>I realize that diazinon is a dangerous pesticide to use around beehives, but >sometimes there seems to be no alternative. In southern Michigan, we have a >medium sized ant species (black and brown) that builds large hills.... I have also resorted to using diazinon in desperation in my overwintering areas as an ant control. These areas are ant heaven due to large amounts of dead bees in the spring, occasional sugar syrup spills, and they are cut right into the southern edge of thick coniferous forest. I usually wait until I have moved the majority of the hives out. We have a very small red ant here that lives in sandy soil and does not seem to have a concentrated nest site. That is, there are numerous small entrances in the ground all through the whole area. Fortuneately this ant is not a deadly pest. It can enter the hive through very small cracks, but its only interest seems to be in seeking sweets. The carpenter ants will go right into the bottom boards and supers of any hive that is weak. In Kenya I noticed that all the hives are suspended with greased ropes as ant/termite control. I used to have some hive stands on legs that I put in cans of oil. But once I started keeping larger numbers and moving them this was impractical. I wish someone would suggest some alternatives. I can suggest one fairly mild ant killer, but in my experience it is only useful against smaller ant colonies. I use it in blueberry fields (which are acidic and often highly ant infested). If you buy a box of powdered borax laundry powder (this is about 99% pure borax in the popular brand) you can mix it into a heavy sugar syrup but do not exceed 5% or the ants might not take the bait back into their nest. I usually place the bait under old boards, but I have often worried that the bees might find some. Could anyone comment on the toxicity of borax to honeybees.