I am having problems with ants in my raised beds and in my patio (where I have several container plants/veg). At first, i just left them alone as they didnt seem to harm my plants. Then I saw them eating through the stems of my choi sim, and also a cauliflower seedling (they like brassicas??). At the same time, i noticed they were starting to farm aphids on my camomile, my sunflowers, and some of my herbs. And I got mad - very mad! I tried using cinnamon, using chilli powder, using bicarbonate of soda (all solutions I googled)... no use. Not even a dent in the population. Next, I bought DE and spread them all along their paths. No difference. In the end, I harvested all the choi sim and poured jugs of boiling water on them and where they congregated (be very careful of hurting the surrounding veg though!). I am happy to say that got rid of most of them :) I do this whenever they start damaging my veg too badly now. Cheap, easy and organic!I also have a couple of ant baits around the patio. This also works well for me. Its not possible to get rid of them completely and I can tolerate their presence fine if they dont eat and damage my plants too much. As Dave said, most of the time, ants dont really do much harm. I hope yours are not like mine!

Are they fire ants? If so, they're definitely not harmless! Vicious biting little devils are terrible for humans and animals alike. I use a multi-pronged approach when they invade my pile: 1. massive amounts of coffee grounds turned right into the nest. 2. water, water, water 3. harassment every day or so by stirring them up Eventually they get tired and/or mad and leave. Other folks have different methods. Looks like they'll be with us forever in Texas. Good luck!

imabirdnut, There is lots of info in the FAQ section of this forum for raising caterpillars. I purchased several containers of animal crackers from Sams, they are about 1-1/2 gallon in size, for the container, not the animal crackers! After emptying out the container, I cut holes almost the size of each side, leaving about and inch or so all around to attach screen (the cats need ventilation) and to have some sturdiness for the cage. I try to use a single length of screen, but if I don't have enough, I use pieces to cover the holes. I attach the screen with silicone (bathtub caulk) so that it is waterproof when I need to disinfect the cage after the butterflies have emerged. (It is important to disinfect your cages after the butterflies have emerged-especially the monarchs, they are susceptible to viruses and OE spore.) I raise as many as 20 cats in one container, then disinfect when all have left, or at least those that attached themselves to the cage walls. BSTs usually attach themselves to sticks that I place in the cage in pieces of floral styrofoam that will fit inside the opening. I purchased some miniature vases from WalMart, about 3" in height, and use these for supplying food to my cats. The water in the vase helps keep the food fresh and keeps the cats off the floor of the cage and out of their waste. Hope this helps and remember, you can always come back to the forum and ask any question. The people here are great about sharing information and experiences. Mechelle Mechelle

DE is Diatomaceous Earth. Its microscopic shells or fossils from single cell organisms called Diatoms. The shells are very sharp from the point of view of an insect. It tends to lodge in their joints which cause damage , moving parts and penetrates their wax coating causing dehydration. Although it is a mild irritant to breath people can eat it by the spoonful . It is not a chemical based insecticide. I am not sure what I would do about ants in the garden. They are actually good at controlling pest insects. I tend to leave them be when outside as they are probably suppressing something worse. They are known to be attracted to aphids so it my indicate another problem .