Getting rid of ants

A question about : Getting rid of ants

I moved into my house 3 years ago. Ever since living here every summer the lawn has been covered with ants nests.

This hasn't really bothered me that much. A few years ago I had a go at trying to get rid of them using a water soluble ant killer but it didn't really do much so gave up. However, I now have a little boy and next summer he will be starting to crawl/walk around so I am concerned about him playing on the lawn and getting bitten.

How do I go about getting rid of them? Is it something I could do or am I best getting a professional in to do the job for me (lawn is approximately 15m x 8m)?

I also have a couple of cats so any methods of getting rid of the ants also need to be pet friendly.

Thanks in advance.

Best answers:

• What sort of ants are they? red ones? Just checking as the regular black ones don't bite or sting as far as I know, so no danger there
  We grew up with ants nests in the lawns and just learnt to avoid them as kids, loved watching them too as I got older, and putting sugar down for them and watching them carry it away! Might be a good opportunity to teach him how to appreciate wildlife
• I don't bother while they're only in the grass. If they're on the patio i put pans of boiling water over them. Have had them in the past in the kitchen and tried Nipon or various powders
• In the summer I moved into my new house and we had an ant nest inside the sunroom. Powers didn't work but my mum told me about using malt vinegar. If you use one part vinegar, three parts water it will work a treat. You will see the ants slow down and die within 30 seconds.
• Plant garlic where they usualy nest, just use a bulb from the shops, no need for a seed one. Ants hate garlic and will just move, but they may move to a different place in the garden so it could take some time to get rid of them completly. It's best to plant it before they wakeup from the winter, or they'll just atack the garlic.