ANTS

[Fannbee]

I have heard that fire ants kill ticks.   However, my wife's horses had a tick problem last year.  I live in MS and every field in MS have mounds of fire ants.

It would be interesting to ask people who live with african bees and fire ants, if they had a choice, which one would they like to get rid of.

[Andrew Tyzack]

Why not move the hive?

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Moving the hive could work but it will be difficult to find a location where there aren't ants. Usually if there's a species living in a field that's annoying the hive then it's likely that species of ant can be found throughout the field. Forest land has far more diversity when it comes to ants so that won't work either. If you're going to move the hive it's probably better to put it up on a deck.

A good way to test if an area has ants is to lay bait out. Tuna works good for this but I recommend honey for those of you who have cats.
Ants don't usually nest in areas with poor drainage, but I don't think you'd want to put a heavy hive on mud. It may eventually lean one way or the other.

[EDIT] With baiting for ants you'd want to take maybe 15 minutes placing small bits from a can and place it down every 3 yards or so. Try to include areas of interest such as open grass land, gardening area, around your hive, compost pile, and around dead wood if you can. Check every 5 minutes after setting it up.