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good morning everyone!
I'm a first time beekeeper- my original hive swarmed twice last week, and I've successfully captured both and hived them. Since they were put on brand new foundation, I started feeding them, but have noticed the tiny red ants in on the cover board this morning.
I sprinkled cinnamon around the base of both hives, and some in the inner cover by the syrup.
Any other sugggestions?
I'm a first time beekeeper- my original hive swarmed twice last week, and I've successfully captured both and hived them. Since they were put on brand new foundation, I started feeding them, but have noticed the tiny red ants in on the cover board this morning.
I sprinkled cinnamon around the base of both hives, and some in the inner cover by the syrup.
Any other sugggestions?
I have noticed more ants than last year in my hives as well in objects around my garden. My thought at the time was that the saturated soil had caused them to pack up for higher ground. In fact, I seem to recall seeing a line of ants crawling up the side of one of my hives carrying pupae. So far no problems with them.
Hello J and J,
I hope you are well today and congratulations on catching the swarms.
Ants in and around the hive are not necessarily bad. A strong hive will be able to manage intruders such as ants,spiders or other insects. I have found this season small colonies of ants trying to make their homes on the edges of the inner covers just under the outer covers but not progressing any further than that. Also, bees use formic acid as a defense mechanism to protect their nests. Formic acid (mite away quick strips) is also viewed as one of the "natural" chemicals used in the fight against varroa mites.
Keep an eye on their movements and brush them off if needed. If your bees are strong enough (in terms of volume) they will manage the ants.
I hope you are well today and congratulations on catching the swarms.
Ants in and around the hive are not necessarily bad. A strong hive will be able to manage intruders such as ants,spiders or other insects. I have found this season small colonies of ants trying to make their homes on the edges of the inner covers just under the outer covers but not progressing any further than that. Also, bees use formic acid as a defense mechanism to protect their nests. Formic acid (mite away quick strips) is also viewed as one of the "natural" chemicals used in the fight against varroa mites.
Keep an eye on their movements and brush them off if needed. If your bees are strong enough (in terms of volume) they will manage the ants.
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