Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[box]

Hi all
in one of my bee yards where I have my warré hives I also have the big
red forrest ants.
every spring they are testing my defence and sometimes there is a branch
or weed totching a hive ,if I dont get there the hive is gone in a matter of hours.
under the bottom board i have made "legs" with some large skrews wich is
coated in axel greace and placed in cups filled with oil.
this helps a lot , but none the less i still loose a hive now and again ,so i was
hopeing that some in here have some ideas ,to a more leave alone idea.

The ants are a protected spiecies in Denmark and besides that they have as
much a right to be there as me, so anything killing them is not an option .

[trekmate]

I've no experience of your forest ants, but generally ants rely on formic acid as a defence mechanism. As a result they avoid alkali which could neutralize their defence. Would spreading lime around the hive help to repel them?

[Robert]

I use DE on the groud around the hive, beneficial nematodes, and chickens. My ant problems are gone.

[BBC]

If their only means of access is via touching foliage, then you might want to consider mulching around the base of each hive ? And, as trekmate has suggested, adding a few handfuls of wood ash to the mulch wouldn't be a bad idea ...

[box]

great info, thanks!

It is general in the early spring they are a problem ,and like the bees the ants are looking for food as soon as the snow is gone, and the hives is a buffet
it is a outyard, that is why i dont come round as often , so i will try the
lime ,ash and DE and see what works here.

[box]

this is the ant : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formica_rufa

[trekmate]

[dustinbajer]

I manage a few hives that have some monster ant hills nearby so I build a stand and placed the feet of the stand into some inverted cups that I keep filled with vegetable oil. This makes a physical barrier that's difficult for the ants to cross.

As an extra level of deterrent, I occasionally sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around the hive. The diatomaceous earth is sharp and will cut the bodies of the ants. Since the bees fly over the top, I haven't noticed any negative effects on the bees.

[dustinbajer]

I manage a few hives that have some monster ant hills nearby so I build a stand and placed the feet of the stand into some inverted cups that I keep filled with vegetable oil. This makes a physical barrier that's difficult for the ants to cross.

As an extra level of deterrent, I occasionally sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around the hive. The diatomaceous earth is sharp and will cut the bodies of the ants. Since the bees fly over the top, I haven't noticed any negative effects on the bees.