Personally I don't care for ants in my garden as some species will herd aphids onto the plants. An easy way to get rid of a nest of ants is to use Terro liquid, it's a sweet solution containing boric acid where the ants feed on it and also feed the queen. After a few days the nest is pretty much wiped out. A small amount of terro (enough to fill a soda bottle cap) placed next to the nest entrance is enough to do the job.

I’ve had ants nests cause plant death because the tunnels undermine the roots and leave them to dry out. I leave them alone where possible but occasionally destroy them.

i would presume some ant are better or worse than other ones ... but thats all i got on that topic.. lol ...

but i dont understand the pic above.. with all the wood.. and layers.. etc ... looks more like a compost bin pile.. than a bed of soil ... perhaps more info would help us help you ...

ken

Agitate the area with a trowel and smash any eggs you see, flood area with water because ants don't like it overly wet...they will move somewhere else.

Yesterday when I hit the second ant colony I threw my hands up and called it quits for the day. I destroyed their little cluster and left it open hoping the sun and birds would to go to town on em....

Here’s a pic that might give a better understanding of the area

Yesterday they were in that corner nook. They seem to like that type of support. They pack all the eggs they can onto each and every ledge. Each colonized segment is maybe 4 inches tall and 8 inches wide?

Looks like you created an underground muti-level condo for them, it's time to terro-rize them. Kill the queen to eliminate the nest.

Are you sure those eggs are ant eggs. They sure look too big for ant eggs.

If you are trying to garden organically, I would avoid treating “problems” until you identify damage. There are many insects that exist in nature, and most of them are actually beneficial to the gardening process.

Martha

I'm in CA. When ants set up house in the garden, I just flood them with water. They hate it and move on to dry pastures.

Im glad I’m not the only one who thought the eggs were too big to be ant eggs. Initially I believed that the ants just hit the jackpot and were swarming, stealing, and feasting on some other insects eggs. When I Googled ant eggs- the images looked just like my pictures.

Adam- Idk why I didn’t think to flood them out!! You rule.

That’s exactly the response I was hoping for. Just some input from someone who’s had a similar experience. Maybe it’s a story about how difficult the situation is to alleviate, maybe there’s an obvious- easy fix that I am just overlooking- LIKE A HEAVY WATERING FROM A HOSE!!!!! Duhhh!!!!! Or maybe these pests are a real problem and only chemicals can get rid of them. Idk- that’s why I ask!!