Last survivors?

Lemon balm & lavender.

So a couple of weeks ago now I discovered something rather horrifying: I have termites in my vegetable garden. *GIANT WEEPY SAD FACE* The lemon balm and lavender above are some of the few edibles I have that are not actually in the garden. Those are in a hanging basket; I have thyme, strawberries, oregano & rosemary in pots in another part of the yard.

The first thought was to leave them there and hope that me disturbing them would cause them to leave (similar to what ants do). But they haven't moved. In fact, it seems like they have multiplied. 

So I have been frantically researching, as I do NOT want to use pesticides because A) that would kill my veggies and B) ruin that area for any future edible plant growing. But as the days keep passing by I fear I am running out of options and I am bracing myself for the fact that I may lose money this summer in vegetable gardening, because if my next plan doesn't pan out, I will have to call an exterminator and watch all my veggies die.

So what is this next plan? Ants. Apparently ants kill termites, so I am going to find an ant mount in my yard and move it to my veggie garden. I much much MUCH prefer ants to termites in the garden. Plus, my house is treated four times a year for ants so they shouldn't be able to actually get in the house.

Here is what I would lose if my entire veggie garden went under:

From back to front, left to right: 6 heads spinach, 10 heads garlic, 3 onions, 2 leeks, 4 cucumber stalks, head cabbage, stevia plant, bunch loose lettuce, head lettuce, head cabbage, bunch loose lettuce.