We are just setting up our first hives. We live in East Texas, where there are plenty of fire ants. I have been using cinnamon very successfully in my garden & yard to keep them out.
I read somewhere that cinnamon can be spread liberally around the posts the hives will sit on to keep the fire ants out of the hives. Do the bees mind the cinnamon? I wouldn't want to hive the bees, and then have them abscond because they hated the smell as much as the ants do :).