Ant's Eating Plant Roots From Under The Soil!

Hey Guys,

So as you already know due to the generosity of @Madahhlia @JWK @fat controller
@pamsdish @ARMANDII @longk and many others i am now starting to get my garden up and running until i dug up something in my patch to find a huge colony of ants living in there. I kept on digging along my patch turning over the soil and i found a least 12 main colonies living under there. I have noticed that more and more of my plants are dying only a couple of days after being put in there. I dug up a tomato plant yesterday to find (yup you guessed it) another ant colony and this time they were eating/picking up the roots and taking them back into the nest....
Is this normal?
I don't know what to do...

Thanks,
Bex

 

I get fed up with other gardeners who suggest ants are not a big problem, as on my plot they are constantly attempting to build their nests amongst plants, in pots, in seed trays, under mulch sheets, etc. and they kill the plants plus they attack you when trying to sort things out.

On my clay soil, they bring all the clay subsoil up to the surface in huge mounds, wrecking our plantings, lifting mulch sheets and causing all sorts of other problems, even building their mounds at the base of anti-rabbit fencing, allowing them to hop over and eat our crops.

 

My experience with red ants nesting around roots is that they actually cause visible damage to the plants (besides causing desiccation)

 

I've got some that think its a great idea to bury my caravan tow hitch each year, think they like the heat from the lock

 

They can actually do that? since when?

 

For about 3 years now, a scouting party must have identified the heat source, (big metal lock that gets hot in the sun) so they build up to it and wrap the nest around it

 

I worry about ants

 

Annoying much

 

I use them to help me find aphids......

 

Lol

 

No, 'cause the ants find 'em and I ....... get rid