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Permit FAQ

Do I Need a Permit to Keep Ants? Why is it Important That a Vendor Has a Permit to Sell Ants?

No, you don’t need a permit to keep ants. However, if you want to bring ants home from vacationing in another state, bring ants with you when you move to another state, or buy ants from someone in another state, you — or the other person/company — will need a PPQ 526 permit. Since ants are considered by the United States Department of Agriculture to be plant pests, their transport across state lines is regulated. Specifically, PPQ 526 permits regulate the transport of ants. With these permits, you can more easily keep ants that are rare in your state, by getting them from a state they are more commonly found in. If you put in a little DIY effort, you can even be approved to keep ants that you would never be able to find where you live! You could keep Odontomachus clarus, the famed Trap Jaw Ants. You could even keep Neoponera villosa, the Texas Bullet Ant. For one species, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, you won’t even need permits. This harvester ant species, primarily found in the western U.S., has been deregulated by the USDA. Well known for their use in “Uncle Milton” ant farms, P. occidentalis requires very specific habitat conditions to survive in the wild, so the USDA determined that they do not pose a threat to becoming an invasive species. But what about the many other ant species that are still regulated by permits? Well, we have put in a large amount of time and effort to work with the USDA in order to obtain permits to sell different ant species in various states across the U.S.. In fact, Buckeye Myrmecology is currently the only antkeeping-supply company with permits to sell an ant species, Lasius Americanus in our case, to all 48 Continental U.S. states and Washington D.C.. This means that for any of the ant species in our shop, if your state is listed, you can buy that species without getting a permit! Even if your state isn’t on that species’ list (we aren’t able to get permits for states where a species isn’t found), if you get a permit and provide us with proof, we can sell to you! For help applying for these permits/providing proof of permits, contact us at sales@buckeyemyrmecology.com

What is Included in Permitted Shipments?

The conditions of our permits require us to include a number of things in a package with ants. To start, they require that we securely package the ants in ways that will prevent escape, as well as ensure that the ants reach their destination in one piece. We also have to include a full copy of the associated permit in each package. On top of this, we include an environmental awareness letter from the USDA, and a letter prepared by us with instructions on safe handling and how to properly dispose of colonies in the case of death or other happenings. A copy of both of these documents is visible below. (We would include a copy of the permits below as well, but they’re specific to each state!)

Do the Permits Affect How I Can Keep These Ants?

Well, for a start, you can’t sell ants you’ve bought from us to anyone else. This is required by the USDA as the ants have been obtained under a permit, and selling/giving them to anyone else could lead to unlawful disposal of the ants, or worse, them escaping into the environment. You are also required to keep the ants in secure formicariums/nests, and utilize a suitable barrier in outworlds. However, this shouldn’t be a challenge for those who don’t like escaped ants roaming their house.

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