Karyn, I was hunting those slugs early in the morning and one day I saw the biggest slug I ever saw on the rim of on of the pots...needless to say he went to slug heaven and after that I was finding small ones once and awhile..the slime trail is a big give away....I also saw one ladybug that came in with the brugs this last fall, Im sure its nice and fat with eating aphids all winter...I saw it yesterday on some cuttings that just got infested..it was sitting in the sun eating away..lol...Judy

Yeah Karyn me too, lol. But I still dont want them there. Linda, there were no bugs on any of the brugs..I checked after I took the ants off to see what they were doing, they were def biting the brugs. I havent seen any on leaves, or green stems, just the hardwood stems/trunks whatever you wanna call 'em. They are def carpenter ants. I have been spraying with soapy water and have been getting rid of any aphids and other nasties that I see. Everything is pretty much bug free, for the time being anyway. *knock on wood* My dryer lint/dog fur combo & collars seem to be keeping the slugs away as well. O hey Karyn..I saw some assassin bugs in my beds the other day. They'd better get crackin, lol. I hope I'm not killing off their whole food supply with the soapy water, I don't want them to leave! I wonder if they eat mealy bugs? Every year my 'President' clematis gets infested with fantailed mealy bugs.

LOL Mary. The only ones I was actually able to catch so far we the ones that were ..ahem..shall we say 'busy'. lol. All the others flew away! They'd stop, look at me, see me bending down and be gone. I need something I can spray on them instead of trying to catch them with my hands and a jar. I'm in bug hell today I tell ya. I noticed my Maid Of Orleans jasmine was lookin really crappy all of a sudden..I looked in the pot and it is absolutely infested with ants. I tried drowning them, but wasnt too successful. I'm out of Raid, and not going to the store today. I think I am just gonna plant her in the ground. Also went to plant the last couple brug cuttings I had that really didnt seem to be doing anything, they were dead. Completely hollow and the stems and pots were filled with ants. I hate bugs. And its only May..sigh I want to live in a bio-dome where there are no bad bugs. Just pretty butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs..nice bugs.

Most likely hornworm caterpillars. That is what it sounds like as they do like eating buds before they open. They might be hiding as they are green and blend in with the leaves or already gone.(check to see if more damage occurs) I raise butterflies and moths and really love all butterflies and moths but my experience with hornworms is limited. Post this on the butterfly garden forum and ask them what you could do to find the cats and where you could transfer them to. Hope this helps Mike