I ended Page 1 by noting the problem some homeowners have with traditional ways (e.g., the growing of plants thought to repel ants) used to get rid of ants: namely, that they don't have time to experiment with such methods for getting rid of ants. Such homeowners may well ask, "Is there an organic product sold in stores or on the Web that will kill ants?"
Fortunately, for the committed modernist, yes, there are organic products sold for getting rid of ants.
One such ant control product is the Tree Tanglefoot Pest Barrier, an organic paste composed primarily of sticky substances (waxes and resins) that act as a sort of "fly paper" for ants. Another is Orange Guard, which functions as both a repellent and an insecticide for getting rid of ants. Its active ingredient (d-Limonene) is organic: orange peel extract. Eco Exempt IC-2 is another organic insecticide for ant control, being composed of mineral, wintergreen and rosemary oils.
Final Thought on Getting Rid of Ants
In closing, let's return to my initial question of whether it's necessary to get rid of ants, at all. On Page 1, I stated essentially that controlling aphids, scale and whitefly entails, in part, controlling ants. But the corollary of this conclusion (vis-a-vis the health of your specimen plants, at least) is that if you do not have a problem with aphids, scale or whitefly, then you may not have to worry about getting rid of ants, either: many ants are, in themselves, harmless.
So don't overdo it! In defense of ants, your Mr. Know-It-All would have been correct to point out that ants do prey on certain insect pests. Ant control can be counterproductive when practiced blindly.