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Once I had everything sealed up, the constantly recurring problem went away
and stayed away for many years. Eventually, I did get some ants again --
through the one molding I did not want to caulk. I felt that I could not do
it neatly enough that I would not have messed up the appearance where that
wooden molding met the wall. It did not have the type of edge that lent
itself to that. When that invasion happened, I sprayed through the seam,
and waited a day. Then I sealed that one too. It turned out to look neater
than I expected, and the problem never came back.

I try to remember to spread something outside every few months, but I'm not
as diligent as I should be. If they can't get in, they won't get it.

You've sealed up the house, which is great. Why would you work on
exterminating what is outdoors? "Spreading something" every few months
will help assure that our kids or grandkids will never be free of
insecticides, our water never clean, and nature will continue to be
malformed because of what we dump in the environment. If every anthill
must be exterminated, it is past unfortunate. Even fire ants have a
positive impact, but a far more negative and painful impact. I harp on
this issue, but getting familiar with critters and keeping them from
being pests is sometimes easier than one would care to believe. I
recall during a bad drought when yellow jackets and other bugs were on
the move to find water - anything with moisture, including my eyes, was
an attractive target. I found a yellow jacket once in an open jar of
jam left by one of the children. Easy solution ) My ant troubles
have always been related, to some degree, to how clean the kitchen was.