It may seem like these better known pests wouldn’t be much of a problem for a strong, healthy honeybee colony. Especially in comparison to the varroa mite. Ants will loot food, spider webs may trap bees, and earwigs feast on pollen.
And while they are a minor nuisance, they are disruptive to the bees and annoying to the beekeeper. They can cause issues for weak or newly established colonies. There are some ways we can stop them.
- A strong colony is always number one. A good queen who lays regularly and a population with sufficient resources will build and build. They are able to defend their home sufficiently.
- Coating hive stand legs with petroleum jelly makes it harder for pests to crawl up. This includes the dreaded small hive beetle. Some folks even put their hive stand legs in coffee cans filled with water.
- Cinnamon or diatomaceous earth spread around the hive stand helps. I’ve even put cinnamon inside the inner cover when I’ve found ants.
- Keeping the area around the hives clear of debris and excess vegetation reduces hiding spots for spiders.
- Insecticides are NEVER recommended as they will not only harm the target pest, but they will harm the bees too.
- One other thing I do is spread rock salt around the hives in the spring. This is to reduce SHB. I’m sure it helps to reduce the occurrence of other pests.