permaculture

[mIEKAL aND <dtv@mwt.net>]

18 months ago I posted the following question of sustain.org & 38  
replies later I still haven't found a solution to being overrun by  
ants.  Below is the post & a link to the ongoing discussion.  I  
invite any of you with brilliant or crackpot ideas about solutions to  
join the discussion.  (You'll have to register to post).  The  
original question is posted below.

http://www.sustain360.org/index.php?showtopic=50

On our 3 acre permaculture demonstration we have a constant battle  
with ants building their hills in the most unthoughtful places like  
the middle of a path or surrounding a grapevine. They have also  
completely taken over a cement & bottle planter that we built some  
years back that is maybe 6 feet in diameter. I'm sure they're  
thinking we built them this ant castle specially to suit their needs.

I'm interested in what organic controls folks have tried, the ones  
that work & the ones that don't work.

Dan Hemenway, a well known permaculture teacher, talks about taking  
his camp stove out into the field & boiling water & scalding the  
critters.

I've used chicken tractors over the top of a hill & they seem to do  
fine getting most of them but it's hard to tell if that is a humane  
assignment for a couple chickens.

Has anyone tried boric acid (& is that considered organic)?

With the ants that have taken over my planter I was thinking of just  
building a number of wood fires in it over the summer & maybe  
eventually that would get rid of them.

Still I think there is even a simpler solution that I'm not thinking of.

http://www.sustain360.org/index.php?showtopic=50