Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: bilder on April 11, 2013, 06:04:52 pm
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Got my hive set up and while I am waiting to catch a swarm, those pesky little black ants have decided to move into the hive. There are bits of old comb on the frames and the ants are loving it.
Is there any worry about this? Will bees drive out the ants or will their presence deter the bees from staying once introduced to the hive?
I read about using cinnamon around the hive to keep ants out, but will it drive them away once they are inside?
Looking forward to getting some bees, but do not want to put them into a bad situation from the start if I can avoid it.
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I don't know about putting cinnamon into your swarm trap, whether if it would deter bees from taking to it. Maybe if you removed the trap, cleaned out the ants and replace it...and then sprinkle cinnamon around the outside.
Good luck
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I use Cinnamon on top of my inner covers to stop the ants.
I read somewhere that ants won't cross a chaulk mark on concrete blocks.
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I would think that if there were too many ants it might deter a swarm. What I've used in the past is a piece of plywood with vaseline coated on one side. Put the plywood, vaseline side down, under your hive (on top of your hive stand). The idea is that the sticky stuff is on the bottom where the ants won't crawl through it and the top is still dry in case a bee lands on it. Has worked very well for me.
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I've had a hive abscond just because ants moved into a space between the tin and wood on an outer cover. So I would think that ants might make a swarm look elsewhere.
JC