Are the ants bothering the blackberries, or just you? If just you, I would suggest the solution of wearing long sleeves while you pick the blackberries :-).

Are they fire ants?

The ants are on those plants for a reason, most likely because they are cleaning up some insect pest problem for you. Look closer to see why they are there, eliminate that problem and the ants will go away.

I'm like rhizo...are they fire ants? Those buggers don't need a reason to be there. If it is dry, they will dig down deep and you will not know they are there. Then, when it gets wet they come to the top, mound up and storm you when you disturb their little world. I remember when they came North from South Texas. Could not believe how they just took over. I was wondering if Ca has them now? I don't know how far North they have gone either. I usually use Over'n Out after the garden dies out. But I saw some in there the other day after the first rain we have had in a while so I may give them a dose of something now. Anyway, if it is fire ants , it's not the blackberries they are after....they will get everywhere. But I don't think they hurt the plants..just you. Hope they are not fire ants you got!!.....DT

If the ants are chewing the plants/berries or if the ants are farming aphids, then the trick I have used on Okra plants is a bit of petroleum jelly around the stem a few inches up from the ground. The ants won't cross a sticky surface or they will get stuck. Just make sure there are no other paths up to the plant like grass stems or the branches/leaves touching anything else. I was actually able to harvest some Okra last year after I tried this.

There is also a product called tanglefoot that you can put on a strip around trees to keep crawling insects from climbing the tree.

So far I've found no other minimally chemical way to deal with ants. Physically keeping them from getting where they want to go seems the only fix (like putting the feet of a table or worm bin in containers or water or mineral oil.)

Here is a link that might be useful: www.TCLynx.xom

Food grade Diatomaceous Earth works for me. Inside the home, also. It takes care of anything with an exoskeleton and is friendly to humans and animals.