I'm just curious--are the ants actually doing anything bad?

Are they nesting in the planters or just visiting? If just visiting, tinfoil won't do much but a ring of something nasty like Raid-type canned pesticide applied every few days would probably make them head a different direction.

The ants are not from your septic tank, they do not nest in wet areas, although they may be nesting nearby. Things that deter ants from where you don't want them, without poisoning your environment, include lemon juice and Peppermint oil.

Ants are part of Ma Natures recycling machine and are not the harmful buggers many people think.

kimmq is kimmsr