What's the best Ant Habitat Kit?

Ants are interesting and fun to watch, especially with how they interact with each other and learning about how these hard-working bugs build their homes. One of the best things they do is when they make intricate tunnels. It is fascinating to learn more about their eco-system and their behavior. Having an ant habitat science kit is a cool experiment for kids and adults alike. Kids can nurture their interest in science with this first step of enjoying and observing ants and their habitat. Here’s a list of ant farms currently being sold on Amazon and its prices.

Here’s a list of ant farms currently being sold on Amazon and its prices.

Reviews

Dan&Darci
Starting off with the top listing on Amazon for ant farms, Dan&Darci. The kit was easy to set up and ants showed very actively probably due to the gel. The blue LED glow effect looked really cool especially during nights. The lighting made it easy to view the ants and see clearly when they are digging. The size of the kit is quite compact, but it was hassle-free as no assembling needs to be done. The instructions on the manual were clear and easy to understand. All the information you will need about taking care of ants is there on the booklet.

It does not take too much space and it blends well with any type of room. It’s a good display in a child’s room. The ants that were put in on the kit were harvester ants. It was fun seeing them during the first two days but within a week, we noticed some of them began to show weakness then died eventually. I had expectations that you will see them do work and dig tunnels on the first day. It took two days before they started doing some ant activities may be due to the fact that they are adapting to their new habitat.

This was a great kit. It was what I expected, but I really felt that the ants could have lived longer than they are supposed to. We still had to try out the others and compare them.

Evviva Sciences
This was highly recommended to me by a colleague when I was asking around and telling them that I will be reviewing ant farm kits. This ant habitat by Evviva Sciences looked and felt durable, and the is really clear so you have good visibility of the inside. One of the things that stand out is its design and build. It really looked like you can put it on display for guests to see because it did not look cheap at all. With the design and form of the kit, it gives you different angles and dimensional views of the tunnels.

The glow on the LED light gives it a nice and fascinating look but sometimes it was too hard to see clearly as it was too bright, especially when the tunnels are all over the place. You will notice that the ants like to light as they start to get very active. As expected, it takes a couple of days before they started making tunnels and you can use the stick that comes with the package to poke on the gel and start and a small tunnel. As soon as they notice it, the ants jumped right in and started working on their project. The bulbs do not get too hot even if it’s turned on overnight. It is good for the ants as they do not like extreme temperatures. Ants tend to become weary and unproductive when there is too much heat.

One thing that I wish it had was some small holes in the lid. We would sometimes keep the lid open to give the ants better air exchange but only for a short period of time. You wouldn’t want your ants to notice it and make their escape.

Overall, it was a great product. Very easy to set up and a great starter kit for kids. It comes with complete tools you need to observe and learn about ants and their behavior. Purchasing this product gives a free downloadable educational e-book with lots of interesting ant facts.

Educational Insights
This kit has a round-shaped unlike the rest on this list. Apart from that, it requires batteries for its color-changing LED lights to work. It also has small holes on the top lid for air ventilation. However, due to its round shape and possibly lack of gel, a lot of users encountered small gaps on the sides of the gel wherein ants fall off and having difficulties to climb back up. The ants were a bit hard to see clearly due to the gel being a bit cloudy.

It has its advantages compared to the rest on the list. This is for science fairs wherein having to find a socket to put the plugin is not a problem. The purchase comes with a discount coupon for your supply of ants

Navadeal
The Acrylic plastic kit has a great 3D design where you can enjoy viewing the ants from different angles. They call their farm an ant castle because of how it is designed and it’s model. The gel is pleasant to look at as it comes in different colors such as Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink, and Purple. It has a feeding system where a small square-shaped container connected to the ant farm is where you can drop their food and water. For them to get through there, the ants will have to crawl their way through two(2) pass-through tunnels connected to each side of the farm.

Like most ant farms on the market, a magnifying glass is also included for you to enjoy a closer look at your ants doing work.

Uncle Milton
This time, it’s an ant farm that has sand instead of gel. It’s fun to see the ants in a more natural environment. The kit is made of plastic and looks more like a toy compared to those of gel ant farms which would be more appealing to kids.

On the top slide lid, there are small holes for air ventilation. Ants eat almost anything, so it’s easy to just slide the lid in and drop a slice of fruit or a cookie for them to enjoy. Unlike the gel type farms, you will have to be responsible enough in checking on them and feeding them.

Sometimes it’s difficult to remove old food once it is mixed with the sand. A more challenging task is removing dead ants from it since the space is so thin. Unlike gel-type farms, this does not come with an LED light. There are holes available on both sides to connect multiple ant farms so your ants can enjoy a wider habitat

Ant Farms: Sand vs Gel

Sand Farm
In simple terms, natural or artificial? Sands are like natural habitat for ants. The tunnels are dark, and you will have to provide the food they need for them to live longer. That includes fruits, vegetables, grains, and also water for hydration. By using sand as your material, you can observe and learn about ants in a more natural environment. It’s like seeing them behave in more familiar surroundings. This is intended for the serious and long-term keeping of ants.

Gel Farm
You would think that gels are unnatural since it is artificially made. Some experts say that gels are only used for short-term keeping of ants if you are only interested in doing experiments or science projects. You can see and observe the ants clearly through the gel and is perfect for educational purposes. The gel however is enriched with nutrients that ants need to live long enough. There are people who had this type of ant farm and have kept their ants alive for months. With this, there is less worry about having to provide food and water to your ants as they already feed on it

Conclusion
Ants, like all other insects, have great purpose and role in their eco-system. By having an ant farm is like having a small portion of their environment and learning more about what really happens in an ant’s life. This experimental microenvironment helps you see the fascinating facts about these insects. Whether you choose a sand farm or a gel habitat for your ants, each has its individual advantages that will likely enable you to explore further on how these small creatures can do amazing and intelligent things, especially when they work together as a unit. From building their homes to interacting with one another, you will be amazed at how ants can be so simple-minded yet very extraordinary in their own ways