How to Make a Simple Outworld - AntsCanada Tutorial #32
Summary
TLDRThis 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
🐜 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.
🛠️ 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.
🎨 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ant Colony
💡Nest Section
💡Out World
💡Critter Crawler
💡Grout
💡Fake Plants
💡Gravel and Pebbles
💡Spagna Moss
💡Decoration
💡Silicone Caulking
💡Tub and Stirring Tool
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
what's up guys thank you so much for
watching my video really means a lot to
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thanks a lot guys it's a mob forever
like my aunts Canada mug alright oops
there was a hole oh no oh no alright
well that was an epic failure
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