The story doesn't end there, I'm afraid. As I said, I plugged the hole in the nest box where the TUTIs nested. While I was distracted with them, a pair of bluebirds who have been hanging around here started a nest in my second video box which is in my back yard. I hadn't been paying enough attention because I had intended to put that one out of commission also. By the time I turned my attention to that box, the nest was almost done. Mama has been working on the nest and at the same time working with Daddy to feed the 3 (maybe 4) fledglings from their first brood which grew up somewhere else (I'd seen the parents come to my feeder and carry mealies off beyond my yard a few houses/never did find where the nest was; I'm guessing they got evicted by our little brown bird 'friend'). So for the last few days I have been so happy to see the whole family in my backyard, all 5 or 6 of them. They go back and forth from the mealie feeder to the top of the nest box which is not far away. Anyway, I WILL be monitoring the box as carefully as I can. My husband rigged up a cord that goes from the nest box to inside my kitchen. If I see a HOWR on the box or in the box, I pull on the cord and can shake the nestbox! Hope I never have to use it. The box is also easier to get to than the one in the front (no steps, yeah!). I have evidence that having the whole BB family around will offer them a lot of protection. As I watched (and recorded), a HOWR went into the nest box & started to pick at the nesting material with the intention, I'm sure, of throwing it out the hole. However, 'The Family' showed up and blocked the HOWR IN the box. I swear that HOWR must sit somewhere and watch the BBs cause it had the guts to go into the nest while Mama is actively in and out of the nestbox while working on the nest. Actually prior to getting trapped in the box that time, the HOWR had gone into the box & started picking at the pine needles but I chased it out quickly. So if you go to my dropshots page (guest password birdbrain), there's a new video 'HOWR gets trapped in box by bluebirds'. If you listen carefully to the video, you can hear the bluebirds 'chatting' while the HOWR quivers at the bottom of the nest. Not sure what the quivering is all about but I know that some animals (like cats, for instance) 'quiver' in anticipation of pouncing/striking. You can see that it tries to get out the hole twice to no avail (it seems to 'throw' itself at the hole). I was afraid that one of the parents was going to go into the box and get hurt. Yes, maybe there would have been a battle and the bluebirds MIGHT have won but I didn't want to take the chance so I opened the back door (this was before I had my 'shaker cord'). My two male dogs got out in front of me and not only chased away the bluebirds but also the wren. Amazing video, though! The nest is done now and when the first egg is laid, up goes the wren guard, and I go into active monitoring. Blessings, Lina... Here is a link that might be useful: Video HOWR gets trapped in box by BBs

I just stumbled upon this post as I try to prevent the recurring problems from Barn Swallows again this year. Unfortunately, the image is no longer available and I cannot see how you hung the netting. We have a colony of Barn Swallows that roost at our apartment building each year. The landlord hates them, but a former tenant had posted signs everywhere about how it was illegal to remove the nests. It was only through my own research that I realized it was only illegal while eggs or babies were in the nests, and those tenants moved out this winter. In addition to nesting on top of our buildings lights, covered walkways, and eaves, my apartment and the one next door have outdoor entrances from our gorgeous courtyard and patio which have covered stairwells. Each year, the swallows fly through these two stairwells like its the Lincoln Tunnel, dive bombing anyone who tries to walk on the stairs. They build their nests on the outlet boxes or porch lights. The first summer we lived here, I thought it was really neat to have such a close view of their lives, as I would often sit on my steps and could watch the babies as they grew, taking great care to be quiet and non-threatening. However, I also found that my porch steps and exterior wall were covered with bird droppings. They are also very very noisy when there is an entire colony of them outside of your windows. All of the "teenage" birds hang out in one of our courtyard trees outside of my window, which my cat loves but can actually drown out any conversation or television in our living room. Then I experienced what I thought were bed bugs in our house. I had tiny bites head to toe and could constantly feel them crawling on me despite rarely being able to see anything. It got so bad that I was getting the bites infected from itching all the time, and I couldn't sleep because I could feel the bugs crawling on my skin as soon as I tried to relax. I finally captured a few and took them to the University's Department of Entymology, who identified them as bird mites. That experience was HORRIFIC. I was ready to burn our entire building down after reading that the bird mites multiply much more quickly than bed bugs and are nearly impossible to remove. Luckily, the mites died off when the birds finally left for the season, but I can no longer sit outside on my wooden stairs because I fear contracting them again. The next spring, I tried the knock-down method, just on my own stairwell. I would open my screen door 2 inches and use a broom handle to knock down the nests up to 7 times a day. The swallows became very agitated, and and two attacked my daughter's head when she got home from school one of the days. I couldn't sit inside and repeat this process forever, though, and they got their nest up one day while I was off at a 12 hour work shift. The outlet covers they use are too high up to see into, and I knew that some other nests already had eggs, so I couldn't knock it down, more out of compassion than fear of charges. This will be our third summer here. Our elderly landlord has given up trying to prevent them from nesting even in the building entryways. I have removed my porch light cover so there is no solid surface to nest on, but the outlet box cover is too high up and I can't put a ladder on the stairs to reach it. I have considered trying to throw a cotton ball soaked with peppermint oil up there (it has worked in the past for mice and spider problems), or hanging a bunch of cut aluminum as a mobile at the top of the steps (I have heard that the reflections off the metal scare birds off), but I simply can't go through another year of this if those methods don't work. I saw that I could use something to create a 45% slope where the nest to prevent them, but again... getting up there is an issue. I am curious to see how you used the mesh. Could you please share the picture again?

Does it matter to you that molds grow very easy with this type of wall. Also, because of the straw,( any organic material)- it is a haven for bugs! When bugs die, their remains are very toxic-(respiratory) especially any kind of bug that is in the roach family. I thought at one time that it would be a good choice, but was told 'absolutely NO!' by my pulmonologist! Also, it is not as good an insulator as I had thought. It must have some good qualities for other people, or it wouldn't be so popular.

Hi todds, Unfortunately the answer to your questions are not so cut and dry. Many of the bulbs that we carry have not been tested to LM79 standards as of yet and therefore the exact lumen output of the bulbs, even if one is given by the manufacturer, can be suspect. That is why we try to provide an equivalency rating, done through in house testing, on most of our products. On the dimming issue the same thing applies, while companies like Cree give a dimming percentage it may not be exactly that under all circumstances. Different dimmers, the number of bulbs on the circuit, how good the wiring is etc. can all make a difference in how well the lights dim and down to what percentage. For instance, some people may need to use an ELV dimmer when only using one or two LED downlights on a switch whereas four or five on a switch will dim fine with a standard incandescent dimmer. Therefore it's quite difficult to make a claim on dimming percentage when the manufacturer is not specifying the dimming percentage and what dimmers are tested and compatible. The R30 we carry does have a downloadable spec sheet where the dimming percentage is listed as 5% (link included below). As stated above, I can verify that the R30 does dim particularly well. Fortunately the market and standards are evolving rapidly. By the middle of next year, new labeling requirements will mandate that bulb packaging carry a label listing lumen output, wattage etc. on the front of the packaging. A paradigm shift will take place as consumers stop thinking about brightness in terms of wattage and start thinking about it in terms of lumen output. Hope this helps to clarify some of the issues currently present in the LED market. Here is a link that might be useful: R30 LED Light Bulb Spec Sheet