Here is what l have been doing for years and it works well for me! I
bought a shaker for spices that has larger holes than a salt shaker,
then you fill it with diazanon granules. Go through your green
house/plant area and sprinkle the diazanon into and around the pots.
Within 24 hours the ants will be gone! It will last for weeks and you
don't have to spray it or anything else. I've used this on every kind
of orchid without bad results. Now this won't keep them out forever,
but it works very well. Ant are ants and they will be back no matter
what we do, but this is by far the simplest way to deal with the
problem. Good luck!! Ernie

On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 20:52:45 GMT, "Diana Kulaga"
wrote:

All,

Down here in 'South Flahda' we are experiencing more ants this year than in
recent memory. The worst are a species called white footed ants. They do
not respond to Amdro, and what bait they will take they do not deliver to
the nest, the selfish SOB's.

They are not particular about what they get into. I.e. they are crawling
in and out of Catt and Dend pots that hold only stone or Aliflor. Primagra
is infested as well, and we don't want to talk about anything potted up in
spagh, bark or CHC. It's not just me - we have Terminix come in once a
month, and all their customers are having problems, as well as most of my
local orchid buddies.

The exterminator gave me a diluted bait spray which has some limited effect,
but is no panacea. Alcohol works on contact, but is impractical with so
many bugs. Raid kills them, but again, how much can you spray? So, two
questions.

1. What do you all know about "Terro" (sp?) which is supposed to sell at
WalMart and is on the pricey side (I don't care, if it will work)?

2. The stuff that Terminix uses on the exterior of the house is called
"Demand", and is petroleum based. He - and I - are reluctant to use my
orchids for guinea pigs to see if it would harm them. Anyone know?

Diana