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.

Carpenter ants need all their cohorts to survive. And that includes the egg-laying queen. It's a very unlikely occurrence to receive the entire "family" in mulch.

The problem with using a product such as that is that you will not be addressing the source of the ants. You have to get the poison to the nest and the queen in order to get rid of your ants. I have had great success with the boric acid laced baits. Comes already mixed up and ready to place in various location where the ants travel. They will swarm on this sugary substance in a frenzy of activity! Alarming, really! But they take every bit back to the nest and pass it around to the whole crowd. The entire colony will be gone over night. I'll attach a link to the product so you can look it over. You should never use any aerosol product in a greenhouse without making certain that it can be used without causing damage to plants and to greenhouse glazing, whatever it is. There would be an information number to call on the container. But remember, using such a product will NOT end the ant problem. Here is a link that might be useful: Works on many kinds of ants!

Ants are a constant issue for me because they harvest and farm aphids/mites. Generally when it gets to the point I notice trails of Ants going to my succulents it usually leads to an aphid infestation or other mites that the ants are "milking" and protecting from predator bugs. Check any of the growing points of your succulents and the flower buds, anyplace that has moisture is a place they like to infest. Because you are in a greenhouse they might be in other locations on the plant as well. Try following and see where they go.