Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

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)
Grass Leaf Tree Wood Roof
Water Guard rail Soil Metal Concrete
Table Grass Furniture Wood Soil
Transport Trailer Wood Vehicle Table
Wood stain Soil Tree Wood Pattern
 
See less See more
6
  • Like
Reactions: SAE
#92 ·
:thumbsup: I must be doing something wrong. My grease keeps falling out. I think I put too much in the cups. I'm going to reduce the grease
when the bees are inactive for a few hours. NO ANTS THOUGH! Oh, and you have to keep the grass cut short under it or they just
use it as a bridge..dah! :applause:
 
#93 ·
Goat,

How big are your cups? I use 2" in diameter cups mounted on a 1" pipe. Not much room to slip down. If you have wider cups, you can use stiff mesh hardware cloth screen cut to the size of your cups and slipped half way into the cup to keep the grease from sagging.
 
#95 ·
Goat - I use 3" cups on 1.5" pipe with the screen as Chrrlie suggested - I had to go to black pvc....pricey..7.50$, but well worth the grief and frustration of ants -
I also have skunks to deal with so I raised my pipe to 20" off the ground/ 2' cemented below - Holiday
 
#96 ·
We already had the hive stands build so we build a 'bridge' around the hives, screwed it to about 3/4" above bottom of wood legs. Used pvc cut lengthwise for sides, and elbows also cut lenghtwise to connect at corners. Used pvc glue and screws to adhere to legs and caulked around any possible escape routes! sprinkled cinnamon into the 'pvc trays' . the ants hate cinnamon so hoping this is a way to discourage them from climbing up into hive. day 1 and 2 look good:) I'll keep you all posted.
 
#104 ·
Did you check walmart? I bought a can of High-temp grease in the automotive section and it is great. Shoot, I want to say ~$7!?! It's their generic brand, the "equate" of automotive products... Blue/Black labeling... Hope this helps. I haven't had anyone make it across the puddles of grease yet...and I hope they will not! The stuff stands up to the heat too (as it should), no liquifying or pooling.
 
#105 ·
Master Pro has worked the best for me but I would think any high temp bearing/brake grease would work. The cost here is about $7 bucks a can. The high temp is important for summer months so it doesn't run down the legs of the hive stand.
 
#111 ·
CharlieB,
The stand has problems in gumbo during rainy season ....
Here is a sad looking hive stand photo from mmmooretx's Photobucket album: :eek:



(Michael, once you have the image on the screen at Photobucket, copy the link called "IMG". Then come to your Beesource message and paste the link directly in your message. No need to use the "Insert Image" button on the toolbar.)


Its probably a good thing that sinkhole is under the hive stand, and not the house foundation! :D
 
#109 ·
Hi all, and to Holiday, this method with the cinnamon and pvc worked well last spring. i used it again in early fall for feeding and didn't see any ants except for 2 that drowned. so they got in:( but didn't get out! our 1st season, fingers crossed for winter. We actually got 1/4 frame of honey since nothing was going on in top super so we removed it and salvaged the honey for us:) yummy!!
 
#112 ·
Oops, soggy bottom.:eek: That happen to me when my Mother-in-Law left the sprinkler on when she left for a two week vacation and one leg sunk. I had to re-sink the legs in concrete like a fence post after the ground dried.
 
#114 ·
I had the same thing happen to me in Missouri clay. In December the stand fell backward and dumped 4 hives.
We had 3 days of rain before this happened then very windy the day it fell over. The design is good to keep ants out though.
I set it back upright and restacked the hives and prayed I didn't kill the queen in the process.
It was 35 degrees and windy when I found them. After I set the stand back up I sandwiched it
between 4 Tposts until warmer weather. I plan to then wider the hole and concreting the pipes in.
 
#115 ·
After one of my legs sunk, I took the opportunity during a hive inspection to re-sink the pipe legs in concrete. Much more stable now. I would suggest everyone do that who has my design
during your next hive inspection while you have the boxes apart.
 
#118 ·
I have no idea, try to upload and reduce as necessary -

Awhile back I asked Charlie B about ant proofing- I took what I found for me to be the path of least resistance. I went to Lowes and bought pressure treated wood, bought 4 orange ($3 each) 5 gallon buckets, made 4 legs from the wood; took the buckets placed each leg in a bucket and filled them 1/2 way with water-
Now I have hives that should I choose to change location are aptly constructed.
 
#119 ·
> how small does a pic have to be to upload?

If you want to use the Beesource image attachment feature, maximum image file size is 195 KB; 800 by 800 pixels. If you use a service that hosts images elsewhere and then link them here, file size doesn't matter, but you do risk Barry's ire if you post inline images (automatically displayed) that grossly exceed the approved pixel limits.
 
#122 ·
My concern is not high wind but cyclic wind where the hives rock back and forth creating a bending moment at the tee fitting. Because of the sharp vee groove of the thread form on the end of the pipe the metal tends to crack and slowly propagate all the way through. Maybe it will happen or maybe it never will. But it would be something I would worry about. If the pipe was 3" in diameter I would have no concern but 1 in or even 1 1/2 I think is light.
 
#123 ·
I saw what I'm guessing is Charlie's stand on YouTube. I was not enamored of the T arrangement either, but overall liked the idea a lot. I'm in the process of setting one up. I've got four posts as well, but arranged to support four corners using U-shaped pipe assemblies (4 posts, 2 18" cross-pieces, 4 elbows). About the same amount of pipe but it should be sturdier from the bending standpoint.

My plastic cups are slightly different, made from 4" to 2" reducers and 2" to 1" bushings. The bushings need to be hogged out a little with a half-round rasp to fit the iron pipe. I split the plastic fittings so they can be put on the iron pipe and held on with hose clamps. That way the cups can be removed for cleaning and re-greasing.

Product Light Lamp


Furniture Iron Room Bed Table
 
#124 ·
I saw what I'm guessing is Charlie's stand on YouTube. I was not enamored of the T arrangement either, but overall liked the idea a lot. I'm in the process of setting one up. I've got four posts as well, but arranged to support four corners using U-shaped pipe assemblies (4 posts, 2 18" cross-pieces, 4 elbows). About the same amount of pipe but it should be sturdier from the bending standpoint.

My plastic cups are slightly different, made from 4" to 2" reducers and 2" to 1" bushings. The bushings need to be hogged out a little with a half-round rasp to fit the iron pipe. I split the plastic fittings so they can be put on the iron pipe and held on with hose clamps. That way the cups can be removed for cleaning and re-greasing.

View attachment 9943

View attachment 9944
I like it, but let me ask you... Why the pipe thread sealer? :lookout:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top