Help! Ant infested Garden Bed

I'm getting a very, very late start with one of my raised beds this year (crazy spring. miracle I'm gardening at all).

I was prepping the bed today and realized I have a huge ant infestation. So gross. I had them crawling all over me. What can I to get rid of the ants that won't harm the plants? I hope to plant a vegetable or some herbs there, so I also don't want anything that can't be used with food.

Thanks!

Here are some suggestions:

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/get-rid-of-ants.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRp1jKUGeXs

I'm not clear on what it is you don't like about having the ants in your garden.

It reminds me of a former neighbor who had moved here from Brooklyn and asked me about how to get an exterminator. I asked him what the problem was and he said "spiders". I pointed out that if he has spiders in the house, they're probably eating bugs in the house. And he says "They're not in the house, we have spiders in the back yard."

http://www.sun-gazing.com/ant-problem-get-rid-good-summer-naturally-simple-trick/

This sounds like a good environmentally friendly way to spray places where ants get into the house. I'd be afraid to do the bottle-cap thing, it seems like that might attract honeybees, which are having enough troubles as is.

Also it doesn't seem like a good thing to spray in a garden bed -- most of the bugs in your garden are helpful or innocuous, not pests at all.

It depends on the type of ants, I would imagine. Carpenter ants can do lots of damage and may not be considered a good ant to have in a garden. Other ants can do damage to plant root systems. OP asked specifically about ants. If she can identify the actual nests and concentrate the treatment in those areas, I think that would be worth trying. I agree, there are beneficial insects that do help aerate the soil, etc.

There were many tunnels into the ground, so I could direct any treatment to there. I will be unlikely to put anything toxic there unless I can find a way to fence it off because of my poodles (the younger one has been known to eat dirt). I didn't think about the honeybees, that's a good point. Oh, I may try coffee grounds too since they are good for compost, I figure it can't hurt and might help.

I'm usually a live and let live kind of person. Most bugs I find in my house I don't kill, I just catch them and take them outside. I'm the one my sons call to dispense with spiders because they are scared and I'm not squeamish (at least not in front of them). In fact, there was a big mama wolf spider with her egg sack still attached also in the garden bed and I just ignored her and worked around her.

The ants though were everywhere and were crawling all over me. I drew the line at that. They were small black ants and not carpenter ants. I also found in my research that they encourage aphids which I don't want in my garden. Anyway, thanks for the ideas. I think I may try pouring boiling water in the holes and then covering them really well with black anti weed plastic.

Thanks for the ideas everyone!

I found ants in the garden two years ago when I was trying to put some new plants in the ground, and they were the stinging kind. That's where I draw the line. It was excruciating.

There are ant baits you can buy that are small plastic things you stake into the ground here and there. The ants are attracted to it and crawl inside, then carry back the stuff from inside them to the nest, where it poisons all the others.

I don't like killing things wholesale, but with ants I don't have many scruples. We have used the ant bait stakes all around the perimeter of the house to try to cut down on incursions. Perhaps you could use them in the garden?

They are tiny, only an inch or so in each direction.

Try diatomaceous earth. It's nontoxic to humans and pets. http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/8107/diatomaceous-earth-as-non-toxic-ant-killer

Really? Wow. We have bags of that around for our pool filter, so I might give it a shot.