Simple solution: place pot in larger container, and fill with water until it reaches the rim. Leave for a few minutes, and the ants will leave the medium carrying eggs, etc., and climb into the leaves. Hit them with ant & roach spray. Don't worry about the orchid -- wipe with a paper towel and it'll make the leaves all shiny. If you turn the plant on its side, the dead ants will fall on the ground instead of back into the pot. If you don't want to deal with all this, you can skip steps #1 and #2, and just spray the medium with the ant & roach killer. It'll accomplish the same thing, although some may escape death and just move the rest of the colony somewhere else. BTW, the pain from a fire ant doesn't come from the bite...it's from the sting. They bite for leverage to drive the stinger in, and not get brushed off easily. There's actually a worse sting from an ant here in Florida. I don't know the latin name, but locally in south Florida they're known as "bull" ants. They're mostly solitary, and you'll see them running up and down tree trunks. They're slender and about 1/4 to 3/8" long, black, with a red thorax (middle segment). I understand they're closely related to wasps. I've been stung once, and it left a horrific black spot the size of a half dollar on my leg, and took two weeks to heal. The pain is like nothing you would expect from such a tiny creature! -Bruce

Hi island, Sorry it took so long to get back to you. The product that I use for ants is GreenLight Many Purpose Dust. I use just a very small amount and it does the trick. I've been very happy with it, since I started using it four years ago. Incidentally I think GreenLight is by the same company that does Miracle Grow. Regarding the Miracle Grow, chemical fertilizers feed the plants with a sudden rush of growth. This makes the cell structure weak. So if you take the approach of feeding the soil and not the plant, the plant gets what it needs anytime it needs it. Ways to feed the soil are with alfalfa. I get mine at the feed store and just spread the pellets around. I try to make sure each area, including the lawns, get it twice a year. I also use soybean, which I get at the feed store. And all my grass clippings go back into the garden. And I can tell you people stop by all the time just to see the garden and how well the plants are doing. And it is so easy to do. Karin Here is a link that might be useful: Many Purpose Dust

The ants probably aren't harmful directly, but they may be farming aphids on your plants. This probably wouldn't hurt your trees, but take a close look at your strawberries to see if you notice any aphids. If you do, insecticidal soap will work. Second, make sure they are not carpender ants. (I don't know anything about those, but I'd make sure they weren't before ignoring them). They can also be a nuisance in the kitchen where they get into food. You'll need to hire someone to make sure your house is well sealed to fix that. However, if they are not carpender ants and you don't see them in your house or any aphids on your plants, I wouldn't worry about them. They may simply be swarming. Ants will do that sometimes, but don't seem to hurt anything except maybe a bite on your skin. :)

I was at the coast all week, we had over 12 inches of rain while I was down. The ants started making mounds on top of my dayliles. Thursday I noticed one daylily had a mount on top of it. Friday I noticed another, my husband just put down 36 million beneficial nematodes 6 days before, but just to make sure I got some of the ant and grub flakes that come in the hugh bags, and put on top of the mounds. Saturday, I checked it did not work, it may take a few days for it to work, but they had completely covered two more dayliles and the yard had mounds as large as 3 ft long. I am covered with ant bites. I finally went to Wal-Mart last night and got some of the ortho ant killer, and sprinkled on my dayliles before I left today. Ants will kill anything if they get into it, they have destroyed many of my plants including 3 hugh palm trees. I do not know how long before the nematodes go into action, I could not wait, these ants were to aggressive. I hope I did not hurt the nematodes by doing this. Barbra