Protection against ants

[omnimirage]

I have an ant problem where I'm placing my hives. The ants are very strong and healthy where I am, I can't effectively poison them or whatever.

I first noticed the issue when ants where surrounding my hives and snatching at honeybees, truly was gruesome to see. Since then, I've been building stands with legs, and putting the leg into some container, like an empty icecream box/dog food can, filled with engine sump oil. This prevents the ants from accessing my hive, but alot of bees wind up drowning in there somehow, and it's quite a burden having to build stands for every hive I place.

Is there any viable alternatives?

[paus]

Try turning the stands upside down then coat the upside down can on the inside with grease and I often add cinnamon to the grease.  Then I lay 2x4 or 2x6 on top of cans.  I make mine long enough to place 5-7 10 frame hives on each stand. Additional bracing will be needed with the same can treatment in the middle of the stand. How many plans are there for these stands?  As many as there are builders.

[BeeMaster2]

I have the same problem. This past spring while the bees were at the farm I built new stands. I used 4"x4"x4" feet with 1 1/4" pvc pipe with inverted plastic cups with a hole drilled the size of pipe and the cups are glued to the bottom of the rails.  The feet and 2x4 rails were drilled half way through so that the pipe fitted in them. There are 8 feet on each 8' stand and I put paver bricks under each foot. I greased the inside of the cups on the first stand and never did grease the second stand.
The funny thing was that the carpenter ants never got on either stand until I braced the front of the stands prior to Hermine hitting here. Within hours I found carpenter ants all over the hives. I removed the braces and no more ants.
Jim