Tigerific Ant Farm Review: What You Need to Know Before You Order

If you or your child wants to start an ant farm, you’ll find many options online. This Tigerific Ant Farm review includes our experience with starting the ant farm, plus things you should know about before you place your order. You might want to know what you are getting into!

Starting Your Ant Farm

We purchased the Tigerific Ant Farm on Amazon for $19.89: https://amzn.to/48GNPSR

It comes with the basic things you need to get started- a clear container with air holes, a dropper for water feeding and sand. It also includes an optional travel tube that you can use alone, or with connected systems.

Set up is very easy- just pour the sand into the container and put the caps in place. The ants will be doing the rest of the work.

Getting Ants for Your Ant Farm

The one thing this set does not include, is the ants! You’ll need to use the coupon included to place your order for ants.

The ants were pretty cheap, only $5 including shipping. They take about two weeks to arrive and come in a small tube.

You will be sent about 20 harvester ants. This is the kind of ants that will build the tunnels. You will get worker ants, but no Queen.

Do not try putting random ants from outside in the ant farm. We tried it! With little ants and with carpenter ants, and neither did anything.

Why Use Harvester Ants in Your Ant Farm

Harvester ants are often used in ant farms because they’re the perfect mix of visible, active, and hardy, which makes them great for observation and learning.

Here’s why they’re the go-to choice:

1. They’re diggers.
Harvester ants are natural excavators. In an ant farm, they create elaborate tunnel systems that make the internal structure fascinating to watch. Their digging behavior also keeps the colony active, which makes the farm feel alive rather than static.

2. They’re large enough to see.
Compared to tiny sugar or pavement ants, harvesters are relatively big—about ¼ inch long—so you can easily observe them carrying sand, seeds, or larvae without needing a magnifying glass.

3. They don’t need a queen.
Most commercial ant farms only house worker ants (queens are typically illegal to ship). Harvester ants can still build tunnels and behave naturally for months even without reproducing, which makes them a practical choice for educational setups.

4. They have interesting diets.
As their name suggests, they collect and store seeds. This foraging behavior adds variety—you can watch them “harvest,” stash, and sometimes even nibble on seeds or grains.

5. They’re relatively low-maintenance.
They’re hardy enough to survive changes in light, temperature, and moisture, as long as conditions aren’t extreme.

When Your Ants Arrive

The ants will be in a little tube in an envelope. I was out of town when the order arrived, and my son and husband thought it was just regular mail. So, our first order of ants sat on our table for about a week.

By the time I got home and discovered the envelope, only about 5 ants were still alive! We put those ants in, and I placed another order for more ants.

Those ants immediately got to work though, and started building little tunnels.

When the next order of ants arrived, they were a lot more lively! They recommend placing them in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to calm them down before trying to put them in the ant habitat.

I accidentally left them in closer to 20 minutes, and when I pulled them out of the fridge, I thought I’d killed them all because they weren’t moving!

We dumped the tube of dead looking ants in the Tigerific ant farm, and after about 10 minutes they all woke up and started running around. All of them were alive!

Caring for Your Ants

You will need to give your ants food and water. Harvester ants are mostly seed eaters, but they’ll also accept a few extras for variety.

Best Foods:

• Seeds: Millet, flax, sunflower, and birdseed mix.
• Grains: Cracked corn, oats, or wheat berries.
• Occasional protein: Tiny bits of boiled egg white, crushed nuts, or small insects (like a fruit fly or mealworm piece).
• Fruit crumbs: A tiny piece of apple or grape now and then (no citrus).

They’ll store seeds in little “granaries” inside their tunnels — watching them move and organize food is part of the fun.

Water & Hydration

• Never use an open dish of water (they’ll drown!).
• Instead, lightly moisten a cotton ball or give them a tiny piece of water gel crystal once or twice a week. Or use your dropper to add a little water to the sand.
• If your habitat is humid enough from moist sand, you can reduce this.

Cleaning & Maintenance

• Remove any moldy food or debris with tweezers.
• Don’t disturb the tunnels too often.
• If you notice ants dying off more than usual, check for dryness, mold, or overheating — those are the main culprits.

Harvester Ants Lifespan

Without a queen, worker harvester ants typically live 2–4 months. It’s short but fascinating while it lasts — they’ll still build, forage, and behave as if running a full colony.

But this also means your child may lose interest in caring for them and you find yourself feeding and watering a bunch of new pets. At least, that’s what happened with us.

And when you get to that point, it’s time to close up your colony and retire your ant farm.

How to Dispose of an Ant Farm

When your harvester ant colony’s life cycle ends or you’re ready to retire the farm, it’s important to dispose of it safely and ethically.

Here’s how to do it right:

1. Never Release Ants Outdoors

Even if they’re native species, never dump the ants into your yard or local environment.

• Commercially sold ants might not be from your local region and could disrupt native ecosystems.
• Some harvester ant species are aggressive and can outcompete local ones.

Treat them as contained pets, not wild insects ready to roam.

2. Humane Disposal if Ants Are Still Alive

If you still have living ants and need to end the colony humanely:

• Place the farm in the freezer for 24–48 hours.
  • This is considered the most humane method. The ants go into a sleep-like state as they freeze and die painlessly.
• Afterward, you can safely discard the contents.

3. Cleaning and Disposing of the Habitat

Once the ants are gone:

• If using sand: Dump the sand into a sealed plastic bag and place it in your household trash. Don’t compost it or toss it outdoors.
• If using gel: Do the same — bag it and throw it away. Gel can contain preservatives not meant for soil.
• Plastic farm containers can usually be washed with warm, soapy water. You can reuse them later or recycle them if the plastic type allows.

4. Reusing the Habitat

If you plan to start over with a new colony:

• Make sure the farm is completely cleaned and dried before introducing new ants.
• Avoid using bleach or strong chemicals — a mix of vinegar and water works well.
• Let it air dry for a few days to eliminate any residual scent that could stress new ants.

Tigerific Ant Farm Overall Review

If you want to give a beginner ant farm a try, the Tigerific Ant Farm is a good starting point. It’s one of the least expensive options on Amazon and is usually priced around $20. Click here to see it on Amazon.

It is very easy to set up, and the ants are easy to order and add to the habitat. The ants start tunneling right away, so once you get past the stage of waiting for the ants in the mail, it gets neat pretty fast.

My son stayed interested for a few weeks, and then I found myself in charge of feeding the ants. I did not realize how long they were going to live! We ended up using the freezer method to retire the ant farm and disposed of the sand.

Ant Farm FAQ