How to keep ants out of my garden using natural, pesticide free substances only?

Ants are harmless unless they are trying to start an aphid farm. And, as others have said, they aerate the soil. So don't worry about the ants. Unless they are fire ants. If they are fire ants, sevin dust the bastards. Maybe not a natural, pesticide-free substance, but sevin is not all that bad as pesticides go.

Hello, I use cinnamon. I swear by the stuff. Otherwise for a big area remove the ant hill this will help a lot! Keep such bugs as aphid from the area, ants milk aphids as we do cattle. Get some good bugs in there like the praying mantis who will eat other bugs. There are natural chemicals out there that one can buy, I am leery of these products I think some of them just say natural to sell there product. Turn your compost heap on a regular schedule. This confuses bugs and ticks them off. Unstable so they will not make a home there. Well these are the idea we use ......

I won't give you the "a pesticide is any substance that kills or repels a pest, regardless of the toxicity of the product" lecture heh. There is a fabulous website (based in California, but it has some good info for all areas) that has all sorts of great information about managing your ant population. It takes a bit of reading, but I'll include the link and point out a few good points. The info sheet starts with "On outdoor (and sometimes indoor) plants, ants protect and care for honeydew-producing insects such as aphids, soft scales, whiteflies, and mealybugs, increasing damage from these pests. Ants also perform many useful functions in the environment, such as feeding on other pests (e.g., fleas, caterpillars, termites), dead insects, and decomposing tissue from dead animals." It continues later to say, "Remember that ants play a beneficial role in the garden in some cases." Ants aren't bad, and oftentimes are beneficial. I'd make sure there was really a problem before doing a bunch of work. If they're not harming anything, why not leave them alone? Quote number 2 talks about mulching a bit, "In landscapes, some mulches can repel ants and discourage nesting. For example, aromatic pencil cedar mulch repels Argentine ants, whereas pine straw provides an ideal nesting site." Anywho, I think the point is that if you manage the population of honeydew producing insects, then the ants aren't really that big of a deal. Obviously, that is NOT true if they are harming or biting or stinging you or your family. There are some good tips on this website. Good luck! For ants and other pests http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/menu.invertebrate.html Home and garden stuff in general http://ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/menu.homegarden.html

Get chickens...they eat the bugs and turn your compost. Course you have to rake the compost back into a pile every so often. Yes, I do have chickens, not near so many bugs around anymore. :-)