my daughter loves it
I bought this product before I looked at the reviews, so I had little expectations since it had such a low rating. As stated before in other comments, the ants took 8-9weeks to arrive in the mail. Set up was easy. Within a week the ants started digging a tunnel, and now a little over a month later there are several tunnels throughout the gel. There was a little bit of mold from dead ants at the top, but I scooped it out with a clean metal spoon, and there seems to be no problem since. My daughter received this as a gift from us for her fifth birthday, and loves it. Everyone who comes to our house is fascinated by ant farm. A great educational gift. I would highly recommend it.

Negative reviews? Actual comparison.
After reading the largely negative reviews on this gel ant farm, I decided to conduct an experiment of my own. I ordered both the Milton's Ant Farm Gel Colony (this product) and the AntWorks (non-illuminated) gel farm.

To compare packaging, the Uncle Milton gel ant farm was in a box and wrapped in sealed plastic wrap. This impressed me, since the AntWorks was not airtight within his package, and I'd imagine an older AntWorks product sitting on a shelf or in a warehouse may lose some of its moisture in comparison. The AntWorks and Milton were about the same depth. The AntWorks was significantly less wide than the Milton farm, but they appear to be the same height in gel (since the Milton's actual gel is elevated off of the ground).

My "sniff test" didn't seem to raise any flags -- both ant farms smelled like... well... gel. They smelled different, but in no way was one more odorous. I jabbed the gel with the rounded toothpick-like device, as the instructions told me to. After leaving the farm for a couple hours I noticed that the AntWorks' gel appeared to re-connect and fix the holes I had poked, so I had to poke the holes again. The Uncle Milton gel appeared more dense and very easily kept the holes I had poked in the gel.

I ordered a large set of ants from a 3rd party website unaffiliated with either Milton or AntWorks and divided them evenly between the two farms. These were literally the exact same ants from the exact same colony, so there could be no confusion that perhaps one ant colony was "dumber" than the other when it comes to digging tunnels. Same ants, split between 2 products.

When placing the ants inside the enclosure I was pleased to find that the AntWorks farm utilized a plastic seal that kept the lid on nice and tight. In fact, I doubt there was any way via droppage or toddler or otherwise to get the lid off without purposeful tugging. The Uncle Milton farm had a simple curved top cover that would no doubt fly off if the farm were dropped or bumped the wrong way. Score one for the AntWorks.

After placing the two farms side-by-side (to minimize external issues like day/night light cycles and temperature -- they both received identical conditions), I let the ants do their thing.

My first observation was that the Uncle Milton ant farm had one large flaw -- it was not as transparent as the AntWorks' blue gel. Unless there is a light source behind it, it is very hard to see the ants "tunnels". Of course, that's assuming they make any tunnels. The Uncle Milton farm's ants immediately started digging -- at the walls. Apparently the gel had not formed a total seal to the plastic sides, leaving the ants to attempt to dig holes between gel and plastic wall. They did this so well that several ants wedged themselves in and died -- right up against the plastic for all to see. The AntWorks farm had a solid seal between gel and plastic wall and did not have this "suicidal suffocating claustrophobic ant" issue.

Within the first day, the AntWorks ants had dug a solid tunnel from the top of the gel to the bottom and it was very attractive to look at in its less-opaque gel. In the more dense colored Uncle Milton gel -- from one side of the farm you could see absolutely nothing. On the other side, the ants had not just dug a tunnel -- they dug out the entire wall where they had attempted to suicide initially. In fact, they refused to dig any actual holes within the gel, they simply added more space so they wouldn't kill themselves between wall and plastic.

Day two, the AntWorks ants have dug about 4 or 5 interconnecting tunnels. It's beginning to look like a maze. The Uncle Milton's ant farm is expanding their wall. They are now digging at the very floor of the ant farm. No tunnels. Just walls and floor.

Day five, the AntWorks ants have dug so many tunnels that the "airspace" above the gel is filled with tiny little pellets of gel that they've excavated out of their tunnels. Their tunnels now have multiple intersections and curves and the ants are busy, working away. I am now concerned that my ants are so busy I will have to buy them a second farm before they dig all the available gel up. The Uncle Milton's farm ants seem relatively listless -- either sitting up against the wall or on the bottom floor that they have excavated.


***


Conclusion: The Uncle Milton's farm gel appears to be denser than the AntWorks. Not only that, but the green dye in the Uncle Milton's farm was also more dense, and harder to see tunneling activity. Not that there was any tunneling activity. It appears the ants appreciate the less dense texture of the AntWorks gel and are unlikely to expend any more work than is necessary to dig in the Uncle Milton's gel. Given the same ants and environmental conditions -- even though the Uncle Milton's farm is slightly larger (wider), the ants refuse to make deep tunneling activity and prefer digging out a gap between the plastic wall and the gel. The AntWorks shows none of the same tunneling behavior -- the ants dig deep curving tunnels and connecting bridges with gusto.

I have only had the farm for 5 days, but it doesn't appear to be suffering from extreme moisture or molding, and the gel's scent is fairly neutral and not noticable unless the cover is off and you're sniffing at it.

In a direct side-by-side comparison, the Uncle Milton's ant farm fails miserably. I cannot comment on either party's ant shipping policies -- however reputable online resources for shipping ants are both cheap at just a couple bucks and quick (I got my ants within 5 days of ordering). The gel on the AntWorks is clearly superior to the Uncle Milton gel, and the cover is more well sealed. The Uncle Milton is larger and cheaper, but the gel is more opaque and less desirable for ant tunneling.

I guess you get what you pay for.

You get what you pay for
Take home message: If you want a gel ant colony invest in a more expensive version like AntWorks!

I bought 6 of these farms for a school project, and I chose them because they were the cheapest of the gel variety. And well, I got what I paid for. After enjoying other great gel colony products like AntsWorks, I was quite disappointed in "Uncle Milton's" product. First, the gel smells God awful. Second, the tops of some of mine had a milky goo that the ants got stuck in and died. Third, the gel did not fill the entire enclosure and some ants got wedged between the gel and the wall...and died. Fourth, the lids are quite hard to snap on and make me question the "escape proof" claim. Fortunately, I didn't use the coupon to buy the ants. If you wants ants fast, go to Antsalive.com. They're a great company and you'll get ants in under 2 weeks.

enjoying it greatly.

My 5yr, Grandson and myself are enjoyin this so much. I have always wanted one and this was my great chance with Gabe. I didn,t look silly by myself.

Save your money...
Several ants arrived dead, or died shortly thereafter. The surviving ants never tunneled, they just climbed down the side, got stuck and died. I suggest renaming this item the "Uncle Milton Ant Gel Cemetery Colony." Very disappointed with the product and will never buy Uncle Milton products again. The seller shipped timely, but should reconsider carrying this item.