# Sugar Ants Bothering



## Calbee (Sep 26, 2011)

Dear All:

I have a small 5 frames nuc that is under relentless attack by sugar ants. They've been doing it since at least December. It also prevents me from feeding although there has been a nectar flow around. They are light in stores. How should I address this situation? Moving the nuc a few feet wouldn't probably work? Let them deal with it till they start producing more bees and eventually oppose the ants in a much greater number? Spray the ants?

Thanks a lot.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

Put nuc on table-like stand. Spread "tanglefoot" goo in a band on the legs. Ants cannot cross band.

You can also slip a plastic "election sign" sheet under nuc and spread tanglefoot on the underside where it overhangs any stand. This requires a larger quantity of tanglefoot. Petroleum jelly mixed with some dish detergent makes a homemade tanglefoot, but purchasing a tube or tub is likely more cost-effective. 

The tanglefoot requires less maintenance than the classic motor-oil in tin cans approach. The best location for a tanglefoot band is near top of the legs, tucked under the top.

A cheapo plastic yard furniture table will support a nuc/single.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

^^^moats. Sugar ants are of little concern here. They get into my top feeder, some try to go into the hive, but the girls easily kill them. The bigger ants especially those down south are another story.


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## stan.vick (Dec 19, 2010)

When I get too many sugar ants in a hive I sprinkle cinnamon around and in the hive box, even on top of the frames. Cinnamon does not kill anything and is safe for the bees, it does disrupt all the ant scent trails so they can not navigate.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

You'll loose the nuc if you don't do something. In warmer weather the bees will even abscond from a nuc when bothered by the ants.
Had 2 swarms abscond last summer when I didn't keep oil in my moats.


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## tuzserhu (Dec 8, 2013)

I have had some problems with the ants, I used cinnamon and switched over to diatomaceous earth. I mix it with the soil around the hives and surface treat heavily around it and it seems to work.


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## beehonest (Nov 3, 2011)

I have tried it all, cinnamon works for a week or two until it rains, grease on the legs works untill it rains a few time or get mart and make a bridge over it, diatomacis earth works untill it rains. What finally worked for me was terro, find it at lowes. Get the little plastic trays where you cut the bottom. It will seam to get worse at first they love that stuff but after they get it to the mound and the queen gets it that's all she wrote. It takes a little while to work, won't notice any difference at first. That worked for me!


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