We are trying to measure scat decomposition rates by coprophagous beetles, but ants keep interfering with our experiments (making nests in our plates).
maybe try fipronil, but the problem is that many anti-ant poison also affects other insects.
Boric acid has been found to be effective against small insects. Make sure that it stays dry or else its effectiveness will be lost.
Maybe diatomaceous earth could work. Otherwise, perhaps exclusion with a fluon or Vaseline barrier.
Hello Hansel; To keep ants away from my skeleton-cleaning bug box I use a wide pan of water with the bugbox sitting on an island in the middle. A little dish soap in the water further reduces the surface tension and so the ants can't walk across the water (They can really do that!). Depending on your field setting you might be able to use propylene glycol instead of water...it is less volatile. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
As suggested by James Des Lauriers water works very well. We also dug a small moat around experimental points, lined with a plastic liner and filled with water (not forgetting a little soap) to prevent ants ...... Not sure where study is or what type of beetles (rollers, tunnelers, dwellers) are around so hard to give specific suggestion .
You will need to make a pilot/subexperiment/control to quantify how the anti ant treatment adopted affects the beetles ....