Well, FWIW,
This is how I do it.... YMMV

Find a clear spot near their habitat, and put a "line" (1 foot long) of Food about a foot away ... sugar,molasses etc etc, whatever you have that ants have been known to desire.

As soon as they are devouring it,torch them, add more food, torch them , keep this up until there are none left, if you keep adding food, they will keep coming ,they will not stop just because you are killing their friends, if you add food, they will come and get it and you will eventually decimate them into extinction, this couldn't be easier and can be done at multiple locations at the same time, very little work on your part, doesn't harm the soil, win win ;-)

{{gwi:116128}}

Are the ants the red imported fire ant variety?

Really strange to hear because normally ants - except for fire ants - are considered a garden neutral or even somewhat beneficial. It sounds as if the real problem may be aphids and the ants and the treehoppers are attracted by the feast of aphids. Treating for aphids may eliminate any problems you are having.

Aphids are attracted to excessive nitrogen in the plants and soil so you might consider that as a potential cause and focus on fixing it. Once the aphids are controlled you'll likely find the ants and the hoppers are gone too.

Dave

I can sympathize - I have endless ant problems too. We get several types including fire ants. :( The things that have worked at least somewhat:

- boric acid baits - Google making ant traps - the 20 mule team borax works fairly well for me. I have raised beds, so put the traps outside of the actual bed in case of spilling. My worry is birds finding the sugary water solution. I've cut holes in a platic cup that is set over the trap to keep birds out.

- The little spike traps outside the garden - these are also baits and the ants gorge, take it back to the nest and eventually die. These are not healthy inside your garden.

- Water can be partially successful - on okra, I spray off the aphids and it takes awhile for the aphids to get back up to the flower buds. If the nest is at a place that you can spray intensely - drowning the nest with a high pressure spray from the hose or if outside the garden, dumping a pot of boiling water into the nest works really well.

- I had some limited success with dried molasses scattered into newly raked beds. That evicted some ants, but they will come back.

- Diatomaceous earth spilled into a disturbed nest or on the base of the plant they are climbing to farm the aphids.

- The weed flamer works well if you can dig up the nest and torch the ants in the nest - they will abandon it if you fry them enough. But it's not very economical and isn't good for your garden soil, but it's good for your mental health after weeks of battling ants...

One of the most curious things - I've had the problem with bean aphids and ants for several years. This year I grew milkweed to feed and attract butterflies. The milkweed is loaded with the most amazing collection of colorful aphids I've ever seen - yellow and green and black. The ants don't care about these. Neither do the ladybugs either. And the aphids don't seem to slow down the plant much either. But it gives me the crawlies to look at them...

Good luck!
Cindy

heheh - I rather do like the idea of extinguishing by fire... it seems rather cathartic to even imagine myself doing that. Does this make me a bad person? =)

They seem to be the garden variety brown/black ant - and from what I can tell, its definitely ants first, then the aphids. The aphids only seem to grow in numbers once the ants have been busy, mostly on the corn and artichokes otherwise the tomatoes have been pretty pest free, and we've a few ladybugs too which seem to be driven off by the ants. Occasionally we do see them warring with the termites too (which we will be dealing with on a grand scale soon - I'm going to have to move my philodendrons so we can tent the house!)

I'll see what happens with some of those bait things too - I think the colony must be very large as the yard had been undisturbed for many years before I decided to put my soil to good use lately. I think something that they help to bring home to mama will do much to alleviate the problem...

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll let you know how it goes!

from google:

Aphid-herding ants make sure their "cattle" stay well-fed and safe. When the host plant is depleted of nutrients, the ants carry their aphids to a new food source. If predatory insects or parasites attempt to harm their wards, the ants will defend them aggressively. Some honey ants even go so far as to destroy the eggs of known aphid predators like lady beetles.

Some species of honey ants continue to care for their aphids during winter. The ants carry the aphid eggs home, and tuck them away in their nests for the winter months. They store the precious aphids where temperatures and humidity are optimal, and move them as needed when conditions in the nest change. In spring, when the aphids hatch, the ants carry them to a host plant to feed.

I completely understand and relate to your desire to "go nuclear" on them.
I had limited success with cinnamon powder. it will confuse the ants and makes them leave for a little while... but the cinnamon wears off and they come back.
I have crawled on my hands and knees following ant trails back to their home to apply ant poison there... only to find ants back again in a couple days... finally I just sprinkled the granulated ant poison in think barrier around the outside of my garden.

Nuke them bastards

Wish I had an answer too - however, a few hints that may be of use -

My main concern with ants is on the citrus - where they like to use their little "cows" or aphids to suck juices. I use a strong blast of water from the hose to disrupt their feeding - and the ants finally will give up. On the early plantings, however, it is necessary to put Tangle Foot or is in Trap - around the trunks. I realize this doesn't apply to veggies - but for one reason or another the ants haven't colonized my vegetable crops - so far. I actually think the more poisons that are used - produces more problems - because they kill off the predators.

I realize when it gets downright nasty - the only thing to do is fight back. Inside my house, it is necessary to sprinkle a bleach-based cleanser around food areas. But around baseboards, garbage cans, etc., in a last ditch effort, I resort to the use of Raid.

About a month ago, I disrupted an ant nest while watering my vegetable boxes, thousands of ants carrying larvae poured out. I used the hose for a long time drowning them where they were - this seems to have solved that particular problem.

Outside of that - what can I say. In California we know sooner or later, it will be combat time. I firmly believe as I said - the more chemicals - the less effectiveness.

One added note - about 2 years ago, we suddenly noted the appearance of some small lizards - and they have multiplied yearly. I do believe they consume a lot of ants, but may also nibble some small succulent lettuces, etc., as well.

Bejay

You've probably already heard that CA is home to a "super colony": "The ants in each super-colony share a common identity, their own nationality � they are one big, unified society. That has happened here in California with Argentine ants. They came here about a century ago. Their colonies have the ability to just keep growing in population. There is a colony here in California that stretches between San Francisco and the Mexican border and weighs more than the entire city of Carmel. It is very uninventively called the "Very Large Colony." Smithsonian scientist/ant researcher Moffett.

Gardeners in other states can have higher hopes of keeping the ants back, here it's more finding your manageable threshold - we'd poison ourselves before we'd be rid of them (like cockroaches in Hawaii).

You say you tried chili and pepper - I did have luck moving ants out of a vegetable bed by blending up a bunch of jalapenos and mixing them into the soil of that bed.

Like Cindy around my home I use the Grants stakes (I find I need to smear some on the outside of the stake), boric acid powder, DE and washing off.

Here is a link that might be useful: UC Davis Pest Notes: Ants