# Ants bee GONE????



## daknoodle (Dec 8, 2005)

Okay, whats the trick to keeping ants off of the hives?

Thanks!
Doug


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## beekeeperlady (Mar 25, 2009)

last year i was told to make a stand that has 4 legs and each leg in a coffecan of oil. just big enouhg to not touch the legs.. but the oil to capture and kill the ants.. . i might end up doing that myself.. as the ants around here are horible..


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Use vegetable oil, not petroleum oil, less hazardous to the environment. 

Grants ant granules work as well

Ants won't cross ground cinnamon

might try salt around the hives? dunno about this one.


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## Natalie (Jan 14, 2009)

A presentation at my local bee club the other night mentioned that sprinkling borax will kill the ants because they take it back to the colony and it kills them.
Cinnamon, they hate it and the vegetable oil someone else already mentioned.


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## BeeAware (Mar 24, 2007)

I'd try the cans with vegetable oil. I've tried cinnamon with NO results.


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## dickm (May 19, 2002)

tanglefoot


dickm


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## KDT1961 (Feb 10, 2009)

I've watched small red ants walk right across cinnamon.
Last week, I sprinkled some powdered boric acid (that I use in my small hive beetle traps) around the bases of my hive stands, and it cut down about 75% of the ants in my hives.
It sounds like the 4 legged stand set in cans of vegetable oil might work best. Instead of chemicals, build a moat.


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## dragonfly (Jun 18, 2002)

I built a hive stand (that will hold multiple hives) out of steel, and it has three 4x4 steel "legs" sunk in concrete. I just paint the legs with vaseline, tanglefoot, or axle grease to keep the ants from getting to the hives. The drawback to this is that you have to have a permanent beeyard and know how you want it arranged.


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## rw3212 (Apr 8, 2008)

*oil cans*

My ants will sacrifice themselfs to build an ant-bridge across the oil.


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## mudhoney (Mar 31, 2008)

Cinnamon worked for about a day then they were back. BUt i think i will try the cans of oil or vaseline on the legs. Thanks all.


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## walking bird (Mar 2, 2008)

30wt's worked fine for me, but you do get a number of goopy and eventually dead bees who wander into it. I'm gonna go for the Crisco next time.


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

Cans of oil is a huge mess. First off bees drown in it, and secondly when the monsoon rains come it just overflows and splatters oily dirt everywhere.

Unless you live in a desert where it never rains, I'd stay away from oil cans.

Tanglefoot works pretty good, but it eventually forms a solid dirt glob that has to be rubbed off and reapplied. It is messy, but I wear gloves and the hives stay clean and no drown bees, so Tanglefoot is my favorite so far.


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## bigbore (Feb 25, 2008)

my stands are just 2 layers of cinder blocks, but I spray around the bottom blocks with pine sol. don't get too close to the hives. it will do a number on the bees resperatory system, but I haven't found too many bugs that will cross it


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## mikesfarm (Jul 4, 2007)

This is what I made.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PFDSe_fBOyc/SMQAZIV5AZI/AAAAAAAABF8/0oI40UZ_WGE/s1600-h/ant+barrier.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PFDSe_fBOyc/SKIZ_gOjkvI/AAAAAAAABAI/OCjIp_8-bf4/s1600-h/P8120022.JPG

Mike


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## TheMaineBee (Apr 5, 2009)

I just posted this question. I now think I also probably posted it in the wrong section.:s

The only way I've known so far is the cinnamon stick trick. But I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet. I'm hoping it works!


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

dragonfly writes:
or axle grease to keep the ants from getting to the hives. 

tecumseh:
if you believe in planning do this as a second (#2) item. oil in a can will float away with the first rain. as will almost every other suggestion on this thread besides the smear of axle grease. which is not such a big deal unless you have FIRE ANTS whose population will explode after the first rain. the axle grease will need to be freshed once a year.

the #1 item is to poison every mound within 50-100 feet of your beehives (yard). this is numero uno for me since I do this before I place hives in a location and then repeat this every spring.


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## mudhoney (Mar 31, 2008)

Anyone use ant killer and not have ill effects on your bees (what kind did you use?). I am having major ant issues and am a liitle worried about the ants tracking it into the hive.


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## Jim Ray (Dec 7, 2008)

Thanks, much!


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## Blossom (Nov 29, 2008)

*What if you filled the can about 1/2 full of water? Can ants swim? I don't think any bug I know would want to go for a swim? I'm going to try something like this as I have ants, ants and more ants. :scratch:*


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## Margaret Sloan (Jun 23, 2008)

We put the legs of the hives in plastic sandwich containers filled with water. We keep the debris flushed out, and our bees always have a source of water. 

