# Ants in top feeder



## rysharpee (Feb 4, 2016)

As the title indicates, when I went to add more sugar syrup to my top feeders tonight, I saw that one had many black ants crawling around in it. Do I need to be concerned about this? Anything I can do to get rid of them?


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

The first step, if possible, is to keep the little buggers from getting to/in your hives. A lot depends on how you have your hives placed. What kind of stands are the hives on? If you can not stop the ants at ground level one fix that has worked for me is to use cinnamon. Not cinnamon sugar as that would compound the problem. You want to use ground cinnamon. Any grocery store should have it and just buy the cheapest store brand as you will want to use it liberally. It will not harm your bees and can be used on the ground around the hive stands, in and on your feeders, and inside the hive.

Several youtube videos show more information. Good luck.


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## Matt J (Feb 26, 2016)

I had the same problem. Literally, the first night I had my hives, they were covered in ants. I was using Top Feeders as well. The feeder was full of ants, but they were on the outside edges, and not really bothering the bees. 

That night, I dusted everything outside the hives with Cinnamon. The next day there were noticeably less ants. 

Also, and you may not want to hear this, I ditched the hive top feeders. When I bought my equipment, I thought they sounded great in theory. Held lots of syrup, didn't have to get into the hive to refill, etc. What I found out was, they really attracted ants, I could not tell how much syrup my bees were taking (although, I guess I could've been a little more meticulous with that aspect), and they were difficult to handle during inspections. I ended up changing to mason jars over the hole in the inner cover. This basically solved all my problems I had with the hive top feeders. One disadvantage is the frequency of refilling, but my hives are in my backyard, so it's not really a problem. I guess it's good I have them in case I need them, but for me, the jars have worked better. Could've saved about $50.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Cinnamon will deter the ants. I place a ring of it on top of the inner cover. Ants will make a hive defensive in a heartbeat. I mean REALLY defensive. 
In WI you can pull the feeders. Plenty of forage for the girls at this point.


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## photobiker (Mar 23, 2015)

I found putting a ring of DE about 3" from the feeder hole works very well. You need to keep the ring away from the feeder hole because DE is just as deadly to bees as ants. I also use a outdoor ant bait under my hives. I situate it in such a way the the opening to the bait is to small for the bee to get into bet ants have free access. I do not have an ant problem any more.


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## rysharpee (Feb 4, 2016)

Mr.Beeman said:


> Cinnamon will deter the ants. I place a ring of it on top of the inner cover. Ants will make a hive defensive in a heartbeat. I mean REALLY defensive.
> In WI you can pull the feeders. Plenty of forage for the girls at this point.


In a previous thread, since these are newly installed hives, I was told I should keep the feeders on all year so that they can get the comb drawn in. Not sure if this is needed or not. I also do not have any inner covers at this time so if I removed the top feeder I would have nothing to put in its place. 

On a side note, does anyone have any tips on cleaning off a top hive that has bees in it?


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## rysharpee (Feb 4, 2016)

The weather fin ally cooperated and was able to get in and inspect my hives. 
1. The first was going along nicely with no big issues other than some weird shaped comb that was uneven, some slightly sticking together when pulling the frames apart. Do I need to break this stuff out and make them start over or just leave it?
2. The second hive that had the ant problem was definitely more defensive and the top feeder did not look good with lots of big black ants and some of the syrup was getting moldy so I took it off and cleaned it out. Would I be better off just taking the top feeders off even though they are new installs? I did buy some small ant traps around the bottom and spread some cinnon carefully around the edge of the feeder. Any other suggestions?

Thanks for any advice.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

Unless they are completely overwhelming the feeder, I just leave feeder is only on for a while and by the time the ants get terrible, it gets pulled off. I'm not one to feed forever.


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## BeeHoosier (Feb 21, 2016)

So would removing a pail feeder help decrease the ants too? I will be pulling my pail feeder soon because there seems to be plenty of pollen coming into the hive. I am also going to liberally sprinkle ground cinnamon on the hive stand and on the ground and most likely on top of the inner cover.


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## Bee C Hive Stands (May 25, 2016)

Here's a little additional advise. If you hive stand has "feet" place them in a container and fill with vegetable oil or just water to create a "reservoir". Also make sure any tall grass or any other thing coming in contact with the ground is removed so it will not create a bypass for the ants. The ants will have no choice but to try to cross the reservoir to gain access to the hive. In doing so they will die in the process. Ants are a huge problem down here in S. Texas and I have combined old practices that work with a modern approach to design to come up with this kind of hive stand. (see pic) Ants can and most times will overrun a hive and could cause the bees to swarm and abandon their current hive. Hope this helps.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

rysharpee said:


> In a previous thread, since these are newly installed hives, I was told I should keep the feeders on all year so that they can get the comb drawn in. Not sure if this is needed or not. I also do not have any inner covers at this time so if I removed the top feeder I would have nothing to put in its place.
> 
> On a side note, does anyone have any tips on cleaning off a top hive that has bees in it?


All year long? Who in the world told you that? Crazy talk. 
Pull the feeders and for heaven's sake get a few inner covers.


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## Planner (Apr 3, 2016)

I note you are in Madison Wis. I went to college there a very long time ago. Great place. I use hive top feeders with a screened inner cover as they are very easy to fill without bothering the bees. I just pour the syrup thru the inner screened cover. I also have ants and I periodically take a brush and brush them off and shake out the top cover. Only a temporary solution. You no longer need the feeders and once you get rid of them the ant problem should disappear. Take the feeders off and save for the fall.This also is a good time to check your hives and see how they are progressing. I do not know when you started the hives but if you started with a package over a month ago you should see comb and brood. Also late afternoon you should be seeing a lot of bees circling the from tor the hive doing orientation flights.
Goof luck


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

I am not aware of ants causing the bees any real problems. Lack of food - that is a problem. I feed packages installed on foundation until they have drawn out two deeps - with a couple of caveats. You need to pay attention to the weather and what the bees have for stores. Our June in Maine can be very rainy with little flying weather. This sounds like a case where local conditions trump all! I like to see the bees with 10 days or so of food before I stop feeding. A new package does not have a developed field force and for the first few days at least is extremely dependent on their keeper for feed. After that not so much, but I want them to draw comb and until they have a decent amount of stores, I keep feeding. I'm trying to remember too that prep for next winter stores wise should have already started.


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