How to destroy an ant invasion in a strawberry garden (safely!)?

Question

I got a bunch of smart small brown/black ants invading my garden of Veestar (hybrid) strawberries (right in the middle of the garden). They got smart and built a home under the big strawberry leaves. I want to get rid of them without using any man-made chemicals (like Killex and Raid). I dug a little and saw these white little thingies shaped like really small Tic-Tacs (larva? ant eggs?). Will some water drown them without killing the plant? Or how about some vinegar? bash them with a shovel? (lol) What's the safest way to get rid of them without killing/damaging my strawberries? I love my plants a lot.

Answer 1

I've had a lot of luck using instant grits to kill off ant colonies.  I understand they take the pieces back to the queen.  She eats them (I suppose they all eat them).  The grits expand and kind of blow them up...... I don't know how it works, but it has worked for me in the house.  I just sprinkle the grits in the areas where I've seen the most activity, and within 2-3 days they're gone. Good luck.

Answer 2

the safe way to kill ants without pestisides is find the entance to the nest and pour boiling hot water down the hole, however it the hot water hits to much of the strawberry roots the plant my die. but only the one plant.  use plenty of hot water to get to the queen.  good luck

Answer 3

Use a mix of cinnamon and sugar. The ants will pick up the sugar, along with the cinnamon, and take it back to their queen. Ants can’t digest cinnamon and once the queen dies from not being able to digest the cinnamon the colony will die without her.  This won't hurt your plants.