A few ants in the garden are not a problem. However, if they decide to make a large nest right near the root system of one of your plants, then they could damage the roots and even kill the plants. Most ants like it dry, so they can also be a problem under patio stones, under eaves or in rock gardens (carpenter ants nest in moist areas but are not very common unless you have a lot of rotten wood in your yard like me - more on that some other day!)
One solution I've tried is to pour boiling water on the ant hill. This works fairly well especially in patio areas, although you may have to do it a few times. However, if the ant hill is near a plant, you don't want to risk damaging the plant, too.
A week or so ago I heard someone on a radio call-in show give a tip about cream of wheat - spread it around the area, the ants will eat it and it will expand in their stomache and kill them. I thought it was worth a try so I'm trying it! I will report back if I get any results.
Ants also aerate the soil, and love to eat cutworms. My garden used to be full of those things. Then I had some ants move in - they took care of the cutworms for me.
Posted by: gardener | July 07, 2008 at 12:04 AM