How to make an Ant Proof Beehive Stand

northeast Texas ain't too bad.....

Thank you for the good advice...Texas sure appears to be a state that I would definitely put at the top of my list to move to...our own personal value systems and belief systems align with the majority of the political consensus of your lovely state of Texas.

And now, in my attempt to realign this thread with the original purposes...back to the ant proof beehive stands...

All beehive stand are still functioning perfectly...and I am not exaggerating even a tiny bit. Every ant proof beehive stand is still meeting the needs of every hive here...and that is after at least one year, and in some cases, two years of usage. Our needs? Simple: create a beehive stand system that consistently has the ability to shut out ALL ant access to the bee colonies on a consistent basis...

Moral of the story: if you are struggling with ants, these ant proof beehive stands are the way to go. Infinitely better than trying all the old wives tales found on the internet...no doubt about it!

I call it sweet success!

Whoops, I wanted to apologize to everyone that came to this forum/post to learn about building an ant proof bee hive stand. I kinda got WAY OFF the original topic and that is not cool. So sorry!

Here are a few more pics for clarification on how to build the ant proof bee hive stand!

And some more pics!



And there you have it, a genuine ant proof bee hive stand that will last 15-20 years.

I am presently experimenting with one more modification...and hope to post pics soon...here is how to do it:

1. The darn PVC end caps were too expensive for my liking [almost $3 per end cap], so searched for a better idea.
2. I purchased a 10 ft. segment of 3 inch ABS.
3. Using a chop saw, we cut the ABS into 2 inch pieces [60 pieces]. This equals $.033 per piece.
4. Cut a scrap sheet metal into a circle with two tabs for the lid.
5. Screwed the lid on, done deal.

Cost per cap now is under $0.40. This makes a difference when mass producing the ant proof bee hive stand.

Brilliant!

New update my friends!

We were able to obtain 500+ linear ft. of L-shaped shelving material for only $25 at a local auction.

The saying, "One person's junk is another person's treasure" has certainly come true in this amazing adventure!

We tack welded the metal shelving material using an 18 year old wire welder.

I am including a pic of the ant proof bee hive stand.

I estimate it will have a minimum life span of 35+ years.

So longevity on this specific ant proof bee stand will be much greater than the wood version...BUT, the labor [amount of time to produce this item] is nearly triple the time to build the wood version...

Here's the pic!

Enjoy!

Finished prototype!

Notice white paint applied to the steel rectangles to lower temps to avoid grease melting off the metal.

We will set this stand in the sun today after applying the high temp grease. We will have nearly 7 days of triple digit temps starting Friday, so this will be a great time to test this new version.

Brilliant! And fantastic deal on the metal!! Move to Texas and be my neighbor! LOL

Hi
I noticed the Nuc’s you had sitting on your new ant proof hive stand in one of your photos. I am trying to figure out your entrance setup on them. Are those robbing screens you made to use on them while the nucs build in size?

We here in so cal have argentine ants which can devistate a colony in a day, cause them to abscond, etc. so this hive stand is a great design. I am using rebar stands with motor oil moats and trying to come up with an alternative to attach to the legs for ant control, I have a few ideas I plan to try. Vegetable oil is preferred in the oil moats however rats, mice, skunks and possibly raccoons consume it which defeats the purpose. I hate seeing my bees accidentally falling in and dying in the moats.

Have you tried using tangle foot in your reservoirs ... however very messy proposition if you ever have to clean it off and I do not know what melting temperature it has.

thanks !