Keeping Ants Out of Your Beehive: A Beekeeper's Guide
Updated October 2026. Ants can be a persistent problem for beekeepers. They're drawn to the honey and pollen inside a beehive, and even spilled syrup can attract them.
Strong colonies with plenty of worker bees can defend their hive against ants, but weaker colonies may struggle. That's why it's worth weighing colony population against food stores during inspections. If a hive has a small population and a lot of resources, the bees can't protect everything, and you may find ants inside.
Key points to remember
- Ants have to climb to reach the hive.
- Fewer entry points make it easier for a weaker colony to defend itself. On Apimaye hives, narrow the built-in adjustable entrance, or use an entrance reducer.
How to prevent ant problems
- Keep colonies strong. Boost a weak hive by moving in frames of capped brood from a stronger one.
- Use a raised hive stand. A stand makes the hive harder for ants to reach. If you're building your own, see the Apimaye bottom board dimensions for homemade stands.
- Add moats. Set the hive or each leg of the stand in a container of water or vegetable oil. Ants can't cross it.
- Limit syrup feeding. Syrup helps during a dearth, but long stretches of feeding can draw more ants than bees. Clean up spills, and watch what's blooming near your apiary so you know when the bees can find their own food.
Ant barrier options
- DIY moats: containers of water or vegetable oil under the hive stand legs, as above.
- Commercial ant barriers: Apimaye doesn't sell them, but many are available from online retailers.
- Cinnamon: sprinkle it around each leg of the hive stand. It's cheap, but results vary.
With these steps, you can help your colony thrive and keep ants out.