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My Ant Proof Hive Stand Actually Works!

201K views 394 replies 69 participants last post by  soarwitheagles 
#1 ·
After losing two nucs to ants I came up with a solution for those darn Argentine ants that raid hives here in California. I made "T's" with 1" galvanized pipe. At the bottom of the T joint, I slipped on 2" white PVC end caps after drilling holes in them. I hung them upside down on the pipe and filled them with high temp bearing grease that doesn't run in the heat. The rain won't be a factor because they're upside down under hives.

I pounded the pipe legs into the ground 2 feet deep. I secured the 2x6 PT frame to the T joints with plumbing strap. The cross members are resting on the T joints to better handle hive weight. NO MORE ANT PROBLEMS! (Sorry about the finger in the first pic)
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#160 · (Edited)
I've used a 2-man auger and that's a machine for throwing two men on their backsides simultaneously. The one man auger worked pretty well. The motor sits on the ground about 7 ft away and takes the torque. It has an automatic clutch that stops it if you hit a rock or root. Then you pull it out and use a digging bar to remove the obstacle. What they don't tell you is it gets a pound heavier every time you need to pull it from a hole, which really adds up after a dozen holes and three dozen rocks and roots.

I have a Ford 1300 that could mount an auger, but a neighbor with a similar-sized Iseki has an auger for his and he says it's just a machine for shearing shear pins. IIRC a 601 would eat my little 1300 alive, so I'm surprised you could stall it.

I dug the first hole with a digging bar and post hole shovel. In our rocks, I'm good for maybe two post holes a day that way.
 
#163 ·
What they don't tell you is it gets a pound heavier every time you need to pull it from a hole,...

I have a Ford 1300 that could mount an auger, but a neighbor with a similar-sized Iseki has an auger for his and he says it's just a machine for shearing shear pins. IIRC a 601 would eat my little 1300 alive, so I'm surprised you could stall it.

I dug the first hole with a digging bar and post hole shovel. In our rocks, I'm good for maybe two post holes a day that way.
That is the problem, pulling it from the hole once it screws itself past the rocks. I have had it where the 3 point wouldn't pull if from the ground and picked the front wheels off the ground. No reverse. :(-

Some people might rev up the engine and that will snap pins. Keep the engine on the low end and when the digging slows it down the governor will respond with more throttle. That gives you the same horse power capability but not all at once where you snap pins or worse.
 
#164 ·
Tractor wheelies ... never my favorite, especially on our uneven mountain terrain. But what I like even less is trying to pick up too much in the front end loader with too little air in the front tires. She does this alarming little "curtsey", lifting one or both rear wheels off the ground. I added a roll over protection system but I still don't care for it.

The rocks may come out. I found the roots to be worse. They hold better.
 
#165 ·
Ah ha, roots! no problem. I built a root riper. And the deep roots I use my potato plow. Now stumps, that takes a different technique. Think Tornado ... it easiest with two tractors. Wrap two chains around the stump in the same direction. Each chain goes to a different tractor going in opposite directions. Trees weren't meant to take torque. You can do it with one tractor but having two is the ticket.
 
#166 ·
Sounds like fun but my wife does not like driving a stick ... can't get her on the tractor even if I could borrow a second. And the 1300 is a little thing, not enough weight for serious traction. It weighs about a ton with the loader, maybe a little more with the pie weights. And my particular tractor lacks a drawbar under the axel ... don't want to try that trick pulling above the axel unless you like being under a tractor. I see the bolt holes, but need to find a drawbar for it.

I've been told to cut the stumps high so you can push them over after they rot. I've got one right beside the hive fence, an 18" diameter oak that is cut high enough for a bear to climb on and jump into the apiary. It's going to be cut to the ground this weekend, and let the termites have the rest. That's the one whose roots have made this job difficult.

Ah, for the good old days. Go down to the hardware store and buy a little dynamite.
 
#167 ·
Well the hard way is taking a pic axe and shovel and clearing each horizontal root and yanking one at a time. Hook the chain to the front of the tractor and pull backwards. Use little jerks. The force is like ten fold as opposed to just pulling. Persistence will get it out but it will take time.
 
#168 ·
Did a lot of that clearing the flat spot for the apiary. I left the stump but the roots on one side are mostly gone.

This is too much stump for too little tractor for this particular spot. If I really wanted it yanked out, I have a buddy with a D9 that would pull it out like a toothpick. But the Stihl will shave it off low enough that I won't care. In five years the roots will just be compost.
 
#171 ·
I like that one even better. I did try my hand, awhile ago, and did make one of your ant stands. I was afraid it would be unstable with 3 - 2 deeps and one medium each, hives, but it's doing okay. I will reenforce it though with some cross members, and next stand I make will be more like the pic you just posted. Thanks much for sharing!
 
#173 ·
Phoebee,

Yes, very light and portable.

Gypsi,

High temp brake grease goes in the inverted grease cups, (see post #20) located under the 2x6 top portion of the stand.
 
#178 ·
by spreading out the weight properly and not putting divots in the building roof. :eek:
If this was the goal the 2x4's should be laying flat not on edge. Three 2x10's across the two column supports (short span) would increase the area of load and use less lumber. Pay attention Rader you might learn something.
 
#181 · (Edited)
2x4x8' studs cost around $2.50 each. I use a total of 6 1/2 studs, 36" of a 4x4, 2' of wood dowel to make this stand. Total cost for wood is around $20.

You need a strong broad base to distribute the load on a roof top. This is the least expensive design while maximizing load distribution. You can use this on the ground by simply placing patio bricks under each 4x4 to carry the vertical load and to keep it from rotting.
 
#184 ·
You need a strong broad base to distribute the load on a roof top. This is the least expensive design while maximizing load distribution.
Well I disagree. Three 2x10's 2 ft long would cost how much and they would increase the load distribution area. 2x8's might even net more load bearing area. And there is one other important thing about the 2x10's. If the pipe legs are not rigidly mounted to the 2x10's then they can self level to the roof imperfections which will make the load more evenly distributed. I am only making suggestions for others. What you have must work but you are doing more than you need to.
 
#187 · (Edited)
Ace,

The wrong direction? According to who? You? What is your problem? You just love to criticize everyone who has an idea because you can't come up with any on your own. I stopped listening to you way back when you posted your idiotic hurricane bucket idea. Start your own hive stand thread if you think you have a better idea.

You have no idea of what you're talking about.
 
#188 ·
As you can see, Charlie didn't provide a link to that hurricane thread, so it is incumbent upon me to correct that oversight. :p

But the bucket o'water is getting all the publicity & fame, and some of Ace's other ideas are getting jealous. So lets not forget some of those also ....
You can further barricade the hive from the wind with yard stuff like a wooden picnic table, large tree branches, piles of skids, sheets of plywood, bricks, rocks, stone to deflect the wind upward. Think of a jet blast deflector wall at the end of a runway. What is the speed of a jet blast, 300-mph or better?
:lpf:

Don't worry, that quote was part of the same hurricane thread as the bucket o'water, so clicking the blue arrow in the quote box will still take you to that same thread.

:gh:
 
#191 ·
But of course he knows what he's saying.

Really.

In fact, no one else on the forum is as reliable as he is to do it, either.

And one of these days he'll start a thread just to praise and encourage folks for what they are doing right.

Now, I hope the server's up to the shock when it happens.
 
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