i was so disappointed my first cantelope was eaten by ants. I pulled the next one but I believe a little too soon What should I do ? How do you get rid of ants in your vegetable garden?

If they like the cantaloupe so much, take some in the house and run it through the food processor to make it mushy, then mix in 1/4 boric acid. It will kill the whole colony if they like it and save your cantaloupes. The ants will be happy for free easy food.

I am an organic gardener. I believe in using beneficial insects to help control pest insects. I consider ants beneficial. They often eat the eggs of pest insects and they are also helpful with pollination. I think your cantaloupe might have had some damage, which allowed the ants to eat it. Ants will go after sweet produce items which have a hole or a split. I have a lot of ants in my 700 square feet of produce gardens. They have not done any damage to melons, or anything else, during my twelve years of growing produce.