Anti-Ant (Part 1)

Pine Tar (branded as Stockholm Poultry Tar)

Colony 01 has an infestation of black Ants.

I find hundreds of them on the base board. I find very little pollen and no Varroa. I think that they harvest these. I don't know whether they're a serious pest but I would expect to find them throughout the hive. In any case, the base board is the place where I do most of my inspections so I need it to be intact. At the moment it's being reorganised by the Ants.

My solution is to apply Pine Tar (branded as Poultry Stockholm Tar) to the legs of the hive. I've heard that Ants sometimes create nests inside the hive but I haven't seen any in there when I looked earlier in the season. I think that they're entering via the legs.

Poultry Stockholm Tar stays wet but sticky. I don't expect it to affect the bees because it's outside the hive. I will report back.