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MikeWaters · 05-14-2007, 12:04 AM

When I've given my hive sugar-water, ants have come to join the party. So I decided to do something about it. Using materials from around the house, my dad and I made a stand with 4 legs (made of landscape timbers). The idea is to put each leg into a coffee can with some material that ants can't cross. For example, my dad uses sand and motor oil.

I didn't have any coffee cans or other suitable containers. So last night I went to the dollar store and bought 4 plastic mini trash cans. Today I got some used cooking oil (that Farrah had kept in the fryer). I split it between the 4 plastic trash cans, and then added about a quart of water to each. The oil of course sits on top of the water.

I went outside and moved the hive on top of the air conditioner and then replaced the concrete blocks with the new apparatus. I added a new thing of sugar water. Now there won't be anymore ants.

Yesterday I opened up the hive to take a look. The number of bees appears to be the same from when I first started. This isn't a bad sign. It means that the population has dipped (as the old workers died) and now I have new bees that have replaced the dead ones. It should only increase from here. There was a lot of capped brood in the frames (larvae that are pupating in capped cells). I didn't notice the queen.

Lots of pollen and a little bit of honey. Unfortunately I saw six hive beetles when I first opened it. I quickly dispatched them with my glove and hive tool. They're sneaky bastards. I could probably not do anything about the hive beetles and I would be okay. But I think I will make a trap for them.

I was talking to my LDS neighbor. I knew he had bees before. Turned out that he had 40 beehives at one point. He confessed that in all his time he was never once able to find a queen. He had even bought commercial queens, but never could kill the old queens. He seemed to be innately unable to locate the one different bee among all the similar ones. I guess some people are better at this than others. He has a son that is autistic. I wonder if his pattern problems are related somehow to a risk for autism. Who knows.

Anyway, it turns out that he has all his equipment, including an extractor and electric knife. So, I have these available to me. Of course, I'll have to give him some honey for his generosity.

05-14-2007, 12:04 AM	#1
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	latest beehive update When I've given my hive sugar-water, ants have come to join the party. So I decided to do something about it. Using materials from around the house, my dad and I made a stand with 4 legs (made of landscape timbers). The idea is to put each leg into a coffee can with some material that ants can't cross. For example, my dad uses sand and motor oil. I didn't have any coffee cans or other suitable containers. So last night I went to the dollar store and bought 4 plastic mini trash cans. Today I got some used cooking oil (that Farrah had kept in the fryer). I split it between the 4 plastic trash cans, and then added about a quart of water to each. The oil of course sits on top of the water. I went outside and moved the hive on top of the air conditioner and then replaced the concrete blocks with the new apparatus. I added a new thing of sugar water. Now there won't be anymore ants. Yesterday I opened up the hive to take a look. The number of bees appears to be the same from when I first started. This isn't a bad sign. It means that the population has dipped (as the old workers died) and now I have new bees that have replaced the dead ones. It should only increase from here. There was a lot of capped brood in the frames (larvae that are pupating in capped cells). I didn't notice the queen. Lots of pollen and a little bit of honey. Unfortunately I saw six hive beetles when I first opened it. I quickly dispatched them with my glove and hive tool. They're sneaky bastards. I could probably not do anything about the hive beetles and I would be okay. But I think I will make a trap for them. I was talking to my LDS neighbor. I knew he had bees before. Turned out that he had 40 beehives at one point. He confessed that in all his time he was never once able to find a queen. He had even bought commercial queens, but never could kill the old queens. He seemed to be innately unable to locate the one different bee among all the similar ones. I guess some people are better at this than others. He has a son that is autistic. I wonder if his pattern problems are related somehow to a risk for autism. Who knows. Anyway, it turns out that he has all his equipment, including an extractor and electric knife. So, I have these available to me. Of course, I'll have to give him some honey for his generosity.