How on earth do you go about eradicating tiny wasps and flies like these? You would have to spend so much of your time standing in the garden with a fly swatter and all your plants would probably end up beaten to the ground. I hate losing cats to these critters because so often you lose them after weeks of tending them daily. I have also heard that some of the predatory flies or wasps lay their eggs on the leaves which are then ingested by the eating cats. How do you prevent that either? A number of years ago I lost just about EVERY Anise Swallowtail cat to those wasps. I almost gave up altogether on the butterfly gardening. Murray

Great, informative page, thanks Bet! One thing I was confused about at first was how high to mount the wobbling stovepipe guard. The PMCA recommends it be at least 4 feet high, so that is what I now do. It has always worked for me (so far). I think Purple Martin landlords and Bluebird enthusiasts can learn a lot from each other.

wrens are the smallest of the nesting birds you probably will get and they can squeeze into a 1 inch hole. The chickadees and nuthatches a inch 1/4 or 1 1/2 hole. you can compare the sizes of the birds you get but there is not a lot of size difference in wrens and chickadees. bluebirds would need a little bigger house. if you can compare nests from last year you could see if the nest would fit in the house. the hole guards are to keep woodpeckers or squirrels or others from enlargeing the holes. I have seen woodpeckers enlarge a hole and use the house. A lid from a tin can with a hole in the center is used and tacked on. and can be painted to match the bird house. I don't get the tits or redpoles or some of the small birds from back east. also each variety of birds make different nests some with twigs and others with straw or grass or woodpeckers often sawdust. The bluebirds we get like to use hay or straw and bits of string or yarn or the stringy bark from cedar or juniper trees. I know some people here hinge the lid or front of the birdhouse so they can open it. not only to clean but also if the wrong birds try to nest say a wren with twigs they remove the nest and hope to get a different bird before the egg laying begins. Just because the hole is bigger does not mean the wrens won't try to use it. They are mean little birds and will kill babys or destroy nests of other birds.

I recall recently (past year) linking to a commercial recirculating hood. These may require some extra ceiling height and will have significant filtering mass. From UL: "These systems capture the cooking effluent from a cooking appliance, process the captured air through various filters and vent the filtered air back into the room where the appliance is located. These systems can be either portable or permanently installed, and include an integral fire extinguishing system to protect the hood system and appliance area. Recirculating hood system requirements were originally introduced in the 1994 edition of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 96, Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations, and have subsequently been introduced in the International Fire Code (IFC), the International Mechanical Code (IMC) and the Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC). They were previously investigated in accordance with requirements in UL 197, Standard for Safety for Commercial Electric Cooking Appliances. Requirements covering these appliances were later updated and moved to UL 710B, Standard for Safety for Recirculating Systems." Here are some examples: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/56229/ventless-hood-systems.html https://kitchenventilation.com/2021/09/27/recirculating-systems-for-kitchen-ventilation/ https://wells-mfg.com/product-category/ventless-cooking-systems/ventless-hoods/