Actually, they're just as attracted to my terracotta strawberry pot and an orange could-be-hardened-styrofoam pot, and the cracks under my building's walls. All of which have now been liberally dusted with DE. I also made up a trap in a plastic jar with a protein supplement and borax (dunno if it'll work, but I read that this time of year they're looking for protein and not carbs/sugar so why not try?), and there's a robin who's been hanging around yesterday and today and hopefully won't be eating a boraxed ant...

One homemade remedy you might try: mix icing sugar half and half with baking soda. The sugar attracts the ants, the baking soda kills them. Apparently they cannot expel the gas it creates... Place the mixture in a narrow-ncked bottle (like a ketchup bottle or milk jug) on its side in the yard. Chickens should not be able to get the bait and I doubt it would harm them it they did. The ants will carry the bait back to the nest and it should wipe out the whole colony. If you do try this, please let me know how it works. It was some kid's science fair project and I have had good results using it... but would like to hear how it works for others.

Thank you for further opinions/advice. ashes_of_the_fire those roots are gorgeous! For most part I tend to slightly underwater my orchids, before the ailment that is (I always thought it was fine as they flowered and looked healthy) and the roots would be slightly thinner than yours. I am especially grateful for the step by step instructions. I will definitely need them as this will be my first repotting on my own! (mum refused to help as she says last time she got involved it got them to the current state). I have something by Westland called 'orchid compost'. It says it has organic matter, bark and wood fibre. This is the only thing suitable at the shop nearest to us (and that is 30 minutes away). There is another shop that is about 1 hour away in another zone that requires 2 buses. But I am not sure that one is much better. I think I'll repot the worst first (I will do it tomorrow morning when there is more light and might post photos in case I need advise of whether they are actually alive)... to see how they take to this compost. And order the following online: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Elite-Orchid-Compost-Range-for-Phalaenopsis-5-Litres-/261365464855 Does that seem like a good mix? Apparently one of the orchids is not actually a Phalaenopsis that mum owns (since it hasn't had flowers in years I did not know any better). Though she cannot remember its name. meyermike_1micha thank you for the tip ... I have been reading many websites and books about caring for orchids, but none actually go into any sort of detail. Something I read a year ago said that orchids can grow without any medium! in baskets but would require very frequent sprays. Wow! Maybe I need to do that to avoid the bugs. jane__ny thank you for the link! It is very helpful. As I said the books I could get from the library and some websites I came across weren't as helpful. Most of the books had various pictures and species, and talked about reproduction, illness and the fact that orchids depending on the type like various mediums including moss, bark, and something else. No one ever went into basics of how to physically water them (just state that you can spray or pour). Cloths were a strategy to get rid of insects. They have only been covered in them for about 3 months. These bugs are a pain to get rid of ... and one of the solutions is placing a layer of sand on top of the peat ... it cuts air supply to them and cuts their wings when they crawl out. I was a bit apprehensive of doing that (since who knows what the sand will be infected with!) So I saw someone's solution of placing denim to a similar effect ... break the cycle. Each fly lays many many eggs ... and the problem multiplies. Most of these I read were for houseplants ... as no one wrote about infected orchids. But the things is one of the orchids I bought was already infected and it was in bark! So it does happen. Probably not as frequently. I know most of the solutions I was trying were damaging the health of the plants, but as I mentioned these stuff eat roots ... and reproduce fast. So the fact that some of the orchids are still alive is pretty much a miracle. I do not wish this infection on anyone's plants. Oh and I place my stupidity/naivety to the fact that for many years that I have owned orchids they were healthy and I never saw what I have been seeing in the past 3/4 of the year. Thank you so much for your support! I also include the picture of the flies! (this was when the situation was improving too! before then you couldn't see the yellow ... it is a lot a lot better now). Just about 3 or 4 flies per sticker. Another quick question ... do I need to dry out the orchid compost completely before planting? (that is where I went wrong with the peat apparently) Lija P.S. Liquid Oxygen contains Hydrogen Peroxide. It was advised to me as it apparently burns up the larvae which seemed like a pleasant thought.

I hear that there is some product out there were you can put a ring around a plant and the ants wont cross it so if you submerge the pots again to get rid of the ants and then use that product as a barrier, the ants will not find their way back into the pots and you should be rid of them! Fire ants seem terrible. So far I havent seen any here, but there are tons of other plants that make problems and they are also pretty difficult to get rid of! Good luck! -Alex