robbing ants?

[jelder]

been a while since i posted but i have a problem that i think needs fixing fairly soon.  my hive is chugging along nicely, i got a swarm in late december and they were doing everything right, the queen has been active laying eggs, brrod has been capped and some honey has been capped, the hive is only a broodbox and super tall.  anyhow in the last two weeks since may last check it seems that all the eggs and young brood are gone and all the nectar that had been collected has gone as well, i done suspect robbing as thee has been no evidence on previous visits, but what i have noticed is a trail of ants leading into the hive and some ants on the frames and in the cells.  what i need is any suggestions on how to stop the ants, any suggestions greatly recieved

[Lone]

Hello Jelder,

Do you have meat ants in Tassie?  There are a couple of types of ants here that will ruin a hive, not to mention the cane toads, so we always use hive stands.  Ours are quite tall because the toads can get surprisingly high when there are tasty bees around.  Our stands have steel legs that you can put in oil cans.  Some people put grease around the legs if they are not suited to cans.  I've read other suggestions on the forum such as sprinkling cinnamon, but I haven't tried this personally. 

Weaker hives of course are more at risk from ants but ants can make a hive weak too.  Do you think your bees might have swarmed, or the queen died?

Lone

[Poppi]

I have heard this works and will not harm the bees or the environment.  I drink a ton of coffee and I save all the grounds for my veggie garden and flowers.  I don't have ants as a problem but there are so many different kinds...   my hives are on concrete blocks and the only ants I have locally are fire ants, carpenter ants and sugar ants...  they are repelled by coffee grounds sprinkled on the ground around the hive and also a sprinkle of cinnamon powder may help.      Just some stuff I have run across researching...  take it for what it's worth but it won't hurt to try.

Good luck,  John

[jelder]

so i went back and checked my hive today, go it on a stand with tins of oil around the legs.  it seems to be working, no ants, pollen and nectar in some cells and best of all i found eggs.  now al i have to do is keep the fed with syrup until winter is over!