I use a product call Terro. It will help get rid of the ants. There's loads of info on the website below.

Mona

Here is a link that might be useful: Info on Terro

Hii i havent had much problems with the ants, but the spiders and wasps have been killing alot of my cats.
I see youo are from south florida, you and i would have quite a few simliar butterflies and also garden plants, what are some of your favourite nectar/ host plants that work well in south florida? im from the caribbean.
Siam/

Are they fire ants?

Terro makes ant traps that you can use outside. I had tiny ants swarming my raspberries one year and I used the traps to lure them away so I wouldn't have to spray my raspberries. Hope it works with your ants too.

Hmmm...I know that it is hard to watch things disappear. And I could go on about nature's cycle. The thing is, that ants are everywhere and in overwhelming numbers. You will be fighting this battle forever. Ants pose the biggest problem for eggs and early instar caterpillars. If you are really concerned, you could bring in the eggs, allow them to hatch, and return them to the plants. You could raise them till they are bigger too and put them out then. Many of us raise them and release the adult butterfly. This is not for everyone.

Ants perform a lot of vital jobs in the garden. They remove a lot of plant pests. Unfortunately, they don't discriminate unless the pest has adapted. I am amazed to see Cloudless sulphur caterpillars on the Senna. The Senna, has extra flora nectaries (parts of the plant outside of the flowers that produce nectar)to attract ants. My Senna is covered with ants, yet the caterpillars manage to survive. They must have something going to help protect them.

So, you can try the ant baits, but you will have to continue it as more ants move in. Then if you have lots of caterpillars, it will attract other things like wasps. There is always something out there waiting in the wings to eat a juicy caterpillar!

As we have said before, it is a bug eat bug world.

Cheers,
Elisabeth

On another forum, Sweetaannie reccomended using Gain powdered detergent that is easily purchased form the dolar store to discourage ants.

I lost a lovely big Monte Carlo lily bulb to ants, and so started trying this whenever I foud ants in around plants. It really does work for me.
kay

Thanks to all responses. I am brand new on the Butterfly Garden Forum, so please bear with me while I learn the system. Thanks to runmead & christie for the Terro suggestion. I will look for it. Also like the Gain detergent idea from organic kitten--sounds like it's worth a try also.

Elisabeth: Great input and good info on the Senna. I occasionally do raise some of the eggs to chrysalis/butterflies. I make butterfly garden "hatching jars" for the children at my grandson's school. WE do butterfly garden walks (my garden) during the spring.
My sennas and casias are also covered with eggs & cats. I really need to prune, in prep. for the storms heading our way, but can't do it while there are so many new babies.

Rhizo 1: My problem ants are mostly very tiny or little larger black ones. No fire ants on my host plants.

Siam: My best nectar plants are the fire bush, jathropa, cosmos (re-seeds itself every year and can reach a height of 8+ feet during the summer), native floss flower (ageratum?)-- please excuse my lack of proper names--spanish needle, & pentas.
Host plants: scarlet milkweek, several varities of the passion vine--one a native that comes up by itself in my garden, key lime & calamondin, cassias & sennas. I also plant parsley, dill & rue. Oh yes, I have a large Dutchman's Pipe that the Gold rimmed swollowtail loves. Maybe some spider problems on this. During our winter/spring growing season I plant nasturshims and have collards in my vegetable garden. I would be interested in what you grow and what butterflies we might have in common.
Thanks again to all responses.