Usually the presence of ants on your plants means they are "herding" aphids.
They offer the ants protection in exchange for their sweet exudate. If you
find an aphid infestation, a sharp stream of water from the hose is your
first defense; insecticidal soap is the next thing to use if you continue to
have a problem. Ladybugs, and even better, ladybug larvae (they look
something like tiny black alligators with orange spots) are voracious
predators of aphids.


I know all about those dads with the old school ideas about gasoline and
rock salt......and you are correct to be skeptical. Pouring gasoline in
your yard is never a good idea, and is quite possible illegal where you live
as well. Assuming you are not dealing with fire ants, which are a whole
'nother subject, there are several ways to deal with your ant nests. You
can simply ignore them. You can get a long stick and mess about with it,
poking the nest for a few days; this may cause the ants to move elsewhere.
You can flood them out with the hose, or dump a pot of boiling water on the
hill--don't scald yourself in the process!

Cheers,
Sue


"Seeker" wrote in message
...
First time gardener here...

I just planted a veggie garden. This evening I noticed a bunch of ants
crawling on the leaves of all my plants. I'm guessing ants are harmless
but
I wanted to check to make sure.

Also, I have about three ant hills in the yard. My dad suggested pouring
gasoline over the hole to kill them, then again he thinks anything can be
taken care of with the right combination of gas, oil and rock salt (no
offense dad!). What can I do to get rid of them which would be
environmentally conscious? Is there a way to get rid of the ant hills
without killing the ants?