Ants Now Invading Garden Beds

Q. We have two 4x12 garden beds made out of cinderblocks that we built last fall. We used soil from Viragrow and had great luck with the vegetables that we planted.  The eggplants and strawberries are still producing. Our back yard is just gravel so the only water is the bed irrigation. We have noticed a lot of ants on our property this summer (the tiny red ones).  They have now invaded our garden beds. I'm not sure what to do to get rid of them because i don't want to use spectricide or another harmful pesticide like that in our garden soil like I use in other areas of our property.  What should I do to get rid of them?

A. The best thing to do is to treat the nest where they're coming from. I like a product called Amdro which you can buy in nearly any nursery outlet including Lowe's or Home Depot.

This is a bait which is taken back inside the nest or it will kill the Queen. It must be kept dry and sprinkled close to the nest. Trace back to where he the ants are coming from and sprinkle a tablespoon or less around the mound that enters the underground nest.

Keep this product dry after you apply it or it will not work. It can be used in organic farm operations as long as it's not applied to the crops so it is a relatively safe product to use rather than sprays. Good luck.
Another product that works well as a spray is Prelude or products containing permethrin insecticide.
http://viragrowdelivers.blogspot.com/2014/04/prelude-insecticide-controls-numerous.html