There are many ways to get rid of fire ants. You can use a mixture of sugar and borax. Pour the mixture around the ant hills, and the ants will carry it inside the colony, killing it off. Another solution is the sugar substitute, Equal or Nutri-Sweet. These have been known to be poisonous to ants. Just pour it around the hill and you will see little any bodies laying around in a couple days. Like the others have said, if it's garden ants let them be - unless it's a huge infestation. Here is a link that might be useful: Ants In The Vegetable Garden

I am sorry you take offense summer fashion -- I was just trying to point out that there are other places for this rare rose. As the grower of over 600 roses, many of which are rare, I try to do my part to keep some of these in commerce, and have given cuttings to many different growers. My initial question was simply directed at trying to figure out if I had the rose that was supposedly "the last one," and if I did have it, to get it out there to some distributers. FYI -- Cliff is the proprieter of Eurodesert Roses and he specializes in distributing rare roses. And to answer your question about Gregg -- no I do not think he would necessarily have driven down and gotten another one -- he has his hands full keeping all the roses already in his 4000 rose collection. I would be shocked if he were adding more, even if he happens to lose one. As for you complaint about "hi-jacking", I am sorry that you posted your Kudzu question on the rose board. Maybe you should have put it on the appropriate forum in the first place, rather than worrying about someone changing the subject of your post back to the subject of the board. Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: Kudzu on HMF

Don't know who. But likely you can find the culprits if you look at various times of the day, including night. When found, destroy -- drop into soapy water works fine.

Violets propagate via rhizomes ( if I recall correctly) a tough woody type root basically, a standard weed killer like 2,4-D will knock the leaves back but won't control them. They are pretty but are problematic when growing turfgrass as they tend to completely take over. I have had very good results using a product called Crossbow in a gallon tank sprayer for spot treatment, it is also effective for other weeds. Violets have a waxy coating on their leaves, a small amount of dish soap (the liquid) mixed allows the product to stick to the leaves, increasing effectiveness. Weedkillers are best applied when weeds are actively growing, after a rainstorm or irrigation. High temperatures and drouth put the lawn into stress, weeds hibernate, therefore, weedkiller applications under these conditions may cause temporary dieback of the grass plant, while leaving the weed almost unaffected. Violet control is not a "one and done" kind of deal, it will take more than one season. With good cultural practices over time a thick healthy turf will better resist weed infestation and require very few chemical treatments.