Your hive stand is the best weapon against ants. You can block access to the hive by placing a barrier at the bottom of the hive stand legs. Examples:
- Place the hive stand legs in bowls containing water or vegetable oil.
- Spray Home Defense at the bottom of the legs. This is toxic to bees, so this should only be done if the legs are long enough to prevent the spray from reaching the hive.
Once ants have established a foothold in your hive, they’ve been known to start a miniature ant colony in the top cover or inner cover of your hive. Be sure to check for that, and scrape them away with your hive tool.
I found that ant bait traps and a product called Tanglefoot used on hive stand works better than diotomatious earth which blows around and irritates the bees or gets soggy in the fog or rain if its impractical to build a hive stand like above.