Carpenter ant issues

NCNate · May 03, 2020, 08:48:14 PM

The carpenter ants have found my hive top feeders and I'm at my wits end trying to keep them out. I spread diatomaceous earth around the stands and that would slow them down until it rained but every now and then a bee would fall in it also and I was worried about them taking it back in the hive. I made a stand to set the hives on and cut down tin cans for a moat of water.

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It worked fairly well but the ants would still cross when any little p piece of trash got in a can. Even if it was another dead ant.
The problem with the stands is the hive is not very stable. I'm thinking the cans are flexing.
They haven't been in it in 3 or 4 days so today I took the stands off.
Guess what I found 6 hours later...
I really didn't want to resort to poison, I'm afraid they'll carry it inside the hive.
Any other suggestions?

Seeb · May 06, 2020, 06:02:51 PM

Hey NCN - I am just throwing things at you here, I have no expertise on carpenter ants, but I understand they like to build their nest in rotting tree stumps, fire wood, etc, so I'm wondering if you've got these type situations near your hives. Have you been able to track them at all? If you could find the nest, you could destroy it.
I've also posed your question via email to a pest control company, and will let you know if I hear back from them with any suggestions

Seeb · May 06, 2020, 07:07:47 PM

I just found another topic on here called "A question about controlling ANTS" you may want to search for it - looks like it has good information

Seeb · May 07, 2020, 09:07:16 AM

got an answer back from pest control company:

The Ant No More Bait stations would be the way to go to use around the bee hive. These Ant stations go into the ground and allow for liquid and protein baits to be used without other insects accessing the bait.

Ants No More Bait Stations:
https://www.domyown.com/ants-no-more-bait-station-p-329.html?rrec=true

TheHoneyPump · May 07, 2020, 11:01:04 AM

Moats work. However you must put oil in them, not water. Yes, the odd be may fall into it. Darwin works in mysterious ways.
Otherwise the prime method is set out bait-poison that the ants will take back to their nest and feed to their queens.
The oil moat gives immediate relief. The bait-poison takes a couple weeks to see results. Do both.

Hope that helps!

guitarstitch · May 07, 2020, 01:09:19 PM

Scrap the mini hive moats and put your cinder blocks in kiddie pools.

More water surface before a bridge is built and better stability.

JurassicApiary · May 07, 2020, 01:45:28 PM

For those that use moats with water, applying a few drops of soap (dish soaps works great) into the water to break the surface tension. This will prevent the ants from bridging. It will also prevent mosquito's from breeding in that water.

For those of you who use oil, what types of oil do you use?

NCNate, have you looked into DefyAnt Stands? Their feet look like they might fit on to your threaded base posts with a coupler. May be worth researching...

BeeMaster2 · May 07, 2020, 02:55:29 PM

Try Terro liquid ant bate. The one below only allows the ants to get into it. You stake it to the ground below your hive.

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Jim Altmiller

JurassicApiary · May 07, 2020, 09:25:42 PM

The Terro brand ant poison Jim mentioned work very well around our home. Ants love it, and go through it fast. I have not tried it around my hives though.

NCNate · May 08, 2020, 10:52:31 PM

Thanks all! I ended up getting some of these ant baits

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I bought 3 boxes just in case. When I got home I found 2 trails leading different ways and placed 3 baits on each. 24 hours later and all 6 are empty. Its supposed to rain tonight so I'm going to wait until tomorrow to rebait. Hopefully it will get both nests!

BeeMaster2 · May 09, 2020, 08:44:40 AM

Just make sure that your bees can?t get to it. I used to use the one that had a single stake and it had an opening on the side. I put a plastic bottle over the top to keep the bees out of it.
The one I showed below is designed just for ants only.
Jim Altmiller

NCNate · May 10, 2020, 09:01:29 PM

Re baited them today. Opened the bait station by cutting a small hole in the end that the bees can't get in to.
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An hour later and the ants had already found it. I can already tell a reduction in numbers. I'm looking forward to not killing ants every day.

Seeb · May 11, 2020, 09:09:25 AM

good luck Nate

RockChucker30 · May 13, 2020, 09:09:19 AM

I made grease cup hive stands.

They work well, but I had SO many carpenter ants getting in the hives that the ants overwhelmed the cups and bridged the grease with the bodies of their dead. So I added oil cups on the feet and that settled them.

I suspect the grease cups will suffice in repelling scout ants but not a full scale attack of big carpenters.

What Id like to try next is making an oil cup and cover out of pvc end caps. I can drill and tap a hole in a 4 in cap and thread it on the leg, and put a 2 in oil cup underneath. Simpler I think.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

guitarstitch · May 13, 2020, 08:04:47 PM

Quote from: NCNate on May 10, 2020, 09:01:29 PM
Re baited them today. Opened the bait station by cutting a small hole in the end that the bees can't get in to.
[attachment=0][/attachment]

An hour later and the ants had already found it. I can already tell a reduction in numbers. I'm looking forward to not killing ants every day.

You do realize you can make your own Terro formula, yes? White sugar, peanut butter, and Borax (20 Mule Team works well) in a 3:3:1 ratio with just enough water to make a thick paste. This is what I do for ants in the house.

Robo · June 14, 2020, 10:06:18 AM

Quote from: NCNate on May 10, 2020, 09:01:29 PM
Re baited them today. Opened the bait station by cutting a small hole in the end that the bees can't get in to.
[attachment=0][/attachment]

An hour later and the ants had already found it. I can already tell a reduction in numbers. I'm looking forward to not killing ants every day.

Nate,

This is what I also use and they work well. Ants are a big problem for me, especially the acrobat ants that like to bore through my polystyrene boxes to build nests. I put bait on the hive stand under the bottom board. I have enough clearance under the bottom boards for them to fit between the side rails. I know a lot of people recommend cinnamon as an ant deterrent. but I have actually had carpenter ants build their nest on top of the inner cover right in the cinnamon.