Question
Hello,
   My name is Nathaniel, I am growing sarracenia, drosera, and dionea in a 2' By 18'' bog garden. Recently i found little blackants nesting in the peat, I've tried getting rid of them but was unsuccessful. i just found that now they are under one of my sarrs and little circular fungus things or something is around their entrance hole which is at the crown of the sarr. now the sarr and dionea next to it are realty declining. idk what to do and cant find anything on the web about it. The plants have full sun, constant moisture( i water with zerowater from my zerowater filter PPm=0), the soil is approximately a 50/50 mix of peat and perlite( not what the white things i mentioned early are either they're different), i don't fertilize, repotted last year, and ive had the plants well most of them with the exception of a few additions for about three years. i live in northern California about 100 miles north of San Francisco. idk what to do, please help if you have any ideas.

Answer
Hi Nathaniel,

Because we are in mid-October, the decline you're seeing may have nothing to do with the ants.  It is normal this time of year for Sarracenia and Flytraps to be approaching dormancy.  They start dropping older leaves and traps, and it can look very much like they are dying.  If you could send me a photo I could get a better sense of this.

Ant baits are the best approach to ant issues.   With these you'll kill both the workers and the queen.  Most are based on Boric acid and are usually sweet drops that you set out for them.  Here's an example:  http://www.amazon.com/TERRO-PreFilled-Liquid-Killer-Baits/dp/B000HJBKMQ

Looking forward to seeing that photo.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.growcarnivorousplants.com