Yep, I've got ants running around on my hosta. Didn't give it much thought. It could be a lot worse. I have been noticing more cut worm damage this year, though.

I had a lot of cut worm damage early in the growing season. That stopped several weeks ago but not before doing major damage, especially on my new additions. Never had that before, either.

Whenever I notice a sudden flurry of ant activity, I follow their movements. I've had two incidences where a colony was set up, affecting whatever plant was growing above it. I had noticed my monarda dwindling, found a big hump beneath and around it...they had their own Park Plaza hotel built! I bought some kind of anti-ant foam spray and within a day or two, the problem was no more.

Last year they set up a colony under my tall iris...which also wasn't thriving anymore because of all those air tunnels. I ripped out the Iris and treated that area as well.

I found some at the bottom of my potted Abiqua Drinking Gourd lately. They were dark brown, smaller than the normal black ones and had wriggled into a drainage hole in one corner of the pot. I immersed the root mass in water and out they came. There were quite a few.

I'd be vigilant, Steve. I wouldn't want them taking up residence under my hostas after seeing what they did to the other plants by tunnelling amongst the roots.

It was a coincidence that I had found the ants at all. This hosta was so slow in making any headway after emerging so I picked it up to look underneath. Needs up-potting as the roots are all massed up in a curling pattern at the bottom. I've had it since last year.

I am not attributing its sluggish behaviour to the ants being busy burrowing because they could not have been there long, but it has grown a bit since released from the confines of the pot and the roots sitting in water. Up-potting coming up! Thanks for the heads up, ants!

I hope it doesn't become a problem for you Steve...maybe they will just move on somewhere else - hopefully.

I am seeing innumerable sandy anthills along the margins of my lawn, at the lawn/sidewalk interface. Not just my lawn, but all over my Queens, NY neighborhood. I have never seen such an amount of sandy anthills all over the place. I do not know what it portends, but I sprayed Ortho Home Defense across my door threshold to let them know they cannot come in.

Does anyone have any idea as to why there are so many anthills about this year?

Thanks for all of that info, Jo. I've been using some ant killer when I see a bed pop up in the pot, but have tried to be careful not to use much because of the unknown if the ant killer could eventually harm the hosta when it is washed into the pot through watering. I have yet to see more than about a dozen at a time on any one plant and they are always on the move, but of course what is going on under the surface is in question. I'll keep after it but am guessing that once things dry up around here they will likely move back out of the pots and into the ground.

Esther.....IME anthills appear immediately after a lot of rain. At our property in East Texas, where the fire ants are plentiful, a good rain can produce dozens of new anthills by the next morning. Have you had a hard or long rain recently?

I've found tiny ants taking up residence in a couple of my pots. Got rid of them quickly especially because I over winter pots in my unheated garage. We have ant hills around and I figgered it was from moving into a wooded area. Carpender ants or 'sugar' ants or ? I have found perennials and new shrubs dead in various beds. After investigating the area, by stirring up the dirt, it was full of ants.