i noticed that ants have discovered my (still new) hives. ...all the way up on my roof, so they are pretty good a climbing houses. they are the tiny sugar ants. there aren't that many of them, they are not aggressive ants like you have in the south, and they are pretty far away from where i think their nest is. there are some things i might try (vaseline). but beeing lazy, what i really want to know is: if i don't do anything, what's the worst that could happen? will they rob honey? transmit disease? otherwise annoy the bees?
a few ants
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If the ants aren't hurting anything I ignore them. Unless they are getting in the hive and stealing larvae they are probably not a problem.
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I've got "Mound Ants" also known as "Formic Ants". They are aggressive as all get out. Thank goodness I found an 'ant stand' on beesource that works like a charm. I still find a stray ant or two, that somehow get onto, my hives. The ants are constantly circling like sharks.
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Pictures or description of an Ant stand Please? I searched but didn't find it.
yup not much of a northerner problem. Not worth the effort, they do no harm. Bees will kill sugar ants if they step foot in the hive. They are probably collecting stray pollen, they are also attracted to feeders. A few of my corrugated inspection boards act as nurseries for the eggs. I shake them out and the ants just fill them back up. The larger brown/black ants, medium size between a carpenter ant and sugar ant will go into the hive to rob something as things dry up, i ignore those too.
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I have come to realize this ^ with the couple hives I don't have on my Ultimate have stands I made to keep ants out and off the hives.
Here's pics
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Here ya go, the stand I made is like post #20, in this thread.
http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...ctually-Works!&highlight=ant+proof+hive+stand
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