Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions of Service

Last updated: August 24, 2026

1. Acceptance of Terms & Age Requirement

By accessing or using https://antnook.net/, creating an account, or completing a purchase, you agree to these Terms to the extent permitted by applicable law. AntNook supplies ant-keeping products, including 3D-printed hardware and live ant colonies, to customers in supported markets.

Age Requirement: By placing an order, you confirm that you are at least the age of majority required to enter into a purchase contract in your place of residence. If you are below that age, a parent or legal guardian must authorize and complete the purchase where permitted by law. AntNook does not knowingly accept orders from children without any consent required by applicable law.

2. Use License & Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise stated, AntNook's website content, product photography, original graphics, written materials, and proprietary product designs are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws. You may view or temporarily download website materials for personal, non-commercial use. Unless authorized by AntNook or otherwise permitted by applicable law, you may not:

Copy, reproduce, adapt, or manufacture products from our proprietary designs for commercial use;
Use our website content, images, materials, or designs for commercial advertising, resale, or public display without permission;
Circumvent technical protections or reverse engineer proprietary software, digital design files, or protected product files where such restrictions are permitted by applicable law;
Redistribute, mirror, scrape for republication, or falsely present AntNook content as your own.

Nothing in these Terms restricts rights that cannot lawfully be limited. Suspected infringement or misuse may result in suspension of service and, where appropriate, legal enforcement.

3. Biological Disclaimer & Indemnification

AntNook inspects and prepares live colonies before dispatch, but live ants are biological organisms and individual outcomes can vary. Product descriptions and husbandry information are provided in good faith and do not eliminate the biological risks inherent in keeping and transporting live insects.

Important Biological Notice: AntNook does not guarantee future fertility, continued egg-laying, brood development, colony growth rate, or specific behavior after successful live arrival. Long-term colony performance depends on species biology, the keeper's environment, housing, feeding, temperature, humidity, and husbandry.

Safe Keeping & Biological Risk: By purchasing live ants, you agree to handle them responsibly, prevent escape or intentional release, and follow any local keeping requirements that apply to you. To the extent permitted by law, AntNook is not responsible for injury, escape, environmental impact, or colony loss caused by misuse, unsafe handling, or post-delivery husbandry after successful live arrival. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot legally be excluded.

4. Customs Compliance & International Delivery

International orders may be shipped using Air Express and, where requested and available, formal export and customs-clearance services. Shipping method, documentation, and any order-specific arrangements are confirmed before dispatch. Importing live ants or specialized hardware may be subject to destination-specific laws, permits, inspections, or restrictions.

Destination Compliance: The buyer is responsible for understanding any import requirements, restrictions, permits, or regulations that apply at the destination. Customs, agricultural, or other government inspections, delays, rejections, confiscations, or destruction are outside the standard Live Arrival Guarantee and are not eligible for compensation unless AntNook confirmed different terms in writing before shipment. This clause does not limit any statutory rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

5. Payments, Refunds & Anti-Fraud

Accepted payment methods are those displayed at checkout or confirmed on an AntNook invoice. Refunds, cancellations, Live Arrival Guarantee compensation, and other approved resolutions are handled according to the applicable Refund Policy, Live Arrival Guarantee, any written order-specific terms, and applicable law.

Cancellations: Live-animal orders may be cancelled only before dispatch. Any non-recoverable third-party transaction fees may be deducted from an approved pre-dispatch cancellation where permitted by applicable law. Hardware cancellations, returns, and any statutory consumer rights are handled under our Refund Policy and applicable law.

Anti-Fraud & Payment Disputes: AntNook may retain order, packing, shipment, tracking, and communication records to resolve claims and payment disputes fairly. Fraudulent, intentionally misleading, or unsupported claims may be declined or contested with the relevant payment provider using available evidence. Where fraud is established, AntNook may refuse future service to the extent permitted by law.

6. Incorporation of Live Arrival Guarantee

Live-ant shipping coverage, temperature bands, claim deadlines, mandatory continuous unboxing-video requirements, queen-based DOA compensation, shipping-fee exclusions, customs conditions, and other live-arrival rules are governed by our Live Arrival Guarantee (LAG). By completing a live-ant purchase, you acknowledge that the LAG applicable to that order forms part of these Terms. Any order-specific terms confirmed by AntNook in writing before dispatch take precedence where they directly conflict with the general LAG, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

7. User-Generated Content (Reviews & Media)

If you voluntarily submit product reviews, unboxing videos, photographs, or other media to AntNook for review, publication, or promotional use, you confirm that you have the right to share that content and grant AntNook a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to reproduce, display, crop, resize, and use it for our website, social media, and marketing unless otherwise agreed in writing. You retain ownership of your original content.

8. Dispute Resolution

Good-Faith Dispute Resolution: If a problem arises, please contact support@antnook.net first so that both parties can attempt to resolve it in good faith. Nothing in these Terms waives any mandatory consumer protection, statutory remedy, or forum right that cannot lawfully be waived. If arbitration, mediation, or another alternative dispute-resolution process is mutually agreed or required by applicable law, it will be conducted under the rules legally applicable to that dispute.

9. Governing Law & Severability

These Terms are governed by the laws applicable to AntNook's operating entity and the relevant transaction, as identified where required in our Legal Notice, without depriving consumers of mandatory protections available under applicable law. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable or invalid by a competent authority, it will be modified or removed only to the minimum extent necessary, without affecting the remaining provisions.