# ants



## Hobie (Jun 1, 2006)

The typical solution I've heard is putting the legs of your hive stand in little cans of oil, which acts as an ant moat. Water works, too, but evaporates/freezes. Of course this only works if your hive stand has legs.

I haven't tried this myself, but I've heard that ants will not cross grease, so you could put a grease barrier somewhere. I tried this on my hummingbird feeder pole, and it seemed to work until the flowers got taller than where the grease was and they just walked up the stems. It wore off, too.


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## Ruben (Feb 11, 2006)

I use wheel bearing grease around the posts of the stand and it has worked so far. Some use cinimmon, they say bees won't cross it, others use a moat of oil. MB uses something in jelly not sure what.


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## leafcutter (Mar 16, 2006)

MB's system is borax mixed in jelly (1:1 ratio?) and puts that down where the ants will consume it and die. He and others on this site have said it works well for them. The little argentine ants out here by me dont fall for that trick, so I have used grease on the legs of the hive stands. Works great, but you do have to add a little every month or so.


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## RonS (Dec 28, 2004)

It all depends on the type of ant. If you have little black sugar ants, I would nor worry much. If you have fire ants, I'd worry like heck. One of our members lost four hives to fire ants within a couple of weeks, and never new it was happening. I have the little sugar ants. I made a moat of excess air duct metal and bent up the edges. My hives are on cinder blocks. The moats filled with debris and the ants made bridges. Then, they found that grass stems bridged the moat all together. I put a layer of axel grease all around the cinder blocks, but it got a dust coating, dried, and the ants laughed at me. Finally, (and Michael, don't get upset) I put out those little ant hotels on plastic spikes. That worked. No more grease, no more oil, I just change them once a year in Spring.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>MB's system is borax mixed in jelly (1:1 ratio?) 

Yes. 1:1 woks fine.


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## Dees Bees (Jun 5, 2006)

Where do you buy borax? And do you mean mix it with something like grape jelly?


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

I like cinnamon. The bees will not cross it and hey.... if you have coffee in the truck, a little cinnamon can spice your day up


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## IndianaHoney (Jun 5, 2006)

I tried cinnamon, wore off two quickly. I then tried greese, grass grew to tall and ants got past the greese. I then mixed boric acid with grape jelly, and dumped it on the ground near the hive. No more ants. I think it was boric acid anyway, I'm talking about the same stuff that you use in eye drops to clean your eyes. You can get it at the phamacy in a powder form. One week and ants were gone.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Where do you buy borax? 

In the grocery store next to the laundry detergent.


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## thesurveyor (Aug 20, 2002)

Ok, let me get this straight, because I like the borax idea. You take borax, a powder, stir it into grape jelly. The ants come to eat the jelly and carry it back to the colony and consume it, thus killing the colony.

After reading the post, the solution should be somewhat grainy with the borax in the jelly.

If I am missing something, please clarify. Just trying to make sure the borax is not dissolved in some way.

Thanks
TheSurveyor


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## gardenbees (May 8, 2005)

*100 mule team borax*

That's what it will say on the box. It's a laundry booster. Theresa.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>If I am missing something, please clarify. 

You got it.


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Just make sure you buy the straight "borax". There are several detergents (Boraxo, Borax-plus, etc.) Don't buy anything but "borax".


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## IndianaHoney (Jun 5, 2006)

So when I used boric acid, was this the wrong thing to use and the ants just went away on their own? Just want to know so I don't go buying more boric acid and waste my money.


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Indiana,
After your experience with cinnamon and grease not working, I would stick with a proven winner.  If boric acid worked, it worked.


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## LET (May 24, 2005)

I found Boric Acid at my local Rite Aid drugstore today for $3.99. I'll give it a try with some jelly. I really hate ants.


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## Albert (Nov 12, 2006)

Boric acid is lab grade borax.

20 Mule Team is borax and cheap.

Use cheap jelly too.

Regards,
Albert


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Albert covered it. Boric acid will work, but the borax will also work and cost less. I buy the cheapest jelly on the shelf for this project.


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

I have found that ants are a good thing in the right condition. Admittedly, the past couple years I've had my hands in too many cookie jars. And some of my yards are on their own for a good period of time between visits. I have two yards in particular that seem to always have ants on the inner cover.

The bees seem to do a good job living in harmony with the ants and propolise the places where they want to keep them out. The funny thing is that I have lost a few colonies over the past several years at these apiaries. The ants seem not do any damage (these are not the big black carpenter ants that chew), and to this date, I have never lost any comb to wax moths. The hives could be empty for most of the summer and the ants like the inner cover as a home, strip the hive of all edible material, and seem to keep the moths and any eggs/larvae they may lay, cleaned up. The wax is left and ready for my arrival with new bees.

Sometimes nature finds a good balance. At least till we decide to change it...


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## hzxlvf (Aug 31, 2006)

*borax in jelly / pet safe?*

Will this harm my dogs if they sneak over and lap some up?


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## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

We have a strong fire ant population down here. I have never seen them in the hive unless the hive was already dead. They clean out the comb and keep the wax moths out. I only see sugar ants if I'm feeding. I gave up on killing fire ants except right around the house. I just treat individual mounds if they are in the way. A friend believes they eat varroa and SHB larva as well. They will eat about any protein.


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## RonS (Dec 28, 2004)

Ross,

Sounds like your fire ants have more manners that ours here. See my earlier post, this thread. We have a member who lost all four hives to fire ants, either through direct attack, or absconding because of it. Seems unlikely that all four (placed together on a pallet) would abscond at the same time.

Ron


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## Patrick (Mar 15, 2007)

I had fire ants...I tired cinnamin w/out any affect...Then I added a heap of cinamin, and THAT did the trick! And it's caked around he hive, and I've never had any ants since and it's been a year! P


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## NW IN Beekeeper (Jun 29, 2005)

*Ants Vs Mites*

This post demonstrates how much people hate ants. 

Other posts have shown how people hate mites. 

When mites fall off bees, what do you think it is that eats them? [Ants!]

Otherwise, the mites fall through your screens onto the ground and wait for a heavy returning foraging bee to miss the entrance and fal on the ground and hitchhike back to the hive. 

My point is, an over-run of ants is bad. 
But a small degree of ants are needed to control other things, such as mites and other scavenger through other hive debris to rid of it. 
I'd be cautious on what I assume needs to be wiped out. 

-Jeff


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## the kid (Nov 26, 2006)

boric acid is ok what it does is dehidrate the ants ... you can use boric acid for most bugs you dont want around ... Pick the brain of an extermenator and they will tell you thats what they use 95 % of the time ///// it is fairly safe as it takes a lot ( spoons ) to hurt any thing biggger.. 
the kid


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