This year I've seen a surge in the number of ants in the yard. I have no idea why it's so much worse, but I am very grateful that I haven't seen fire ants recently. (Hope I did not just jinx myself there.) They are the pits.
Some ant species are repelled by cinnamon. Cinnamon also supposedly encourages root growth, so I wonder if adding some cinnmon to your potting mix might discourage ants from colonizing your pots?
I haven't really experimented much with cinnamon outdoors, but when I once had an ant problem indoors, I found that sprinkling cinnamon strategically around the outlets where they were coming in was effective. It was messy, and needed repeat applications, but I wonder if cinnamon oil might be longer-lasting and not as unsightly. There are probably other oils/spices that would work as well or better...
Mosquitos tend to bother me more, but it's a close call in terms of nuisance ratings. When I come inside, I do have to wash off the remains of the mosquitos I've slapped, so that's kinda yuck.
Thanks for the info on crazy ants. We probably have them, but I haven't noticed them. Will have to keep a look-out.
Virginia
