i got a few ants making a line up the leg of my TBH and into the top cover.
I really can't tell what they are doing...
Are they a threat?
And how do I get rid of them? :?
i had ants in my lang hive most of the year last year with no problems. i also have ants in two of my top bar hives this year. from what ive seen the ants just want the debris on the bottom, so i dont mind them, and the bees dont seem to care either. ofcoarse it depends on the kind of ant too. im in maine and just have medium sized black ants which aren't much of a threat. if i had nasty ants around id put each leg of the hive in a can of oil or some other nasty liquid. you know a little moat for the bees.
Ive given ground pests no chance from the beginning. I bought "tanglefoot" and put a generous ring of it around the bottom of each leg. No problems so far and lotsa dead bugs in it trying to go up the legs.
To stop ants, sprinkle ground cinnamon around the hive legs. For some reason it stops them cold.
I dont know about tbhs but on my hives all i do is open the hole in the inner cover to let the bees get up there and the ants seem to move out.