It'll be a drag when the wooden legs of the stands rot, though.


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## Jer733 (Oct 5, 2008)

*Ants*

I have tried this with success.

Diatomaceous earth, food grade

Pool Supply


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## bermybee (Nov 2, 2008)

mudhoney said:


> Anyone use ant killer and not have ill effects on your bees (what kind did you use?). I am having major ant issues and am a liitle worried about the ants tracking it into the hive.


Ants are a huge problem where um from they'll drive bees out faster then bee go. As tecumseh says the containers of oil, kerosene, water, Vaseline grease all hopeless. It's either washes away with the rain, gets dusty, stagnant (ants walk right on top of stagnant water) , container brakes or the ants hold onto one anther and make a bridge over it. 
Though I've never tried axle grease to bad all my bees are on blocks and 4 by 4 now. 
Borax never heard of it. Where do you get if from? Does is have another name? But non the less it sounds like it works on the same principle as what we use ant bait granules and dust. Sprinkle it like fertilizer in about a 10 foot radius around the hive put extra around the legs. Has no affect on the bees, mind you all our hives are no lower then knee height but that for a hole other reason.


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## Focus on Bees (Mar 6, 2006)

Michael Bush shared a secret for killin ants. It has worked every time for me. Mix a cup of jelly (I used grape) and a cup of borax and sure.... go ahead... feed the ants. It took about three weeks to kill a huge ant hill that wouldn't die from anything else short of diesel..  I don't do that. You know they only ate about a half cup of the mix before they were gone. look for borax in your laundry section of your grocery store. its called something like 20 mule team borax. Used as a laundry water conditioner ? I'm not sure but it works.:thumbsup:


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## daknoodle (Dec 8, 2005)

All these ideas sound interesting. However, I have two little dogs that roam around the backyard (where the hives are) I'm afraid they'll get into most of all of that. I am thinking of doing the axle grease though. I do need to break down and get a spreader and simply dose the yard with some ant killer. Hate to use more chems on my lawn, but I suppose some are unavoidable.

Doug


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## bermybee (Nov 2, 2008)

Thanks a Million Focus on Bees


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## Eaglerock (Jul 8, 2008)

Terro... Even in my house if needed. This is from Lowes, but I get it and the dollar store and wal-mart.


http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?acti...igned-_-32409-_-Terro 1 Oz. Liquid Ant Killer


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## Blossom (Nov 29, 2008)

*You don't have to leave it exposed where the bees also could get into it but make something to cover it so the ants can get to it but nothing else can.

*


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## Hambone (Mar 17, 2008)

daknoodle said:


> All these ideas sound interesting. However, I have two little dogs that roam around the backyard (where the hives are) I'm afraid they'll get into most of all of that. I am thinking of doing the axle grease though. I do need to break down and get a spreader and simply dose the yard with some ant killer. Hate to use more chems on my lawn, but I suppose some are unavoidable.
> 
> Doug


Ant control for a backyard hive is very simply done without chemicals. Here is what works great for me.

1st Spot treat any mound with 2-3 oz of orange oil to a gallon of water. Drench the mound. Mound is dead in minutes.

2nd Spray beneficial nematodes over the entire yard.

3rd Spread Soil Mender diatomaceous earth over the entire yard.

This is what I do every year. I have zero fire ants. Or grub worms for that matter.


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## Eaglerock (Jul 8, 2008)

Derek said:


> Ant control for a backyard hive is very simply done without chemicals. Here is what works great for me.
> 
> 1st Spot treat any mound with 2-3 oz of orange oil to a gallon of water. Drench the mound. Mound is dead in minutes.
> 
> ...


How long does it take you to do all that... sounds good though.


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## Hambone (Mar 17, 2008)

Eaglerock said:


> How long does it take you to do all that... sounds good though.


Maybe a couple of hours. No big deal. On the weekends I am pretty much outside from sun up to sun down piddlin, and work it in during one of those oh yeah I need to do that moments.


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## pokerman11 (Feb 9, 2009)

Borax by another name is sodium tetraborate decahydrate or salt of boric acid. It's a product that's been around since the 1800's - you can buy it in your grocery store under the brand name "20 Mule Team Borax" as a natural laundry booster.

Personaly I would worry about the harm borax will do to the bees not just the ants. Borax can act as a general incecticide. Oil also sounds environmentaly unfreindly and a mess.

It seems that the simplest way is to just buy some RAID / Black Flag type outdoor ant traps. The bait used won't be picked up by bees, the chemicals are safe in small quanities ( a dog can eat a dozen of these things before getting sick) and it's cheep and the easest way I can think of.


