jrslick, I would feel guilty killing the ants... will if I have to but I will wait it out and see if I can find another way... I am Muslim and we aren't supposed to kill ants. We can if they become a nuisance though... I will try to spend time watching the ladybugs and see if the ants are attacking them..... glib, I hope that female ladybug lays her eggs on my plants! I juts looked up the lifecycle of ladybugs and I had no idea they have a larvae, then pupa stage before emerging as adult ladybugs... I wonder what that bug is in my third photo... I wonder if they hibernate here? Maybe during the worst of the summer temperatures? jean001a, thank you, though for a "garden" it really is just veggie plants in containers up on our concrete roof. I never knew about the syrphid/flower fly before! It makes me excited to know I at least have some beneficial bugs starting to visit up on my roof garden :) I am going to leave my plants alone for a few days and hope more beneficial bugs come and can eat up the aphids.

If your containers aren't too large, place them on their sides, and gently pour water over the plants while running your fingers along the plant stems and leaves to knock(and squish)the aphids off. If you wash them into the containers they will find their way back up on the plant. If you do this regularly it should reduce the damage over time. In the mean time, take a cutting or two and root them in moist potting mix or seed starting mix or sand to get more plants started for your kitties. Once they root, plant them in a container away from the others.HTH

Thanks guys :) Eeek so sounds like the dish soap isn't great in getting rid of the mites after all. I will try this oil :) Got alot of rain where I live last week. It was in the 50s....I guess I could have set him outside on my patio since they can tolerate as low as 30 f or a little lower? But I worried it would be too great a temp shock going from my apt which is in the upper 60s to lower 70s (yes I like it cooler! lol) to the 50s and 40s. So this brings me to another question ^^ Would that be too great a temp shock? Or should I wait till it's the mid to upper 60's (and raining of course.) Thank you again =)

I don't use any oils or pesticides for insect control as I grow organically. google Arbico. they specialize in beneficial insects. I ordered three praying manti egg cases. one for my yard and for my neighbors on both sides. one egg case hatches abou two hundred manti. They devour every insect you hate. and once they live out their life cycle they lay their own egg cases. so now I have an ongoing population of manti. I live an hour north of death Valley so its a desrt hot blazing summers freezing winters if my manti can stay alive year after year your area will support them as well. also consider Ladybugs these are literalyy the toughest bug in the pack they eat every single pest bug you can imagine problem is when they eat everything they move on to find more food. I even take my baby manti indoors to work over my bonsai and houseplants I leave a couple of windows open all the time for my cats to get in and out. so manti have an escape, or entrance if they choose. I grow vegetables, tobacco, fruit, housplants and bonsai. this was a permanent and inexpensive solution to my bug problem. Good Luck!!!!