ANT FARMS NEW PET TREND AMONG GEN X'ERS

ANT FARMS NEW PET TREND AMONG GEN X'ERS

HOWELL, N.J. (Wireless Flash) -- If you want to make money in the pet industry, bet the farm on ant farms. According to Will Demuth -- who runs the antcolony.org website -- ever since "Antz" and "A Bug's Life," Gen X'ers have been going buggy for high-end ant farms. Some ant buffs spend hundreds on soundproof rooms and climate control while others pay thousands on the black market for queen ants, which are illegal to transport across state lines. Perhaps the biggest ant farm status symbol is to own a colony of fire ants or army ants instead of the wimpier carpenter ants. Demuth says ants may not make effective watchdogs, but at least they don't bark or poop on the rug and you can buy 10,000 ants for the price of one dog.