So if your tree is in the middle of a koi pond or there is a bunch of pregnant women standing around your tree then by all means don't spray it. Please don't tell me that you guys believe everything you read on Wikipedia. Every fall there are large amount of pyrethins sold in the mums at Lowe's and Home Depot with no warning labels. But when the same ingredients are put into a bottle and sold as an insecticide then the world is coming to an end. I am both a synthetic organic chemist and a medicinal chemist. I have seen the tox data on these compounds and there is absolutely nothing to worry about. They are just variations on what Mother Nature makes in mums. If you truly think the insecticide is bad then you have absolutely no business buying mums. It's hypocrisy if you do.

I have a woodburning insert that I use as a backup heat source. It works great but it took me some time to figure out how to keep the heat output just where we need it. Smoke can still be an issue with the insert if you don't operate it properly. In my unit, I found that kindling wood used to get a fast & hot start works much better than paper and keeps the chances of smoke getting into the room down. I also found that letting the fire dwindle too far down at night resulted in a higher chance of smoke getting into the room. In my unit, the catalytic converter must be disengaged (pull a damper rod out) before the doors are opened - otherwise smoke will enter the room. The catalytic conveter is used to help get a cleaner burn. If the converter is engaged when the firebox is not hot enough - that can also lead to more smoke. And if the fire dwindles and the firebox temp falls too low (still hot - but not hot enough) - that can also lead to more smoke. I wish I did not have the CC in there but that was not an option at the time. If I were in the hunt for a replacement, it would not have a CC in it. My unit has a blower fan that is activated by a thermostat inisde the firebox. Once the tstat reaches the hot point (which I cannot change), the blower fan kicks on to draw in outside air. For ambience fires, I wish that i could turn the blower off but that is not possible for safety reasons. The air coming in is to prevent the firebox from getting too hot as well as to serve as a source for more hot air flow. When we use the fireplace as a heat backup (usually during power outages), I found that using portable fans works great for moving air around the house. I can generate a lot of heat with the fireplace - so much so that the room it is in get's too warm. So if you intend to heat with a high BTU output unit, make sure you can get good airflow throughout the house. Another little trick I learned is that when we are cranking the fireplace and the air outside is very cold and dry, the humidity level in the house plumets. Since my humidifiers are connected to my HVAC unit, when the HVAC is out I have no humidification. So I bought 2 portable humidifiers that I run to get some moisture into the house. I also have a gas fired insert. This one can also operate as either a heater or ambience fireplace with the flip of a lever. The nice thing about this one is that it has a hand held remote that also servces as the thermostat. So I can set the temperatue and put the remote wherever i want to, and the fireplace fan will turn on and off based on the remote's tempertaure setting. You can then move the remote around to either a cold spot or a warm spot in the room to keep the room temperature comfortable and stable. The gas unit was much easier to install than the woodburner. Gas unit only had a single 8 inch duct for noth intake and exhaust. The woodburner had a 16 inch exhaust duct plus two 6 inch air intake ducts for combustion PLUS the air intake for the vent fan. It was a beast to install. If you have power outages and use a backup generator - put the gas or woodburner insert on a backup circuit - both require a small amount of power to operate. Check on the fireplace forum for discusions on these types of units. Spend the extra bucks and get a top of the line unit if you plan to use the fireplace frequently and/or as a primary heat source.

i did not finish reading all the replies ... but .. in case no one else mentioned such .... you need to also budget money .. OTHER THAN THE DOWN PAYMENT ... you will need furniture ... paint.. carpeting .... or cleaning of carpet .... locksmith ... washer.. dryer... fridge ... car repairs.. etc .... i went straight from the parents house to my own house... it came with washer/dryer.... mom popped for a smallish fridge ...[she had saved the money i was paying her rent ... gave it all back to me] ... i had the carpets cleaned.. as a bachelor i didnt care if it was new ... and it was in decent shape ... painted the whole house inside ... the garage out back ... since i had 2/3 of an acre.. i had to buy a riding lawnmower ... after doing it by hand the first time... lol ... i hope you get the drift ... and after a while ... i got tired of all the hand me down furniture.. and upgraded the couch and got me a man recliner... lol ... mind you... the cheapest one i could find.. but it was mine .... this was back in the early 90's .. and i think i put 20 down on a 99k house ... but i was making about 40k per year.. there are all kinds of costs and expenses ... and if you zero yourself out on the down payment ... and the house payment thereafter .... you are going to be really hard squeezed.. the first time something breaks down ... so... do insure.... you have a nest egg for such ... changing your numbers to like 30 down.. and 10 in savings ....????? finally .... there is no reason.. to put 40k down.. on a 75 k house .... in fact.. many might suggest its not financially wise ... but that is why you are talking about all this now .... and high 5 for that ... talk with a local real estate professional .... they might invest in your house/financial education .... for a sale down the line .... and if they wont... they arent someone you would want to do business with anyway .... good luck ken

I still haven't seen any gypsy moth caterpillars (last year was miserable) but I've seen two green caterpillars ballooning and the grackles have occasionally been foraging in the lawn under the oak. Winter moths have never been a big problem here - I think the birds take them to feed their nestlings. Unfortunately, most birds don't eat the hairy gypsy moth caterpillars. I recently saw (and annihilated) two red lily leaf beetles but the lily leaves are mostly undamaged. Claire