Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => NATURAL & ORGANIC BEEKEEPING METHODS => Topic started by: Brother Dave on November 14, 2013, 08:17:16 pm
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I have been concerned about the red ants on my inner covers so I applied cinnamon to see how that works Have any of you tried this? Did it work for you? At least it smells good
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Two major problems with cinnamon as a treatment for ants: it is easily blown away and it doesn't solve the problem that you have, which is ants having access to your beehive. By this I mean you need to isolate your hive from the ants using physical methods. All my hives are isolated from the ground on pallets that have stainless steel legs touching the ground. Those legs are either coated with tanglefoot on the underside where the stand meet the pallet, or are submerged in a tin can filled with 1/2 water and 1/2 motor oil. This creates a physical barrier to any marauding ants so long as no other branch or blade of grass makes contact with the pallet from the ground.
I even go a step further and ratchet strap my hives down to the pallet for wind and earthquake proof protection.
Where I live Argentine Ants are a constant menace, and I can say that I have never lost a hive to them yet.
~Tyson
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Thanks for your thoughts I hope to build a hive stand with collars on the legs for applying tangle foot in the spring. I agree that is a better option to control ants
How many times a year do you apply tanglefoot?
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Cinnamon does not work very well with the red ants. For those you should use ant bait stations. The cinnamon works best for the tiny sugar ants, they will disappear for sure. I have been using cinnamon in conjunction with bait stations for year with lots of success. I also live in a dry climate with very little rain, so I only need to apply the cinnamon 2-3 times per year. Wind has not been to much of an issue, and we do get wind every day in the afternoon. I have my hives sitting on top of rails, which sit on top of concrete blocks. The cinnamon really clings onto the concrete blocks. I also have tree frogs, and having a vent notch in the inner cover allows them to climb in. They catch any ant that makes it in that way and the bees never bother with the frogs.
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I've had 'iffy' luck with cinnamon. But when used regularly, especially after rainfall it will disperse ants. If one lives in an area with lots of rain another option might be preferable. That all said; my bees don't seem to mind the ants unless they get inside the hives which happens infrequently at worst.
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How many times a year do you apply tanglefoot?
I check the need for reapplication every time I do an inspection on my hives. Excessively hot weather can "melt" the tanglefoot and allow it to run, which thins it a bit. Still, ants don't get past. 2-3 applications a year is sufficient.
~Tyson
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Thanks tyson
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The cinnamon seems to have worked. I still will plan hive stands with tanglefoot painted on the legs in the spring
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I had a trail of ants across my kitchen floor to the dog dish, I sprinkled cinnamon on the floor to block their trail and after a few minutes they were marching through the cinnamon.
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Cinnamon is a repellent to ants. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But it is cheap and quick, so it's worth a try.
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I tried it ,,minimal results. I like mine chocolate covered. :-D
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Equal parts borax, jelly and water will kill an ant colony. Just put it out along their trail to the bee hive.
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I had the same problem at my garden with sugar ants. It was a little time intensive but I went out 3 days in a row and smashed all the ants near where they were getting up and into my raised bed. Did that for about 15 minutes each day. Ants put out pheromones when they run into something like that. I found after several days of this they stopped using that route and foraged somewhere else. Of course I only had strawberries not honey at the other end.
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Michael Bush's recipe of borax, jelly, and water works great. Last year my hives were being overrun with sugar ants. I tried cinnamon, grease, chalk,etc. The thing that worked was the borax mix in 12 oz plastic pop bottles laying on their side with small holes drilled in the top so the ants could get in but the bees couldn't. Within 3 days the ants were gone and I had no further issues. Going forward the bottles will be standard practice in my yards.
Jim
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Michael Bush's recipe of borax, jelly, and water works great. Last year my hives were being overrun with sugar ants. I tried cinnamon, grease, chalk,etc. The thing that worked was the borax mix in 12 oz plastic pop bottles laying on their side with small holes drilled in the top so the ants could get in but the bees couldn't. Within 3 days the ants were gone and I had no further issues. Going forward the bottles will be standard practice in my yards.
Jim
Cool advise Leather Jim! 8-) I like the idea of 'small holes' in the bottle allowing ants to enter but too small for bees. Seems the bottle method will last longer (less waste) than the 'pour' method as well….……thanks!
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thanks for the borax idea I will have to try it.
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I just tried a batch of borax jelly. I wish that I did not have to poisen them. But they are to good at getting around my defenses.
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The borax jelly worked ant numbers way down. Thanks for the advice. :)
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Michael....would diatomatious earth work in place of the borax?
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I coat the lag bolts with axle grease some melts or smears with age. but the curious thing I found.
some of the girls play under the hive. some roll in the grease and some eat it.
I see no ill effects from this behavior. just about a year now and not many ants.
I also use borax under plastic around the hive.
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>Michael....would diatomatious earth work in place of the borax?
I've never used diatomatious earth. The borax works very well.
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I had a problem with the little black ants nesting between the wood and the metal wrap of my telescoping covers. I mixed cinnamon with veg oil and made a paste and smeared it around the edges of the lids. It worked [and smells good]. I left a little jelly jar of the stuff in the bee tool bucket in case I need it again. Should last a long time.
However, even though they don't nest, those blasted ants do find their way into the shims where I put my feeders and gather around the jars.
I'm going to try the borax jelly bottles inside the shims. Maybe that will get rid of them for good.