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## BeeOld (Apr 7, 2009)

A long time beekeeper told me to use Equal in the corners of the inner cover and back of SSB. He said watch and see what happens.


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## Eaglerock (Jul 8, 2008)

BeeOld said:


> A long time beekeeper told me to use Equal in the corners of the inner cover and back of SSB. He said watch and see what happens.


So what happened?


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## Irene S (Feb 7, 2008)

KDT1961 said:


> Last week, I sprinkled some powdered boric acid (that I use in my small hive beetle traps) around the bases of my hive stands, and it cut down about 75% of the ants in my hives..


Boric Acid is amazing stuff. I'll have to try it around my hive legs.

thx for the tip!


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## BeeOld (Apr 7, 2009)

Eaglerock said:


> So what happened?


I will let you know after I try it!


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## BeeOld (Apr 7, 2009)

BeeOld said:


> A long time beekeeper told me to use Equal in the corners of the inner cover and back of SSB. He said watch and see what happens.


Well I tried Equal and didn't have positive results.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Our bees are in our home garden right by the watering hose. Because of this water in the catfood cans works great for us. 

Water doesn't work well for people who don't visit there bee yard at least a couple times a week because of evaporation. thats where oil comes in handy.


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## buzz abbott (Mar 6, 2012)

here in so cal our ants are of the Argentine variety. I tried cinnamon sticks under the stand legs to no avail. next i tried water moats. they swam across it. 30 wt did the trick but I am getting a lot of dead bees in it. I'm gonna build some covers to see if I can solve that.
The Argentine ants are invasive, and will overwhelm a hive in short order.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

terra ant. (I think its boric and syup) comes in a snall plastic containers, just cut a small opening so bees can get in, hide it under the hive, cover with wood/bricks or make a protective box for it to keep pet and animal out of it.

Beware If it spills bees might drink it.

It can take upto a week to kill the whole ant nest.


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## MattDavey (Dec 16, 2011)

Both my brother and I use Ant Caps on each leg of our hive stands. No problems with ants. Ant Caps are usually used on house stumps to stop Termites (white ants) from getting into the house and eating the wooden frame. Only cost a dollar or so each.

Matthew Davey


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## robherc (Mar 17, 2012)

Eaglerock said:


> Terro...


Terro = Sugar Syrup + a VERY small (up to 2% I think) amount of Borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate); you can make it yourself by the gallon and save loads of $$$ ... only problem; the Borax can kill by gelling in insect guts (if not by other, more direct means too), and bees LOVE sugar syrup, so go figure....Terro (can) = DEAD BEES if you don't go to extraordinary lengths to keep them out of it!


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## Intheswamp (Jul 5, 2011)

buzz abbott said:


> here in so cal our ants are of the Argentine variety. I tried cinnamon sticks under the stand legs to no avail. <snip>


I've had fairly good success with cinnamon. I don't think cinnamon sticks would work very good. I used powdered cinnamon sprinkled around the cement blocks and also on top of the inner covers. I think it's the "dust" effect enhances the cinnamon when the ants walk through it/encounter it. Sticks...I would think they'd just walk around them.

Ed


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

MattDavey said:


> Both my brother and I use Ant Caps on each leg of our hive stands. No problems with ants. Ant Caps are usually used on house stumps to stop Termites (white ants) from getting into the house and eating the wooden frame. Only cost a dollar or so each.
> 
> Matthew Davey


Matthew, how and where do you place the ant caps. I've tried google images but I think I don't know enough about building to understand how they would be placed. Is it that they don't want to cross metal, or that the cap is inverted somehow?
Doreen


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## robherc (Mar 17, 2012)

dmpower said:


> ...how and where do you place the ant caps. ... Is it that they don't want to cross metal, or that the cap is inverted somehow?


From what I've read, it's the inversion thing...studied it on "ant proof doggie dishes" and it's supposed to "confuse their navigational systems." Actually seems to work on most ants (I.E. all that I've encountered in Indiana or El Paso, TX...) but these Red Imported Fire Ants here on the Gulf Coast are driving me mad...
Anywise, for Indiana ants (I was raised up there) it doesn't matter if it's metal/plastic/wood/whatever, so long as it forces them to climb up; out; back down; then out+up again to get around it. Pie pans inverted and skewered on your hive legs should work well, so long as no weeds touch them (allowing ants to bypass the up+out+down+up altogether) and you caulk up any gaps between the pie pan and the hive leg.









Hope that helps
-Rob


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