"MaxMustermann" wrote in message
oups.com...
I haven't seen any ants around, although I do see a couple of small
flies occasionally.

Would cutting the plants down to about 1cm above the soil help, or will
they just come again once the plants grow again?


The small flies are probably either winged female aphids, or gnats. Aphids
prefer to feed off new growth, so cutting the plant back won't help.

Your best bet would be to continue to use the soap spray, until the aphids
find a new home or the predators can come out and keep the aphid population
in check. Otherwise there is always the synthetic pesticide approach.

-S