It would be better without them. Ants can remove a lot of the soil out of pots (I assume your coconut is in a pot) and cause them to dry out too quickly. They can also bring scale into the pot which would feed on the roots of the plant.

I agree with with the comment above. They can also farm palm aphids and keep lady bugs and such from eating them.

Thanks, any way to deter the ants away from the soil?

You might have to kill off the colony where the ants are coming from. Can't imagine detering ants if they're instinctively attracted to occupying things like pots.

I hope they're not after the kernel.

Some ants would, depends on the species.

I completely submerged the soil in a bath of water to the top of the soil.Hope that they are gone!