Caulking! I haven't tried it, but have read a number of times that cornmeal poured into an ant hole will kill ants. That is assuming you know where the ant holes are! Ants don't like spearmint or cinnamon. I tried painting spearmint oil near where they came in years ago. They defintiely don't like the stuff, but one has to keep reapplying as it evaporates and loses scent. I also used cinnamon powder, but that requires some clean up in the long run. Because it was the only poison I had, I eventually poured flea powder into the small hole at the base of a door jamb, where they entered. I used a skewer to tamp the flea powder in good. I never had another ant come in. The flea powder sealed the hole like caulk, and probably killed quite a few ants, too. Lorna

I agree with the above advice. In Britain we call these spots 'blackfly'. They are aphids and the ants 'farm' and protect them for their sweet and sticky residue. The ants prevent ladybirds (ladybugs) from eating the aphids. These aphids occur largely at the top of the plant and the usual advice is to pinch out the tops after 3 or more flower trusses have developed. The top growth is soft and the aphids love it. Once pinched out, the stems harden and the aphids are much less interested in them. A good jet of water or insecticidal soap spray (if you cannot bear to pinch out the tops. or in addition to pinching out if the problem is bad) should help keep them under control. They are selective. One of my patches has them, the other is as yet free from aphids, but I inspect daily.

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

If anyone could answer the question as to where aphids come from, they'd be rich!! Where do any insect infestations come from??......they just happen :-) Ants may cultivate and protect the aphids but they don't exactly transport them around and aphids can and do appear independent from any ant presence. Water is still your best bet for aphid removal and the only reason you keep seeing more is the eggs they laid are hatching. You need to spray the plant down routinely for several days to a week to effect full control. Neem is a fully natural and organic product. It is the extract from a semitropical tree native to India. It is considered a horticultural oil and has diverse purposes. If used for soft bodied insect control - like the aphids - it must come into contact with the aphids. You can't just spray it on the leaves and expect it to work efficiently. And the moss is actually lichen and is completely harmless to the tree. It is just using it as a staging platform to receive the sunlight and rain it needs. Attempts to remove it are unnecessary and will cause more damage to the tree and its bark than if just left alone. No bleach!! If your tree was doing so well in the ground, why did you dig it up and stick it in a pot? It won't do nearly as well under those conditions.