I accidentally made alcohol from sugar water

[merkantur]

So I filled a test tube with sugar water with a cotton wool to provide a supply of sugar to my ants. A few weeks later I found that the test tube reeked of alcohol and it leaked out of the cotton wool for some reason even though I made sure the surface was somewhat dry and some of my ants drowned.

Does it happen to you guys?

[Martialis]

Sounds like you made some form of rum. This is why it's not recommended to put founding colonies in sugar water test-tube setups.

[Batspiderfish]

Well, more like just foul liquid not resembling anything a human could drink. The only reason to fill a tube with sugar water is if your ants drink so much of it that it doesn't have time to ferment.

[jwatson16202]

I'm giving my ants sugary stuff on a small ball of cotton right now, seems to work ok
don't have enough ants to make a test tube of sugar water worthwhile at the moment