Patty, are they native harvester ants? They usually have a large hole somewhere and their paths to harvest radiate outward from that center. Do you have creosote bushes in the area? They love those! If you can ignore them (get accustomed to ants) and maybe nudge the thing they're harvesting away from the patio (trim the bush that attracts them to that area while leaving plants in another direction alone) that might work. DE (be sure to get the food grade version, such as for animal feed, not the pool filter type that has impurities, and wear a mask when you puff it around). It is an interesting interaction if what you have is between ant and the cochineal target. (Different types of ants are known to tend aphids on tender plants in order to get the "honeydew" they excrete, so I'm sure there are lots of corresponding beneficial relationships out there.) Red Harvester Ants and Rough Harvester Ants. Puff a little DE into the path they travel and they are probably going to avoid that spot - you can redirect them away from a problematic side of the patio.

This said, there is no benefit to the invasive fire ants in my yard that morphed from mound-builders to underground dwellers who offer sharp painful dagger bites when trod upon. I plan to sprinkle dry molasses, another animal feed of chopped up straw soaked in molasses, dried then bagged. The sugar in the dry molasses encourages other biological activity to increase in the soil and apparently the ants don't like that.

More cupboard rearranging today, after a few days of the Corning ware being accessible. I like that ease of reach so will now move the Pyrex dishes with snap on lids out of the lower cupboard and figure out where they can be easily used and simultaneously cull some older Rubbermaid plastic containers.

Keb, you're a brave woman to bring in outsiders to declutter. Good luck with the project!