thanks @Dawn_SD - after wiping and reapplying, it seems to have worked. That and the bees appears to have stopped the little nest that had started in a corner of the brood box.
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@ropate - at this time sales of AntCant are limited to the United States mainland as shipping charges for small number of bottles is too expensive. As a next step, we hope to offer AntCant in Canada and Mexico, and then expand more broadly. Is ant infestation of beehives a significant problem in Australia?
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Hi David,
If you use the forum search tool at the upper right (magnifying glass), you can get an idea of who has a problem with ants, and where they are located. For example, in the top 10 hits of a search for ants, more than 4 were in Australia:
Ants are the biggest insect problem, certainly in my apiary, but am sure it is an issue for all the bee keepers in Australia. Maybe it is worth looking into having an agent/distributor here. Air freight from the U.S. is the biggest problem holding sales back from businesses there.
Cheers
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Exactly. Although, finding an American supplier to ship to Australia was impossible. Thankfully my family visits often enough to bring me supplies.
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Has anyone tried Fluon as an alternative?
I havenāt come across Fluon but over the 40+ years I have had bees and the problems with ants I have tried enough new products that are fails for one reason or another. So I keep going to a tried and proven management by finding any nests nearby the hives and applying ant dust crossing ant trails and direct to the ant nest entrance. My 2nd way is to make a paste up of Borax, water and sugar and placing it into a match box open enough to let the ants in but too small to let the bees in and the trap can be placed against the hive stand legs. The makings are cheap and easy to buy.
Regards Peter
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Thanks Peter. Will add that to my IPM 
i shall give this a go
I have my hives on metal stands, the legs of which I smear with axle grease. Since then a massive ant problem has largely been resolved. You need to re-grease 2 or 3 times a year. I also supplement this with diatomaceous earth sprinkled beneath the hives. This helps to keep both ants and SHB larvae away.
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Hi Peter, me again. Iāve been reading your posts re ants but canāt find what the product is that you were referring to, that isnāt available in Australiaā¦ Iām going to try and cooking spray on the legs, then the moats, then the matchbox ideas but would love to hear what else you were suggesting. Thanks kindly. 
Hi Tamara, we havenāt seen Peter in awhile & hope heās well. I make ant traps using a 1 to 2 solution of Borax and sugar-water, in a jar with a small bit of paper towel or cotton ball and covered with foil with some ant-sized holes (a fork works well) that are too small for bees. I put the jar next to my boxes where I see a trail of ants climbing up. Soon enough the sugar attracts them & they divert from going into the hive to collect death-juice and bring it back to their nest to feed their young 
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Thanks so much Eve, Iāll try that today.
What is the purpose of the cotton ball or paper towel ? Something for the ants to sit on?
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Yes indeed. More ants can partake.
HI again, Iāve now done my first brood inspection after I transferred my bees from their 5 frame nuc to their 8 frame hive. Iāll make a larger post re at the condition of the frames and the comb growth but in relation to the ants, when we removed the lid, it was COVERED with ants and what look like ant larvae - tiny any sized what bits. We washed and scraped it off and Iāll try your borax trick but I am worried about how to deal with this. Borax might stop them getting in the hive but what about those already in the hive (although I didnāt see any in the frames we inspected) but there were some on the internal walls. Thoughts???
Oh how grossā¦Iāve had that happen as well 
You did right to try to eliminate all that you could see, and to wash surfaces of their pheromone trails - including the outer sides of the boxes where they climbed up. The idea from here is to manage the source and reason for influx as best you can, and the bees will deal with a smaller number of intruders. A few worker ants getting in will not be a problem.
You might try dousing the ground underneath your hive stand with a watering can filled with 1/2 cup of salt, 1 cup of vinegar & the rest water (to paraphrase our friend Peter Christie) which is meant to kill any hive beetle larvae in the ground. I canāt imagine any ant larvae surviving that treatment. I havenāt tried this myself, but if I did I would do it at dusk, so as to reduce the risk of bees landing on it while still wet on the surface of the ground. Mind you, this solution will also kill vegetation.
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Tamara cinnamon is very good for ant management too - and is natural and smells great
In our new training apiary we have had 3 hives and 2 nucs abscond due to the poor season and ants moving into rob the hives. Iām over being nice and now waging war on the two main species by targeting the nests with poison, renewed ant barriers (that work sometimes) and getting the flame thrower ready.
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