They're bringing the Splenda into the crack, but it's proving to be a bit of a challenge for them. The flakes are just barely too big to fit down their hole, and what they chewed through was mostly slightly cracked concrete.

  --ArielMT.....Sat Aug 04 21:37:39 -0700 2012

"Operation Splenda" link fixed. I meant to link to search results.

  --ArielMT.....Sat Aug 04 22:37:58 -0700 2012

The ants are clearing the mound of Splenda, and it doesn't look like they're using it as building material. They really are taking it away as food.

  --ArielMT.....Sun Aug 05 10:03:26 -0700 2012

Good news: The ants are focused entirely on the Splenda.

Bad news: The ants are still alive.

  --ArielMT.....Tue Aug 07 18:53:50 -0700 2012

I spilled a bit of Log Cabin syrup on the Splenda mound a week ago, and the ants swarmed all over it and cleaned it up completely. The syrup soaked all the way down to the floor tile, and there's nothing left now but a depression in the mound trying to close over the vacuum.

Today, I checked and didn't see but a single ant going after the Splenda. I poured some more syrup on the mound to see if they were still there. That was about 12 hours ago at this update, and now I see only three ants, whereas 12 hours after the first spill I saw the whole thing swarmed.

Maybe I found the trick, or maybe something else happened.

  --ArielMT.....Sun Sep 23 21:36:23 -0700 2012

Hello Ariel, how did the project go? Appreciate the updates!

  --MrWD (Not signed in).....Wed Jan 02 09:33:20 -0800 2013

Hi, MrWD! Thanks for the comment!

I'll know by Spring. The ants eventually ignored the bounty of Splenda, focusing exclusively on the syrup through October and November. By mid-November, their numbers started dwindling significantly, and by mid-December they were gone completely. I fear that it was a failure due to how long it took and the coincidence of their retreat with the approach of Winter.

Interestingly enough, the ants have not appeared anywhere else in the house since late August.

  --ArielMT.....Wed Jan 02 10:54:04 -0800 2013

Operation Splenda is a confirmed failure. The ants came back today and swarmed a can of cheese I had accidentally left out.

  --ArielMT.....Tue Apr 16 21:43:06 -0700 2013