Hi Bob, I think your 'Elaine' (?) is quite outstanding, at least comparing with these. 'Elaine' grown in shade with 'Dennis Cathcart' And this one received more light. I do envy your young blooming Acanthostachys, mine not yet. Here my both A.pitcairnioides, at the bottom, and A.strobilacea, above.

i dont know your area ... but i have two thoughts ... first.. you said.. it needs a lot of work ... so i imply.... infer ... that this jungle was basically abandoned for a few years ... let me suggest.. simply being there... and taking command of the yard will start to solve the problem ... e.g. ... if the lawn is mowed weekly ... and kept short.. like a lawn is supposed to be.. they are going to not being hanging out in the lawn ... so simply by mowing.. you are taking control ... same thought with overgrown gardens and bushes ... and do keep in mind.. spiders are most apparent .. in fall ... thats when we get these kind of posts... and that is because.. they have had all summer to grow and mature. ... sooner or later ... even in your zone.. winter will come.. and the populations will ebb ... simply based on the cycles of the season ... so i would highly recommend not going with the nuclear option this late in fall ... perhaps this is not a proper suggestion for NC .. i dont know ... a quick call to your LOCAL COUNTY extension office.. might get you some very LOCAL pertinent information on the current populations of any given plague.. maybe its just been a big year for them.. in your area .... and you might ask a new neighbor... if its in their yard also ... again.. to find out if its not just your jungle .... as for the crumb muncher ... teaching them to respect such.. is much easier than eradicating .... and for sure.. at that age... give them a baggie of goldfish crackers as you launch them out the door.. and teach them to eat NOTHING in the yard ... and to bring back the empty bag ... and mommy will fill it up when they want more ... believe it or not.. that are very malleable at that age.. and a lot smarter than given credit for .... and if youa re giving out food.. they will be back ... lol ... for about 16 years min ... lol .. as to mushrooms and their ilk ... i consider them a free show of ma nature ... they are one of ma natures decompsers .... there is simply no downside to them.... most of the time... they are decomposing rotting wood under the surface... or on old used up mulch ... its interesting to learn what they are ... but there is little to do.. to be rid of them.. so go zen.. and accept them ...basically.. the same with the spiders .... [i suspect you might find a big dead stump somewhere out there... and the pattern of the shrooms/fungus its its dead root mass] enjoy your new yard ... but do keep in mind.. it is going to be winter... even in NC ... ken

I'm not sure why the above wasn't posted with the previous thread "Brown Recluse Spiders" but it became a different thread. OOPS. Sorry. hortster

We just delt with Brown recluses in our home, until we knew what they were we actually had them crawl on us a few times which was quite enough for us, I searched and searched, spraying was not an option as it creats a very nice menu of dead bugs for them, so I found a product called Diatomaceous Earth or fossil flour at Lowes garden center it's organic and says it safe, it kills the critters and makes it irritating to walk through, we sprinkled it in every cranny , around the walls and even put it on the dog for flea control when frontline wouldnt work.We also sprinkled it in the attic with a feather duster, it's messy and dusty wear a mask.in the house I used an empty parmesan cheese container to lightly sprinkle, we then found they started crawling up the walls I guess to get out of the dry irritating dust so I dusted slightly up the walls , We have noticed a huge reduction in their sightings and it has been about 6 months since we started using the "flour" . When those nasty biting orange lady bugs showed up I dusted the outside doors where they were landing and they showed immediate signs of irritation and would fly away, noticed very few on my doors and siding after that.I hope this stuff is as safe as they say and it works for so many other things.worked perfect for the fleas on our animals as well. It's supposed to be organic and I'm all for that. Karen