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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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#243 · (Edited)
My Poor Man's version of the Charlie Ant Proof Beehive Stand

Hi guys!

Ok, I had some old pipe laying around, some old wood obtained from the auction for dirt cheap, some bean can lids, some screws, nails, old primer and old paint. I did have to purchase the PVC plugs.

I modded a couple of things.

1. I was worried that a strong wind would blow the hives off of the PVC plugs. So I drilled 1.5" deep holes in the 3"x4" top rail pieces of wood and 3" holes in the 4"x6" foundation posts. Next, I inserted the pipe ends so the top rail piece of 3"x4" cannot move any direction, no matter how strong the wind becomes...oh, I also dropped in a 1/4 teaspoon of two part epoxy in each hole along with a 1" washer/electrical outlet slug hopefully to prevent the pipe from gouging a deeper hole in the wood.

2. Mounted the PVC plugs so no weight on em'. How? I drilled a 1/8" hole through the 1" steel pipe, inserted a nail, then, on top of the nail, I placed the lid of a bean can to support the 3" PVC plug.

3. I eliminated one extra piece of wood up top. I am not an engineer, but I was hoping those 3"x4" pieces are strong enough to hold the weight. Can any engineer minded people here weigh in on this idea please?

4. I cut the 4"x6" posts a little higher because I wanted the pipes to have a minimum of 3 inches penetration into the wood for greater strength.

5. I painted the PVC plugs after reading about UV degradation of PVC material here: http://www.jmeagle.com/pdfs/Technical Bulletins/TB10SunlightEffectsonPVC.pdf

6. I unintentionally made the top runners 15" width from side to side [mis-measurement on my part as I planned on 18" from side to side]. Will this be enough distance for safe placement of the hives?

7. I installed the PVC caps and top rails in a manner that they are removable. Now, if I ever need to repack the PVC caps with the high temp lube, I simply remove the top rails and the PVC caps and repack em'.

8. Finally, I used a fine sawdust/wood-glue combo from all the cuttings to make a type of wood glue filler for the holes that were drilled a tiny bit tooooo large. This resulted in rigid pipe fittings that will not budge at all.

With the exception of the PVC plugs, most of the material was only pennies [I picked up pallets of wood from the local auction for a fraction of Home Depot's cost].

So, there you have it. My Poor Man's version of the Charlie Ant Proof Beehive Stand! It is amazing what we can do with some old wood, old pipe, old paint and tin can lids. I think I will patent this, sell millions of them to professional beekeepers, and then retire peacefully in the Bahama's and live happily ever after. :D Ok, just joking...

I would like to give a very big thank you to Charlie, and all the people here that posted their cool ideas and pictures. Without you, I would never had been able to make a decent beehive stand that shuts the door on the ants! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE HERE!!!

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#244 ·
I would have liked you to go 3 inches deep on a 1 1/2 in pipe. Rule of thumb double the diameter.

In my location I would not drill into end grain because of rain. But I don't have ant problems so maybe in a dry area it is fine.
 
#247 ·
Ace,

So sorry for the confusion...

I used a 5 ft. length of 1" dia. steel pipe I found that had rust on it. It had rust on the threads so I decided to cut it up into 9" pieces.

Next, I drilled 1 1/8" dia. holes in the 4"x6" at a depth of 3".

Finally, I drilled 1 1/8" dia. holes in the 3"x4" top runners at a depth of approx. 2".

I had to drill 1 1/8" dia. holes because 1" was too tight, and the closest hole saw I had to this size was 1 1/8" dia.

So, will this be engineeringly sound?

:scratch:
 
#253 ·
Re: My Poor Man's version of the Charlie Ant Proof Beehive Stand

Fill them completely. Your caps are larger than you need and the grease may gradually run down the pipe. That's the reason I use small caps to keep the grease in. You may have to put some screen in your caps to keep the grease in.

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#258 ·
Oh, there's a way, but it requires a hammer, a chisel, a couple of other odd tools to pry stubborn chips with, and a colorful vocabulary. If it sounds tedious, you are underestimating the tedium, especially on a 6" thick log wall. You develop a keen appreciation for Forstner bits, and the lovely clean hole they make.

