 How to make an ant farm. Why buy an ant farm? It's simple and fun to make one from a few items you have lying around the house. You will need 1 liter plastic bottle 2 liter plastic bottle Scissors black instruction paper tape blue tack adhesive Ants dirt or sand a funnel gloves a shovel a jar Paper towels or old nylon stockings a rubber band a pin or needle Cotton balls and food for your ants. Do not put fire ants in an ant farm. Step 1. Cut the mouths and necks off both bottles. Wrap the outside of the smaller bottle in black instruction paper and secure the paper in place with tape. Put blue tack on the bottom of the wrapped bottle and place it in the middle of the larger one. Step 2. Pour the dirt or sand through the funnel into the space between the containers. Stop about a 1-1 liter bottle. To make your ants more visible, use dark soil for light colored ants and sand for black ants. Step 3. Decide what type of ants to keep. The best source is your own backyard. If you can't find suitable ants, order some from a male order supplier. Step 4. Put on the gloves and use a shovel to transfer a part of an ant hill into a jar or place the jar near the ant hill with a bit of fruit inside. Capture 50-80 ants and try to capture a queen. Without one, your farm will only last a couple of months. The queen is larger and longer than the other ants and will be surrounded by many other ants. Wear gloves. Ants will bite to protect their queen. Step 5. Pour the ants from the jar into the soil in the 2-liter bottle and quickly cover the top with a paper towel or old nylon. Secure the lid with rubber bands. Poke air holes in the larger containers cover with a pen or needle, making sure they're too small for the ants to crawl through. Step 6. When you're not looking at the ants, cover the outside of the farm with another piece of black construction paper, secured with tape to simulate an underground environment. Don't keep the farm in direct sunlight. Move the ant farm as little as possible or else the tunnels the ants will begin to build could collapse. Step 7. Once a day soak a cotton ball and water. Take the cover off, place the cotton on top of the dirt and cover the farm back up, allowing the ants to get drinking water. Feed ants small pieces of fruit and bread crumbs dipped in sugar water or honey. A teaspoon of food is enough for 20 to 40 ants every two or three days. Did you know The queen of one African ant species and slaves another species colony by tricking them into capturing her.