Ants in Garden

[AZgirl2207]

 Being in the hot hot Southwest, my compost has bugs--it's just how it is.  The fruit flys and crickets don't bother me. I recently moved all winter's worth of compost into my raised beds.  Today as I was mixing in the compost in to the beds, I noticed ants...some more ants....and even more ants.  Nice black biting ants that leave a red itchy welt. 

How do I get these monsters out of my raised beds?  Several websites say "mist ants with a vinegar/water mix".  Humm, the whole bed?  (about 6 ft by 8 ft, 12 inches deep)   Do I just douse the whole thing with straight vinegar?  help!

[mindymom]

Do you know what they're eating?  If they were feeding near your compost pile and you've moved them to a new location, they may go away on their own.

[mattemma04]

If they are going into the compost could you just do a barrier spraying?  If you know where the nest is I would drowned them or load it up with some boric acid powder from the dollar store.

[Tony King]

I will give you a good tip to gt rid of your ants.  GO to thee hardware store and buy a cheap ant powder and then mx it 1-1 with icing sugar and then sprinkle it near where the ants are, then go get a drink and watch them go crazy for the icing sugar killing the other ants at the same time.  I do pest control in North London and often use this technique when treating clients properties.

[Owen'nZoe]

We got rid of one problem ant hill last year with grits. You sprinkle the grits (dry, instant) on the ground, they eat the grits, it swells in their stomache and it kills them. I loved this solution, since it is cheap and I knew it wouldn't hurt the kids or dog even if they walked on the stuff or ate it. It won't work if it is rainy (since the grits plump up, and won't expand inside of the ant), but your climate should be perfect to try this.

It doesn't work on all ants, though. Like I said, it knocked out one hill in my yard, but the other hill of ants that I need to get rid of wouldn't touch the grits at all. I'm going to have to go with a chemical for that one.