Oooooohhhh! I just love birdhouses & have only one.:( You are very talented as a bird-housing contractor. These two are just great! Vickie

I have a neighbor just up the hill from me,who has never planted a single plant of any kind in the 11+ years I've lived here. They don't go into their part of the woods,or anything! I know the woman who lives there says she likes my garden,because they can see it from their property. They are supposedly trying to sell their house,but no luck,so far. If they ever do sell,I'm going to put a bug in the new owners ear about growing hostas in the property adjoining mine. We could put in a little arched bridge over the little creek and continue the hosta garden on their property. I know my current neighbors would never garden there. As Janice said,I always wordered if we had to sell our home,I would have to ask anyone buying our house if they liked gardening. I couldn't stand it if the garden went to ruin,right after I left! When we left our home in Fla. to move here I had lots of nice plants and trees,(no hostas),but the new owners just destroyed what it took me years to do,and it just made me ill! I don't ever want to go back and see it again! About the seeing a nice hosta at a rental home,I have never seen that,but I have seen hostas growing in vacant fields near a road,and one house we pass all the time has hostas growing in an area by their home that had grass so tall,all you can see is hosta flowers sticking up there thru the grass. They look like Undulata flowers,and they are no big deal,but at least they could weed!! Phil

Terry, maybe you're right, and I certainly hope you are, but it has not been my experience. House sparrows are very opportunistic, and they are fierce competitors with native birds for nesting sites and food. Because they didn't evolve with the birds who are native to this ecosystem, natives are unprepared physically to compete with them. Any non-native species whether it is a plant or animal has the potential of outcompeting and outpopulating the natives. It is the natural way of it. This is seen across the country with plants, fish, etc. Some examples are the uproar over kudzu or snakehead fish. House sparrows (and starlings for that matter) will kill other birds and destroy their eggs and nestlings. They will also build right on top of their dead bodies. I am not trying to be graphic here. I am speaking from experience and would not want anyone else to have to find such a thing. I wish someone had warned me! I know that house sparrows are doing what is natural to them. It is because of this that I don't find house sparrows annoying, I just don't want them becoming the only species in my yard. Left unchecked, I know that is what they will do. They tend to nest earlier than most natives claiming nesting sites before natives have a chance. From the sialis website cited above "HOSP [house sparrows] are prolific breeders. They may raise 2-5 (average of 3) clutches of 3-7 (very seldom less than 4) chicks each breeding season, (averaging 20 chicks per season). One pair can theoretically quintuple the population in one year. Using some conservative assumptions, one pair could increase to 1,250 birds in 5 years. Eggs are incubated for 10-16 days, and nestlings are fully feathered in 15-17 days." Pigeons, starlings and house sparrows have become the only birds that you see in cities. That is because of human sprawl, but also because they outcompete the natives. Lack of species diversity is an indication of an unhealthy ecosystem. Each species within the system has a job to do and so is an integral cog in the wheel. Good luck to you. I hope you find that you are right. Please keep us posted as your garden progresses.

Hello, I am Monica Sudds. I would like to respond to this string of messages. Quote: "Monica spoke with Lee Langsly in the medical issues department of SC Johnson Wax, the maker of Glade Air Products. He was quite helpful and showed concern. He also cautioned that there are warning labels about pets on some of their products." This statement is NOT my words. This part of this article is completely incorrect. Do Not use this information above as a quote from me. He never said anything at all about pet warnings on products! Yes he tried to absolve the company of wrongdoing. It was I who requested testing. Lee Langsly, not only, did not say there were proper warnings on the products, he said they would NOT PUT THEM on the products due to extensive costs and having to fight organizations like PETA for animal rights testing. I've always felt that warning should be on the products so that our companion animals, mostly of the avian species, were not put into jeopardy. But, it appeared at that time that the cost of warnings & changing labels was not worth a concern about their consumers pets. I did continue my "crusade" to save our parrots, small animals, elderly parents and infants. He threatened me with a lawsuit. I was ready, but obviously this did not happen. I told him if he could prove his product safe or put a warning label on then I would stop requesting it and warning people. I still have the original article that I wrote on this subject, that first appeared in newspapers, and parrot/bird organization newsletters and magazines around the US and overseas. It almost seems daily, more and more products that are dangerous to our birds, small pets, elderly family and small children are being produced. I say now. Find my original article on the internet. Do NOT believe that I thought at any time that the company was helpful or showed any concern. Do not read bastardized articles of what I originally wrote on this subject.