I live in the south and we have fire ants. They can not live in close contact with any other living thing so far as I know. I have not had them eat plants because they are opportunistic and seem to prefer other living things, from small insects ot baby livestock and wild game. Where there are lots of them they kill off the turkey, quail, deer etc and in also baby calves, horses etc., given the opportunity. I have read that if you have lots of fire ants, they will eat all the ticks and chiggers so I guess that would be one beneficial act, at whatever cost. The ants that killed my plants were the little black ants that frequent okra. They occasionally bore a hole in a pod of okra near the base, causing it to become deformed and curl over. However the most damage was when they killed all my dill plants two years in a row, some other plants and a beautiful little miniature rose bush that I had growing in a planter box that I built for my wife. They did not eat the plants, but hollowed out all around the roots making their nests and tunnels to where the plants died from lack of being able to take up moisture or nutrients. It is hard to tell this, especially if there is mulch around the plants, until you see them wilting and investigate. By then the damage is done and it is too late. I would also recommend some ant baits or control on the outter pereimeters of your beds. Other measures like keeping the ground moist and stirred up has a limited and temporary inpact on them. That is my experience and first hand observations. Bill P.

There are many ways to get rid of fire ants. You can use a mixture of sugar and borax. Pour the mixture around the ant hills, and the ants will carry it inside the colony, killing it off. Another solution is the sugar substitute, Equal or Nutri-Sweet. These have been known to be poisonous to ants. Just pour it around the hill and you will see little any bodies laying around in a couple days. Like the others have said, if it's garden ants let them be - unless it's a huge infestation. Here is a link that might be useful: Ants In The Vegetable Garden

Not all ants farm aphids, even when they do it's not too big a deal. The aphids are going to be there regardless. The ants just protect them from beneficial bugs. Just wipe, or spray them away. In fact, the ants make it easier to see where the aphids might be on your plants. I never worry about ants, and have never had a problem. Before earthworms found their way to North America a few hundred years ago, ants were one of the main tenders, and tillers of the soil. They can dig through clay much better, and more efficiently than worms. They aerate, add organic matter, and even allow moisture into the soil. In short, as mentioned above, unless they are one of the aggressive species, like fire ants, I never worry about them being in the yard or garden.

TJOHN, Yes I hear you about The WAR...we bought a foreclosure home a few years ago and neighbors on either side do little to treat lawn, but they do bait mounds. This place had about ten mounds when we moved in, Next year the neighbors had issues so they treated, third year we had ants again. So we now just maintain mounds in the lawn. But the Veggies???? WE also had four foot highs weeds at move in. Grubs, etc. While the lawn gets treated with granular product yearly for lawn bugs, grubs, Red velvet ants ( wasp) and a numerous number of beetle species that make huge holes in the lawn...I also treat the individual fire ant mounds in lawn with the Amdro bait, which does say not to use in the vegetable garden. Last year they found the garden, and my bare feet. Lesson learned. Zowie! Being a displaced Yankee, I wondered if there was some trick y'all had specifically for the veggie garden. Fire ants are not a real problem in the North. I didn't really think of placing it outside the garden perimeter as there are no mounds there, just last year, in the center of the garden. I thought they would just carry Amdro into the garden, SO I guess I will try the COME and GET IT just around garden .Thank you. I think I may be trying the Vinegar/water trick too! **As for your corn worms, I tried a trick l that seems to help. When the silks appear mix a bit of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis)with mineral oil, shake well, place a few drops(3-4) with eyedropper on the silks right at the top of the ear ( not the ends of the silks but the ear itself) . Oil keeps it from washing off, and wicks into the silks inside the husk. Your corn will not be greasy when mature. When moths lay the eggs for worm on the silks, they also will be feeding their larva the BT. It really cut down on my problem. But you do need to do it as soon as silks appear, which means checking for ear silks often. I also do some hand pollination at the same time if I can. And Chas, I have tried the potato chip thing...if they don't go after it: I don't treat the hill, as I know they are sweet ants and not fire ants (grease)...non chaos causing ants are welcome. But I do agree we all need to be careful.