Oliva wrote:
>
> Cinnamon too!  Does anyone have a cure for the damn things?

If your ants are the big black kind that eat wood you may have to resort
to chemicals to encourage them to reside in the trees. After watching a
nieghbor replace a three storey stairway we decided drastic measures
were in order. We do use a commerical pesticide but only on the very
edge of the foundation where it meets the ground. We also spray the same
area in the basement and around the basement windows. We only do this in
the spring and so far we are ant free. It also keeps earwigs and
termites at a distance. Diatomaceious Earth, also called Fullers Earth
is effective as well. The only drawback is it must be replaced after
each rainfall and gets expensive. I still have plenty of spiders around
the house which I use as a guide, if the spiders go you've done too
much.

Helen