so far, the cinnamon is winning. i had ant nests on top of inner cover of two hives. Now there are no ants on (or in) the hives with the cinnamon on the top of the inner cover (week+ later). of course, there wasn't any cinnamon either, when i checked. i wonder if the bees cleaned it up? If the ants return, i will use it again. thanks again to whoever suggested this solution originally.
beefree