Not to mention, the chips from a Forstner bit are wonderful hamster bedding and fire starting tinder.
 
#260 ·
Oh, there's a way, but it requires a hammer, a chisel, a couple of other odd tools to pry stubborn chips with, and a colorful vocabulary.
My hole saw set has a relatively large threaded hole that attaches the changeable cutting bits to the arbor with the small center drill. To get stubborn cut-out wood waste part out of the hole saw bit, I unscrew the arbor, then screw in a large bolt that matches the threads of the saw bit housing/arbor. Since the bolt body is larger than the center drill hole, screwing in the bolt easily forces the waste wood out of the hole saw. No chisel or cussing needed. :p The case for the hole saw set even had an empty space that I could stash the bolt. :)

On my hole saw set, the bolt required was metric. and I took a bit to the store so I could match an appropriate bolt.
 
#261 ·
What problems with ants are you folks having? I have kept bees for 45 years and have ants all over my apiary but only one minor problem with them. They raid the sugar in queen cages.
 
#262 ·
The original poster, Charlie B., said he had a problem with Argentine ants destroying nucs (I gather this is an invasive ant in California). We have some big black ones in West Virginia that I've seen carry off grubs, that also have a taste for sugar. They are our primary corpse-scavengers in front of the hives ... saw one attempt to carry off a live bumblebee last weekend. My wife hates these, so rather than risk her ire, and with too much time on our hands while waiting for our first nucs, I built my version of Charlie's stand. May not have been needed, but I have no regrets.

There are at least 12,000 species of ants, some of which are highly effective predators. Depends on what you have locally.
 
#265 ·
Soar,

Don't pay attention to Ollie. He gets really jealous if I come up with something he hasn't thought of. His only claim to fame is that he came up with these goofy hive handles he screws onto his hive boxes that you really don't need.:rolleyes:
 
#268 ·
I mainly need ant proofing, actually I have some, I got some sticky stuff for painting on trees and painted it on strips of paper on my pipe stand. which was modeled on Charlie b's but not the same.
 
#272 ·
Here is the final version of our Charlie B inspired Ant Proof Beehive Stand in action!

Thanks again to Charlie B and all here at Beesource for helping us find a working and effective solution to the ant problem!

Since installing the Ant Proof Beehive Stand not even one ant has been able to access the hives...wow, I never realize just how effective these stands would be.

Yeah team! Bee Insect Toilet Membrane-winged insect Apiary
 
#274 ·
Thank you Charlie B, and we recently picked up a lot of metal dirt cheap at the auction, so now we can build several more stands without paying the exorbitant fees for the metal piping. I found a pallet full of tire irons for pennies, including those 4 star tire irons. I am thinking about cutting them up and making the metal rods for the beehive stand...have you any thoughts on this? I think they may be stronger than the 3/4" steel plumbers pipe, but I am not certain...

Thank you!
 
#279 ·
I found the 1 3/8" plastic coated dowel at HD for about $6.00. Pretty good considering it was 8' long. You'll need a 1 3/8" bit. You'll be swimming in cash once you sell your honey so c'mon, spend a little!
 
#283 ·
I realize that some may not share the same opinion as I, but as an environmentalist I must say: wheel bearing grease? Really???? :scratch:

Find and use a more environmentally friendly option like Crisco or vegetable oil, please. It's not perfect but it's somewhat better for the soil, critters, and plants. And if you are growing crops or have a water well near your hives; don't complain when you start growing additional body parts or tumors. Just saying.
 
#284 ·
Find and use a more environmentally friendly option like Crisco or vegetable oil, please. It's not perfect but it's somewhat better for the soil, critters, and plants. And if you are growing crops or have a water well near your hives; don't complain when you start growing additional body parts or tumors. Just saying.
If Crisco works, then I'm all for it. But does it work? I've never tried it.

Tanglefoot seems pretty benign, to my amateur eye. "Natural gum resins, castor oil, carnauba wax."
 
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