Rick wrote:
 
>Does anyone know of a way to get rid of bull ants around the bottom of my
>hives? The hives are on wooden supports about 18" off of the ground but the
>bull ants love to get up to the hives. I am trying to keep away any chemicals
>or other things that may harm the bees.
 
   You are luck; your hives are on wooden supports.  The quickest way to
stop the intrusion is to wrap some wide (3" or so) masking tape --- inside
out --- around the support, so the sticky part is on the outside.  Then you
can have some fun watching how the ants try to get across that barrier.
 
   A slightly better solution is to use "Tanglefoot" or used motor oil
smeared on the outside of each post.  Personally, I have found something
called "Stick-em Special" much better than Tanglefoot; it stays sticky
longer.
 
                                                        Adrian
 
Adrian M. Wenner                         (805) 893-2838 (UCSB office)
Ecol., Evol., & Marine Biology           (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara           (805) 963-8508 (home office & FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106
 
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