voodoobrew, I've tried liquidy bad fruit a few more times for my butterfly population on perfect weather days, and still just ants for me, too, while the butterflies went about their time at the flowers oblivious to my offering. I should keep trying, though, especially now that the hummingbirds are here too and might be interested.

Can't say enough about the benefits of predatory "bugs", our true bugs. Nothing makes me happier than to see a cog wheel bug or an assassain bug perched quietly among my plants, waiting patiently for an unsuspecting catepillar to come strolling past. And the next time you start to swat a fly, you might want to see what kind it is...some of our most common flies also parasitise caterpillars. We are so caught up in our need for immediate gratification...we really want to see results NOW. It is tough to reassuringly tell yourself about balance and long-term fluctuations when you can see the damage being done to a prized planting on a daily basis. And there isn't always a handbook to tell you what the threshold is-the point at which you either take evasive action or suffer a complete loss. I am reminded of the cicada hatching we had here several years back. All you could do was clap your hands over your ears when you went out and stare in disbelief at the branches completely covered with those shiny black insects. How could the trees possibly survive that sucking screaming carpet? But then things quiet down eventually and the scavengers clean up the last of the carcasses and you see that aside from a few dead branches and weakened individual trees, they came out of it ok. Unless the invader is a foreign one and the ecosystem has no defenses for the newcomer, there is always a check and balance.

Sounds like a plan with the alternate watering hole. I'd be more confident with that if they were birds, but with squirrels once they are on to something they can be real pains to change their behavior, since they discovered ripe tomatoes which clearly the pest in your case prefers to your green ones. The hot pepper seems to work for some people with rodents / mammals (not birds), usually just spraying it on the fruits and including ground garlic in it seems to help according to them. Check the threads here for many discussions. Here's one including some individually wrapped tomatoes (link) Good luck PC

Cori Ann - !!! - that is sooo cool!!! I have tons of ants too....I hate them, because they love to go all around my brick circle inside my perennial arch. I'm always pouring cinammon on the bricks...otherwise the ants will crawl up my legs en masse. blech. Okay after seeing your later pictures (what a difference!!)...maybe I'll be more tolerant to ants. I was thinking of putting cinnamon powder all over the soil in my rose pots. What is the name of the first light pink rose you show in your 2nd batch of pictures? Witchygirl - bees drop kicking wasps!!! That's a strong image!! Really well put. :) I like wasps...they never bother me, but love to look all over rose leaves to get critters. They're an unsung hero to me. :) Fire ants sound truly horrible. Sultry - ewww!!! Carol