Ants Ate My Sunflower Seedlings

This morning I checked my sunflower seedlings in a pot on the front porch and they were being eaten. I stirred the soil to see what is going on and lots of ants started to crawl out from underneath the surface. I think the ants are responsible for the disappearance of my sunflower seedlings. I think maybe there is an ant farm in that pot of soil. Now the challenge is how to get rid of all the ants so that I can reuse the soil.

According to the book 'Backyard Problem Solver', I can either pour hot water into the soil or brew up a batch of strong mint tea and spray it on their pathways.

Here is a remedy from the book:

Ant Control Tonic (Page 333)

1 cup of sugar
3 cups of water
1 tbsp. of boric acid powder

1. Add the sugar to the water, and bring to a boil.
2. Next, add the boric acid.
3. Place the mix in a small jar lids, and set the lids in the middle of ant trails or near anthills.

Store any unused portion in a child-safe container in a cabinet out of reach of children and pets. Unfortunately, this Tonic does not work against fire ants.