Ants have made a nest in the back viewing opening of my hybrid flow hive. The girls have sealed them off with propolis, however, they are unsightly, and after brushing them away, they keep reappearing. Any tips on how to get rid of them? Standing my hive in water seals around the legs might be a way?
I am having the same problem. I have my hive on a table with water seals around the legs. They still seem to get in. I have dusted Cinnamon on the opening and for awhile this seemed to work. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. My bees are getting agitated and I don’t want them to run away from home!!!
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@Cazz I have used an ant dust powder I bought from Coles that contains pyrethrum it is in a white plastic container and the powder is a light sandy color.
I found the ant nest 2 metres from the hives and dusted it and the Besser blocks the hives sit on with no ill effect to the bees, they showed no interest in it and the ants died out within 2 days.
If the ants are internal in the hive all I can suggest is to use a Chux with white vinegar and try to wipe then out with that, if there is just a few ants the bees will chase them and kill them.
Welcome to the forum Thomas, lots of nice people and willing to help you as you get into bee keeping.
Regards
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Pyrethrum is toxic to bees…I wouldn’t be using that close to the hive personally. Specific and localised application to an ants nest / path the ants walk on you could get away with.
I seem to recall a borax mix or something being mentioned here. Bearing grease or similar around the legs should also work. If you do a search you’ll find a thread/topic that had a discussion on ant control techniques at length.
Here’s the borax trap recipe 
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@Korber the same thing happened to my flow box, it was so foul! Ants and eggs, all around the honey tube openings in back 
I smashed and brushed away all I could and then put a borax trap next to the hive. No more ants!
They haven’t shown any interest in it, but I certainly wouldn’t dust it near the entrance of the hive. Borax is also tried and true poison by mixing it with sugar and water to make a paste, but the sugar would attract the bees. It can be put in a jar with small holes punched in the lid so that the ants get through, eat the paste and take it back to the nest and die, the live ants will hopefully eat the poisoned ants and start a chain reaction.
Cheers
[quote=“Peter48, post:7, topic:15246”]
put in a jar with small holes punched
Yes, anyone curious to make this type of trap should please read the whole post I copied - it does specify to make holes in foil covering the jar, big enough for ants but too small for bees 
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Ok, but the point is to make the holes in the foil, or the lid, large enough for the ants to pass through but small enough to stop the bees.
Regards
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Thanks Eva, I suppose I could use an old jam jar, and drill a 5mm diameter hole in the top, that should be large enough for the ants, and too small for the bees. And locate the jar on the ground behind the hive. I have checked and found some Ant-Rid, this is already a liquid with Borax concentration of 104.g/l. Could I use this to make a mixture?
Peter, I was thinking of using a jam jar with 5mm diameter holes drilled in the lid. What do you think?
Spray the area with canola cooking spray, that worked for me after I found ants nests under the panels of my observation hive.
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5mm is too big - believe it or not, bees can get through that. 3mm would be perfect.
I have spent a considerable time on getting rid of ants from in and around hives. As has many others who have posted here. There are many solutions, moats,traps and spays but all are just temporary. Ants are persistent little sods and will return as soon as your guard is down. So I have adopted a strategy of seeing ants quickly before they become a pest. Reduce the ant nests within a wide perimeter of the hive and let them live in peace outside that.
I shifted my hive (which is now two) onto a concrete floor which has a clear space of around 50-60 cm (2 ft). I am now able to detect even those little weenie ones before they become a problem. Usually I can track them back to a nest, mostly in the ground, which I can destroy. I back up this plan with grease around the hive stand legs but in the last 2 -3 months, no ants have made it to the hive. Bliss 
Now I know this will not suit most people, because of space, number of hives, time, location etc but it is something which works for me.
However ants seem to be able overcome most road blocks and I see a lot of special forces ants parachuting in and abseiling down the hives with jars of honey…ah but now I digress.
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Why drill when you can just secure foil over a jar, and poke holes in it with a fork?
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I have this occurring too under some windows on my hives- my way of dealing with it is not to worry much! I haven’t seen any evidence of ants going into the actual hive- they just love the warmth of being close and living off scraps they find. I brush them off with my bee brush from time to time. Having said that I haven’t had any big infestations just little tiny any colonies eeking out a marginal living.
I agree with Dawn, 3mm will let ants get in but any bigger the bees might squeeze in and that would be a disaster. A jam jar sounds ideal for the job.
Regards.
Why drill a hole when you can make it with a small nail and a hammer, it’s all about strenuous exercise Eva…
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