That's a really good point, and one I hadn't considered. You would think there might be a toxic reaction because of plants' sensitivity to even small excesses of boron, but so far I've never had a problem ..... and I use them fairly frequently. I have a hypertufa trough with evergreens in it that gets an ant colony moving in every year, so each year it gets a liquid bait trap set on the surface and the ants "go away" and the plants carry on as normal. Al

Hello Everyone, You are all right. All your methods work. We all fall into the trap of it doesn't work anymore. OR 24 hrs and they are back. All I can say is you have to look at your situation and be smart. If you live in an apartment, expect roaches. If you live near a restaurant, expect rats. If you live in a house with landscape, expect spiders, ants and mice. Bottom line. MICE: Look around before you open the door, and don't leave your doors open. Make your screen doors snug around the edges. Try to screen off your roof vents or openings with metal screen. Plug up holes with steel wool. Leave traps up year round and eventually they will be gone. If not for good, a long time. An old building was demolished across our street and it took a year to get rid of them as they were looking for a new home. Been there!! ANTS: Its not just you.....what about your neighbor. My neighbor was collecting soda bottles outside his house as I discovered.......which created a SUGAR ANT SUPER COLONY. Guess where they decided to live?....That's right!!! in my garden. Borax and sugar bombs worked great. However, they were only control devices. We had to open up the ground and burst the colony, then spray. We left bombs inside and out, as well as next to all the ant ports. Eventually.......gone. But.....they are never gone, so don't be fooled. We also used bates of three Brand names....only temporary. Borax bombs worked best. ECO SPRAY Seems to do a good job. We also use peppermint and lemon essential oil as a spray to finish coat on our counters and other areas where they might wonder. Just a quick coat before we go to bed and no visitors in the morning. They hate that stuff and so do spiders. The spray mix so far does not damage anything. We use consumable essential oil...in other words we can eat it. If you need help getting some, I can direct you where to get it. We noticed in our new home that we had a different kind of ant. A protein ant as others have stated. So we left some ice cream on the counter all night for two days. Not a single ant. But, when we used a frying pan, and even washed it.....they came to visit again. Soooo............here are some tips. Ask the correct questions first. What are they going after? How big are they? What is our weather like? Where are they located? (Kitchen, Bathroom, Shower). Can I trace the ant trail outside? Do I think the nest is inside? Once you have done that...take it from there. SPIDERS: They really are a pain. Lots of trees? Lots of spiders. Lots of junk? Lots of spiders. And so on. Don't give them a home or opportunity, and you wont have a problem. Lemon pledge, Lemon and peppermint essential oil spray, keeping your house orderly, and window sills clear will help a lot. We use our diffuser with essential oils and they don't seem to appear anymore. I leave essential oils in bottle caps under the couch, closet and hidden corners, and again no appearances. Determine what type of spider you have the most in the same way you did with the ants. Sometimes they are just lost checking out your house and trying on your shoes!! (Joking) Do some reading and try different things. I read once where a couple had a super spider invasion and could not get rid of them. They were in everything and everywhere. When any pest problem gets to this level.............call a professional. ****No matter how you slice it....you share space with all of these creatures because your dwelling is on the ground somehow, and someway. You don't have to kill every spider you see...just keep it from coming in. You get what you put into it!! Bottom line. If you want to get rid of them....you have to go the extra mile. If you go the extra mile as I did when I dug up the ant colonies.......you get the big results. Like everything else in your house............its work. And it has to be done. And remember...the BUGMAN is like your Auto Mechanic.....do you think he will tell you everything!!??? It's up to you!!!!! Good Luck.

Floridabear - except moving to the Antarctica... There are no ants in Antarctica! Get your plant out of the house in a shade, drench it with something - I would try house hold Clorax bleach - like 1 part of Clorax- 4 parts of water - pour it into your pot - and let them all run out. They wouldn't like it for sure. Ants live in colonies - so several ants if left do not reinfest anything - they will die from loneliness, poor things. If you have the nest in your house - that's the one you need to get rid off - otherwise they will fill your house - and sleeping with ants in your bed... they sting. You need to check with your local pest control guys - what they recommend. You can put baits with egg yolk mixed with Borax and make them carry their own poson in their nest - but if you want to eradicate them right now - pest control will be better - who knows what else you have - may be termites are eating your walls...Everything is alive in Florida. good luck Irina

To expand what ken said, the aphids secretes a sweet substance that the ants feed on, so as Ken says ...get rid of the aphids and you will get rid of the ants by spraying them with water or using insecticidal soap..... As for the "critter in the spit".....it is a spittle bug that is sucking the plant juices from your plant and is protected by the frothy foam......best way to rid them is to wash them off with water.... Here is a link that might be useful: spittle bug