# Ants and dry laundry detergent?



## Beezly (Jun 25, 2011)

Hi,
I'm having an ant problem like so many of you. My neighbor, (not a beek), suggested putting DRY laundry detergent around the hive stand. He said this is what he uses around his dog dishes outside and has no issue with the ants. First- will this harm the bees?
Second- will this deter the ants?
Looking forward to any info you can give.
Thanks


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## jimmyp78 (Jun 24, 2011)

Hi,

I am a new beek so I am not sure if this will work. As a general rule of thumb for me, I try to stay clear of any harsh chemicals. I have read in "Natural Beekeeping" that cinnamon sprinkled around the hive works well as does wiping hive stands with vegetable oil. I am going to try the cinnamon this week, as I noticed some ants crawling around the hive stands today. The downside of cinnamon is if it rains, I would assume I would have to replace it. If you find soemthing that works well, let me know. Best wishes!
Jimmy


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## jrbbees (Apr 4, 2010)

Amdro ant bait. Lowes.


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## Beezly (Jun 25, 2011)

Thanks ya'll. Was hasitant and won't use the soap. I am trying cinnamon now. Some of the ants run across it, some don't, but time will tell. Thanks again jrb. I'm headed to lowe's. 
mike


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## valleyman (Nov 24, 2009)

Grant ant spikes works, completly getting rid of the ant hill. Or at least they did for me the last 2 years. Haven't even had to use them this year. There are a few left around the legs of my stand. My local Wal-mart has them.


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## Katharina (May 2, 2011)

Borax will kill ants. In the old days people used the borax for laundry too. I think that is where the laundry soap idea comes from. I do not think that regular laundry soap will work, since they no longer contain borax. You can still buy borax and mix it on with sugar and put it into a bait station, so your bees don't get it. I have been using cinnamon and ant spikes with the bait inside of its bait box. I use those directly underneath the hives without any effects on the bees. The ants take the bait into their ant nest and it does the deed right there.


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