novice 60, I hate red wasps, their stings are so painful. I have an old Dirt Devil canister vac that the DW has tossed many times. The wheels are missing and it's held together with duct tape, but it's small and has a powerful motor, so I keep rescuing it from the trash. I use it to vac wasps from my feeders - they go in, they don't come out. Could be because I also use it to vac loose fur from my dogs. The noise scares the hummers away, so they're not in danger. If they do become accustomed to the noise and start getting too close, I'll cover the end of the hose with a piece of 1/2" mesh hardware cloth. Each wasp makes a new nest in the spring, so every one that you can get now means you're destroying a whole nest. Try it, it works for me. AND IT'S FUN!!!

Yep, I get a kick out of them despite some of the less savory aspects of having them around. Last year I repaired the porch on our grandaughter's playhouse which had rotted through. It was particle board and came off in big messy chunks. I piled the scrap on top of her sandbox. My mistake. The cover for her sandbox was one of their favorite places to nap and the foot tall pile of nasty wood didn't deter them one bit. I looked out the back door and she was laying on top of the wood. Ah yes, the raccoons. I'm quite familiar with them. We've had one or two families come through every spring for 3 or 4 years now.We have one of those Intex swimming pools for our grandaughter. I built a collapsible octagonal fence to go around it to keep them from getting at the sides, which are soft. Worked great at keeping the sides safe but it didn't stop them from getting on the cover. One night I heard *SPLASH* outside. I get the flashlight and look outside and there are two baby raccoons trying to get out of the pool. They had jumped on the cover, the cover went under, and while they were clawing to get out they shredded the pool cover. Ours sounds just like the second one you mentioned. Ours just has the fountain in it but it doesn't bother the ducks as long as it's not on. Ours sits in a little "well" that I made out of small retaining wall blocks. Underneath also serves as a nest to chipmunks in the winter. They burrow beneath the wall and set up shop in the space between the wall and the liner.

Hi, Linda. I am actually in NE Ga. Buford to be exact... Funny, but for 2 weeks I have had a pair (Probably the same from future years,) and one single BB visiting every day except for yesterday, when we had all that snow. I believe it is the same pair from last year, as it appears like they are already checking out and apparantly "claiming" the box as theirs!I hope the single one can find a mate before a nasty fight begins! I have been giving out a few mealworms, but with the shortage of them and currently being unemployed, they will not get their treats as much. Please feel free to e-mail me... Hey, Right now I have nothing else to do but watch the blues! Sincerely, Rebecca

Well, bluebirds are funny. Even though we build them "perfect" boxes, they will nest in strange places, and I think we all wish we could get inside their heads sometimes! Some people will either put out mealworms, sprinkle nesting material around the base of the box (usually pine needles), or even put a blue ribbon on the top (take down when bluebirds come, as it reminds the male of the wing-wave of another bird). However, despite best-laid plans, nature has a way of forging its own path. I saw a similar situation with tree swallows last summer - they chose a cheap decorative birdhouse with holes on both sides, totally odd size and layout to the house, hanging unsteadily on a branch. They built a nest and I believe had eggs, but later abandoned it (too many children around). I can still peek in and see the nest/feathers because there's no way to open it! I can only imagine how discouraging it is that your blues aren't nesting in your box, but look on the bright side: you can still see them coming and going, and since bluebirds often come back to the same vicinity next year (or even for their next brood) perhaps you can entice them to your box with some yummy mealworms. :) Best of luck!