Nuisance insects around Hives

[Stingtarget]

What's the safest way to get rid of ants, gnats, ect. that are invading the hives without harming the bees.  I worked one hive yesterday afternoon and didn't see any tresspassers.  Worked another hive this afternoon 3 feet from the one I worked yesterday and noticed that it and my third hive are both inundated with tiny ants and gnats.  Entrance and exterior is covered with gnats.  The ants seem to be below the bottom board under the screen.

[JP]

You can mix borax and jelly for the ants. Do a search on this site and you will come up with answers. Are you sure the gnats aren't winged ants?

[Mountaineerfan]

I found a roach running around in my weak hive.  Hive Tool bug killer came to my rescue!

[Robo]

My experience has been, if they aren't harming the bees, leave them alone.  Seems like anytime you try to do something "to help" other issues occur.

[Denise]

This year we seem to have pincher bugs (also called earwigs) infesting the top of 2 of our hives. Ew ew ew! They are between the inner cover and the lid. What's up with these things? What is attracting them? And how do we safely discourage them from hanging around? The ladies don't seem to mind and they don't get into the comb or anything but it's just revolting to open the lid and a gazillion of these things scuttle all over the place. Gah.
Has anyone else had this happen?

[Cindi]

Denise, I share your plight. Every time I open the covers, I see these creepies run all over the inner cover.  I squish them as fast as I can, but I don't think I can even begin to lower the population.  I tried to put rolled up newspaper under the colonies, but they still like the inner cover better.  Evidently, the pinchies don't do much to bug the bees.  My instructor told me that, they just gross out humans.  Ear wigs are a nuisance and I don't like them, I can see no use for them even really, and I destroy those I can.  Have a wonderful day.  Hope we find some way to rid of them.  Cindi

[Michael Bush]

A bee colony is not a stand-alone thing.  It is it's own ecosystem of mites (more than 30 kinds, most of them benign) , roaches, wax moths, bees, ants, psuedoscorpions etc.  This is normal.  This is healthy.  This is natural.

Of course now most of us have killed off everything but the honey bees...

[Cindi]

Michael, oooeeee.  Interesting thoughts that you have, love them.  Have a wonderful day, great life.  Cindi

[doak]

I only have one unwanted one in my hives. Hive beetles.
What kind of natural good thing can i use?
The lizards don't seem to be keeping them out.
doak

[JP]

Doak, I wouldn't worry about a few hive beetles, they are common. If you are seeing quite a few, placing the hive in direct sunlight, I have heard will help bring the numbers down, or even eliminate them.

[doak]

Thanks JP, This year I haven't seen any Varroa mites, I have looked on the bees and have torn some cells with drone and worker both and didn't see a single varroa mite.
 Hope it holds.
doak

[JP]

That's great Doak, and good luck with the hive beetles.

[BBHJ]

There have been ants in the hive that I have in my backyard since spring. For a while there wasnt very many, but we all know that doesnt last long. For the last month there has been alot and a couple of different kinds aswell. At first the bees didnt pay any attention to them, but since the number of ants has grown the bees are trying to slow the traffic down. For the last couple of weeks there has been a few bees patroling the sides of the hive. They dont kill the ants but they do their best to chase them away. Its funny because the ants are smart too. They will kick it in high gear while the bee's back is turned and zip right by. I guess I'm going to do something about it now being that the bees are trying to get rid of them.     

[JP]

BBHJ, definitely monitor the ant activity, they can inundate a hive and many are so much smaller than a bee, that they could easily get into a hive. Don't know your set up, but there is a whole lot of info on this site about a variety of ways to control ants. The most popular being using grease of some sort or used motor oil on the legs of your hive stands if you have stands. Good luck.

[Denise]

Denise, I share your plight. Every time I open the covers, I see these creepies run all over the inner cover.  I squish them as fast as I can, but I don't think I can even begin to lower the population.  I tried to put rolled up newspaper under the colonies, but they still like the inner cover better.  Evidently, the pinchies don't do much to bug the bees.  My instructor told me that, they just gross out humans.  Ear wigs are a nuisance and I don't like them, I can see no use for them even really, and I destroy those I can.  Have a wonderful day.  Hope we find some way to rid of them.  Cindi

Thank you Cindi. It's good to know it's not just us. Since the ladies don't seem to mind them sharing their digs, we won't take any action. It was just odd to have them this year and not last. Doesn't make them any less gross though....