[mattdutton]

Im very new to the alloment seen i just wondered if ants are a good or bad my plot has been overgrown for 2 years and it has loads of  ants nests everywhere, not forgeting the god dame weeds bindweed and horses tail everywhere. and keeps growing back

pls help guys and girls

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site Matt 

Ants will loosen the soil but generally do not do a lot of harm.  Some people report they eat roots but I've not experienced it myself.

There's some information about clearing a plot here, if you need it
http://www.allotment-garden.org/articles/Clearing_a_New_Allotment.php

Bindweed and maretail are both nightmares, you're right 

Regular attention is the best way to keep on top of them once you've reached that stage.  Good luck!

[mattdutton]

Thanks for the advice 

[barbarella]

Ants are a nuisance in our garden - we have a colony of rancher ants - they herd aphids onto our herbaceous plants and vegetables and milk them for some sort of sugary substance which makes the plants horribly sticky.  We have a friendly woodpecker who tries to keep them under control but often have to resort to ant powder or boiling water.  

PS - after writing this post, I thought I would google ants+aphids and came up with this link: http://science.jrank.org/pages/462/Aphids-Ants-aphids.html

[pigeonpie]

Ants are the bane of my life.  Every time the dog lays down in the garden she ends up being bitten, they milk aphids on many of my favourite plants, they build new nests everywhere.  Grrrrrr.  I have a family of green woodpeckers that try their best to keep on top of the problem but I am considering buying an aadvark colony!