep in mind too that the ants

will be choosing a site for their

garbage and you want that area to be

easy to get to which is why you don't

want to get too intricate with things by

adding too many plans etc so I'm just

going to keep things nice and simple

like so alright so from here the next

step is to add your rocks add some rocks

they make a big difference

thank you rock standard I like to add

rocky outcrops it's really nice um

another thing that looks nice is when

you create kind of like rock paths

and it looks neat you can also use

different sizes of rocks if you like but

just remember the more rocks you use the

heavier the pop world is next I'm going

to add my sticks like twigs I just have

this small quick here just to give it a

little bit of wood eNOS give it that

sort of woody feel for swing taking

decorations from the wild you want to

make sure you wash it though you haven't

got it out of course um okay so looks

like it's starting to come together now

I'm gonna get my sand and with my hand

I'm just going to sprinkle all exposed

areas of grout so something like that it

smell like busted

this is kind of like the final covering

all real world is to give it that more

naturalistic finish now you can also use

different grains of sand like if you

want one area to be of a thicker sand

and another area to be of a thinner sand

you could totally do that one of the

things I like to add if my ants aren't

really opportunistic in nesting habits

like I find if I use Spagna moss it

works except again if your ants are more

opportunistic in nesting habits like I

find if I use this Formica you rather

they'll nest in their own but if here s

really like your former carrion I

totally recommend using just pieces of

sphagnum Moss it gives it a nice sort of

natural finish and you can actually

moisten the Spagna Moss by spraying it

if you add some moisture there we have

it so what you do is you let this dry

overnight and then the next day you will

have a beautiful and simply made a world

see that too shabby right you also want

to make sure some of the decorations

don't go past the barrier yeah like this

I would either don't make sure that

stays folded more I would cut that leaf

in all right guys thanks for watching

hope you enjoyed the video bye

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like my aunts Canada mug alright oops

there was a hole oh no oh no alright

well that was an epic failure