Ants killing bulbs, tubers

[Urban Homestead]

I have a problem with tiny black ants and large red ants who are building massive homes among my flowering bulbs and vegetable tubers and slowly eating away at them. I've tried digging them up and killing them manually, but that only helped for a couple of weeks. I can't use poison. My homestead isn't organically certified, but one of my selling points is that I don't use herbicides or pesticides. What are my options?

 

[Henderson]

You have to dig until you find the queen. Also consider moving your bulbs and tubers elsewhere if you can. Vinegar is supposed to be a deterrent, but that won't work underground. Maybe try adding some dichotomous earth around the roots. That might harm the worms too though.