Ants are amazingly well adapted to fit into tight spaces. First of all, be sure that the container that you store your sugar in has a tight fitting seal. You say it is air-tight, but if an ant can get in, air is getting in as well. Try storing your sugar in a glass jar with a screwtop lid. Make sure the lid has a ruberized seal around the lip of the jar. You might also try a zip-top plastic bag. This is what we use, and it works.
You can attempt controling the ants with a solution of 1 cup of sugar to 1 pint of water boiled into a syrup with 1 TBSP of boric acid added. This will kill the ants in the nest. It takes a while to work, but it is effective. Place a small amount of the "bait" on a small flat dish where the ants travel. They will find it, and many will come to the feast. You will see many ants for about 3 to 4 days, and then none if your boric acid solution is of the right strength. If this does not control the ants, add 1 more TBSP of boric acid to the batch of sugar water. The thing is that you want the ants to feed this to their queen. So it has to be weak enough to not kill them right away, but strong enough so that over time, they will all die after eating it.
Boric acid is not toxic, and the ants do not recognize it as a poison.
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