Hello again, do ants have any effect on your hive? Is there anything I need to do? Not a lot of ants, just two or three here and there.
They can. See:
http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/do-ants-hurt-bees/6004?u=dawn_sd
If you want to build an ant moat, I posted a how-to recently:
http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/latest-ant-moat-for-2017/10744?u=dawn_sd
You can make a borax trap for them:
Mix one part borax to three parts sugar & dissolve in water, put some into a small glass jar with a cotton ball or bit of paper towel for ants to climb on, cover jar opening with aluminum foil & secure with rubber band or the ring for the jar if it’s the type for preserves. Poke a few holes in the foil with a fork or something - large enough for ants but too small for bees!
Put the jar right up next to the hive where you see them crawling around. Eventually they’ll all start going in there instead of the hive, because it’s easier. Keep an eye on the trap to make sure the foil barrier is intact & replenish your mixture when the body count gets high inside the jar.
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In my climate (Nebraska) ants are never a problem unless I’m feeding syrup. I usually don’t feed. In some southern locations ants can be a serious problem.
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Thank you Michael, I don’t have many ants. Just thought I’d better ask. Making my way through this sea of information.
I planted mint around the hive and it seemed to do the trick. Ants don’t like mint for whatever anty reason.
A thank you. I can definitely plant some mint.