I will definitely give this a try... We have terrible ant problems every year and ant pellets can be really expensive. This would be a good cheap solution.

Remember though, unless they're biting ants or are eating your crops, ants are benedicial insects in the garden. The house and yard are a different story, thanks for the heads up!

ants are all over my zucchini and in the zucchini flowers. are these usually beneficial ants ?

Likely. If you see damage to your plant, it could be ants indirectly. They sometimes introduce aphids to plants to farm their secretions.

For the record, I've got ants all over my garden. I've learned to live with them.

I've learned to live with the ants, as long as I don't see a mound or discover a nest. I try to apply DE or dry molasses when I see the mounds or nests. I think they've been responsible for most of the pollinating going on in my garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Haphazard Gardener

I have a square foot garden made of stones. Ants had built a nest in one of the sides and a square, where I wanted to plant some beans. I did not want to use a poison (e.g., diazanon). My wife had an excellent suggestion. Just pour a pot of boiling water over the nest. Worked great.

Bryan

ants all over my okra, and aphids so thick you cant see the flowers, they get on the immature flower buds and they are a mess.

Other ants in my garden (around a particular squash plant) did something I would have paid them to do...they ATE a SVB grub before it made it's way into the plants main stem..Saw a bit of frass and went exploring, I ended up cutting off the leaf where the worm first went in, the ants came pouring out..but after disecting the leaf stem (and seeing that no actual hole was made into the main stem, there was NO grub...ONE for the ants there.

I'm going to sprinkle corn meal around my okra plants and leave the squash ants alone, anyone know how long corn meal will hold up (ie what if it rains etc).

I've ant's in two of my beds... mostly beneficial... I like the corn meal idea... I've also tried Aspartame with some success, but I wouldn't use that around my garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: Harmony In A Redneck Garden

I hope that corn meal works to get rid of ants. I put some down because I read that it helps reduce the late blight that has been infecting NE with all the rainy weather (I have not seen any signs of it but just hoping to head it off). I figured that it could not hurt and if it got rid of some of the ants that are around that it would be a bonus. I just hope that I'm not just feeding them, they were definately carrying lots of it away.

Good gardening, Mary

I have tiny black ants making large anthills all over my lawn. I am afraid they are destroying the grass roots. I've tried destroying the anthills with a plastic rake, but they just move a few feet away and build a new anthill. the area where the anthill used to be then becomes a bare earth patch in the lawn, soon filled with weeds or clover. What to do?

ebonwill, have you thought about boiling water? If gardening rules hold true, the ants are not destroying your lawn so much as they are there because something was wrong before they arrived. DE may be of some help too.

I have used boiling water on the ant nests and it is works! Another thing that works is peeled cucumber skins. Peel them so there is a little flesh showing and lay them out. For some reason the ants don't like it and go away. It is very effective!

The most effective ant deterrent I've found, for my garden, is pouring ground cinnamon in alternation with ground garlic (garlic about every 4th application)all around and on the plants. That combined with ensuring my plants have adequate nutrients, sun, drainage, etc. has helped more than insecticidal soap or anything else I've tried. I just buy it in bulk & reapply whenever I see ants on my plant kids. After application, they are gone by the following morning.
For ridding ants from anywhere else, I use Dawn. I pour that stuff around the corners of any place I see ants intruding into spaces where they aren't welcome. That works 100% of the time. I don't recommend putting it around your plant pots, though, unless you want a soapy mess every time it rains. ...(yes, I totally tried doing that...)

I see everyone's comments and advice about ridding of ants. So I will try the cinnamon and garlic first. Then the grits as well and maybe the boiling water. Thanks for all the great cheap and organic way without using pesticides advises. I'll let you all know about my experience and which was the best advice.