We went down to the hive this evening to slide in a sticky board under the SBB so that we can get a feel for the mite conditions within our hive. My son and I learned a lesson when we got there. We opened the hive for our first inspection a couple of weeks ago and we must have slung honey everywhere. There were ants on the outside of the hive, under the top cover and eating honey on the top of the inner cover. They didn't seem to be in the hive, but we didn't have smoke or veils, so I didn't want to risk a closer look. Next time, we will take more care to be neat with the hive inspection (although at the time, I didn't hink we were being messy). I sure hope the mite count is low.
If you have that type of ant problem now it will get progessively worse over the summer. I would initiate an anti-ant program now.
[...it will get progessively worse over the summer.]
That is a polite way of saying "you ain't seen nothing yet!".
Broken honey cells are a problem. Its wasteful for your bees and it causes you loss of product.
I try to keep a clean bucket handy. Then I can toss in any dripping burr comb or loose damaged combs.
I know its is difficult to keep from breaking the face of combs, that improves with experience.
It helps to make space on one side of the box or the other. That doesn't always mean pulling the frame from the #1 or #10 position (sometimes center frames contain less honey and thus are easier to remove first!).
I try to intentionally move full frames of honey to the outside frame locations or up to emptier supers (this keeps the brood nest open for more brood and less swarm instinct). Another trick is to set off boxes on the cover(s). Any spilled honey will then be over the cluster for their consumption before ants and others.
Time will tell how your ant situation weathers. Wait until the rain dissolves the honey away before doing anything hastily. Sometimes ants leave when there is no food supply. Some varieties will seek out new food sources (try to enter the hive). Ants don't like mints or thymol (mouthwash). Sometimes a spray bottle with a little mouthwash is enough to disperse them. More hardy varieties will require additional effort.
I am frequently plagued with ants. They will never go away on their own. As Brian said start anti ant action now. Do a search on this site, there have been lots of threads addressing this pest.
Good luck, Steve
I don't really have problems, so much as the ants and the bees seem to coexist pretty well. The black ones will rob a feeder some, and the little ones get under the bricks or between the lids and the covers.
But if ants are a problem, use 1 part borax, 1 part water and 1 part cheap jelly. Mix well and put out for the ants.