"There is rumor that we are built on a huge ant colony... now I don't know if this is really true."

I have reason to believe that the entire earth is built on a huge ant colony.

Be happy that they are content to stay in your garden.

No, there is nothing you can do on a small scale to control the population of ants.

However, if you discover that you have fire ants (the little brown bitey bastids), consider tactical nuclear warfare. Do you see any dirt mounds when it rains?

we should never advise as to extermination of anything... that is NOT a problem ...

your entire history provided is rumor and hearsay ... what do you want us to recommend???.... that you nuke the yard in a preventative manner ???

if and when its a problem.. we can recommend a solution... until then.. keep your new hand pet happy ... return him to his peeps ...

ken

ps: now.. if they get in the house ... then as far as i am concerned.. its all out tactical warfare ... and not a single one will be left to blemish the earth with their dark little shadows ... just to be clear... that i have no aversion to such.. when they are a threat ...

Ants are a fact of life. People have been trying for many years to "get rid" of them and in spite of the many products that say they will we still have ants, and often when one does either eliminate an ant colony or convince them to move (more likely), soon another colony moves in to replace those you just chased away.
Ants are not too fond of locations where the soil is disturbed often or too wet so some of both might convince them to relocate. Keep in mind that most any of the poisons that will "control" ants will also kill off the beneficial soil organisms.

I don't have any advice but to pour boiling water on them when/if you can. I sympathize with you!! That ant looks like the kind that's around here. No, not all problem ants are fire ants, but they will still swarm up your leg and bite if you step or put a shovel in the wrong spot, or pick up the wrong brick or rock.

Once disturbed in the ground, they do usually find somewhere else to go, but not always. Sometimes I have to just go away for a few hours, or until the next day, come back to a spot later. Sometimes I find a spot where it's just not possible to garden except to scatter seeds, like at the base of a tree. Can't pour boiling water there.

The ants up north (at least that I ever saw in central OH) do not act like ants in the south, which definitely dictate where/when some gardening can be done, and where people can stand. I learned a new dance when I moved down here, the "holy crap my leg is covered in 2 seconds with ants that are not red but are still biting me" dance. The first step is kicking your shoe as far away as possible, then hopping/stomping/shrieking until you get them off. Never once in OH did ants dictate anything about gardening for a minute. I was never bitten by any ants until moving to AL.

If I ever see an anteater, I'm SO bringing it home!!!!!

Those tiny ones aren't usually a nuisance. I just cleared my yard of debris and dead plants and probably disturbed close to 12 different ant nests. The little guys looked like the one in your hand.

I sympathize, nothing gives me goosebumps quite like seeing a swarm of them materialize out of nowhere. It got to the point where every pile of decaying leaves I raked away from my stone wall, I'd stand back and wait for the ants to amass. However, once I disturbed their nest (or just removed the leaves that made it up) they moved on and didn't return to that spot. I'm not sure where they went, but they weren't aggressive and don't appear to be harming anything structural or alive.

I say leave them. My mother once said "Choose your battles," and it sounds like that one isn't one that you want to fight, considering the amount you're dealing with. Not to mention, if they're tunnelers then you just got yourself some free root aeration.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone....helpful AND amusing... :)
I decided to just leave it alone.... they won't really bother anything, after all.
roksee