MSchep, ants are to aphids as farmers are to cows. They put em out to pasture and then they milk em. Ants take care of their aphid farms for the honeydew - a sweet secretion of aphids (their poop I guess). But the honeydew gets all over stuff anyway, and that is where sooty mold will grow - nasty nasty mess. So whatever you spray is going to help IMO just by washing that sweet sticky stuff off the leaves (at least, that's what I'm hoping!)
Most ant baits are basically borax or boric acid combined with sugar or peanut butter. The notion is they will take it back to the nest and kill the queen. It's nontoxic (more or less!) to humans or pets but you still wouldn't want your dog to eat the stuff. Some baits come in a little tin that you poke open with ant size holes, so that is pet safe unless the dog decides to chew up a metal can. Different types of ants seem to prefer different baits, but I think it's safe to assume, the aphid farming ants probably like sugar. The bait cans are probably best for minimizing any effect on other creatures including pets, but for me the drops that you put out on their ant paths are sometimes more effective.
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