Ant Keeping Tweezers: Which Type Do You Need?

Every ant keeper ends up reaching into the setup at some point. A cricket needs to go in, leftovers need to come out, a cotton plug needs to be pushed back. Doing that with your fingers is clumsy, and it risks squashing ants, damaging the anti-escape barrier or giving a stinging species a chance. A good pair of tweezers solves all of that. That is why we added Ant Keeping Tweezers to the shop, in three types for different jobs.

Three types, three jobs

The Soft Touch tweezer is an entomological tweezer with flexible arms and smooth, fine tips. A light squeeze is enough, so you can pick up a single ant or move eggs, larvae and pupae without damaging them. It comes in a short and a longer version. The Hard Steel tweezer has serrated tips and stiffer arms. It gives you a firm grip on larger feeder insects and on a cotton plug that has to come out of a test tube, and it also comes in two lengths. The Terrarium Long Tweezer is long with a bent tip, so it reaches corners and deeper outworlds while your hand stays well away from the ants.

Which one should you choose?

• Soft Touch: for small colonies, picking up ants and moving brood.

• Hard Steel: when you need grip, for bigger insects and cotton plugs.

• Terrarium Long: for larger outworlds, such as the Small Outworld and the All-In-One Test Tube Outworld. This is our personal favourite.

How to use them

Moving ants and brood: use a Soft Touch tweezer and squeeze gently. Grab an ant by a leg or the side of the body, and pick up larvae and pupae one at a time. This is handy when a few workers end up in the wrong place, or when you move a young colony to a new test tube.

Feeding: hold the insect with the tweezer and place it close to the ants instead of dropping it from above. Prey ends up where the colony can find it, and you do not disturb the whole outworld. Cleaning up: remove leftovers and waste regularly so mould does not get a chance. Test tubes: use a Hard Steel tweezer to pull out or push in a cotton plug. A longer tweezer also keeps your hand away from the top edge of the outworld, so you do not rub off the anti-escape barrier by accident.

Care

All types are made of stainless steel, reusable and easy to clean. Rinse them with warm water after use and dry them well.

Get your tweezers

Whether you are starting with a single queen or looking after a big colony, a good tweezer is one of those tools you use every day. Have a look at our Ant Keeping Tweezers and pick the type that suits your setup. Just starting out? Our Ant Keeping Starter Set has everything else you need.