ants ants and more ants

[slacker361]

Long time lurker here,with my first beehive this year, I just went to check on them and ohhhhhhh the black ants, when i lifted the lid and the inner cover, i saw a couple ants killing a bee. I have read on here that the ants are really no big deal, but i was wondering , wont the ants eat the honey? I am sure they will eat the sugar water.

I have also read about axle greese, wont that smell horrible and not good for the bees?

thanks in advance for the replies

[jajtiii]

this might be more then you want, but I had an ant problem with one of my hives and built a 4 legged stand (2x4 legs) about 18" tall.

I then put each of the legs into a coffee can and filled it with water.

The ants can't get over the water. The water evaporates eventually, but you can refill it if the problem persists.

I typically ignore the ants, but this hive was really suffering for various reasons (I think they all centered on the beekeeper) and I simply didn't want to add another variable to the equation.

[Mairzy_doats]

Have you tried cinnamon? I havent but have read that it helps and am planning on putting some on my inner cover as I have several small ants as well. I'll let you know if it works for me.

~mary

[slacker361]

do you just put the cinnamon on the inside cover on the top? and how much cinnamon do you put in?

[indypartridge]

do you just put the cinnamon on the inside cover on the top? and how much cinnamon do you put in?

I've had mixed success with cinnamon, but have been using it more this spring since I've had more ant issues than I've had in years past. I have a big container of it I bought cheap at Sam's Club. I sprinkle it liberally on the top cover and especially around the edges. It helps some, but isn't nearly as effective as I'd like it to be.

[Paynesgrey]

We had a problem with fire ants when we were first feeding. Unknowingly put the hives near a fire ant mound. I had driven all the ants from my garden & the other visible areas of the yard with cinnamon prior. We used lots of Cinnamon on ground liberally,& shaken against all sides of the concrete blocks (so they could not dodge the cinnamon by tunnelling under our mulch & then climb blocks) & reapplied after rain worked very well.
Our yard smells wonderfully of beeswax and cinnamon. Ants have not come back.
Also have read that worm droppnigs, available as a garden product will totally repel ants, because the chitinase enzyme they are high in dissolves the ants skeleton, which is chitin. If/when we set up more hives, I will probably work a bunch into the ground all around the hive, as a barrier so that the ants don't just go under the mulch.
The mulch is also a barrier so no bee accidentally came in contact with it and walked it back into the hive. Not that our bees touch the ground much at all, unless to pick up a dried out dead been and carry her further away.  I am also thinking that if the dirt under hives were worm dropping treated, might
kill SHB larvae dropping down into it? Here's hoping.