ANT INVASION!

Maybe it’s Bee AirBnB? (And try saving that when you’ve had a few?) Could be it’s the wet Winter or the undergrowth’s got a bit too lush? Maybe the bees are leasing space to relatives? Thing is, there’s a worrying issue in a number of our beehives this Spring. Away from the action, they’ve been squatted by ants!

Obviously, ants are known to be opportunistic little cariads* who see warm dry beehives as just as suitable for their needs as anyone else’s. But, I’m fairly certain that there are more of them turning up than is usual in roofs and floors and, in one notable instance, the corner of an occupied brood box, to all intents and purposes like a subdivision.

In the UK, Beekeepers have traditionally applied Mouse Guards in Autumn, but, if what I fear is happening is happening, and ant incursions are on the rise as temperatures creep up, Winter prep is going to get a whole lot more interesting?

Luckily our compatriots in places where ants are active all year round already have solutions. Vaselene applied to hivestand legs is very common in some parts, or placing the hivestand legs into old tin cans full of oil. Both are inventive and cheap, and there are probably more ideas out there. Maybe it’s time to think about them?

* Cariad – Welsh for love or darling.
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