Hey "Y'all", as they say in Texas, I am still seeing hummers down here in south Texas. I mentioned on another thread that most of mine left last Wednesday, but yesterday I had more come in, maybe a dozen or so. Nothing like the masses at the end of September and the first part of October. I've taken down my large feeders and am using my mini feeders now. During the height of the migration, I was going through 1 and 1/2 gallons of solution a day. This was way down from prior years. I think the answer to using less sugar this year is because we are not in a drought this year, we have lots and lots of plants for the hummers. I've noticed a lot of them out front in my beds and in the field across the road from me. And it is best to keep some feeders up for at least two weeks, some say a month, after you see your last hummer. Just make sure the feeders stay clean and the solution doesn't go bad. Some years, I've had hummers overwinter. If the plants are blooming, I let the hummers use them, but if we have the occasional freeze that kills the plants, then I keep feeders up. As some of you already know, I'm a former Hoosier, 5th generation, born and raised in Benton County, Indiana, about 100 miles NW of Indy!

Lauri, if you try the plastic bag method be sure to move your plant out of the sun or you'll cook them! Ladybugs won't stay were there is too much competition for food, the vast majority of them will fly away unless confined. If confined you really have to watch the food source and then release them once it's gone. The larvae as other's suggested is the ideal route to go, start looking for them around the yard with that many ladybugs released you're bound to find some soon! good Luck chaz

I hope the mouse hadn't eaten any poison. But......maybe the mouse filled the jay up so much, it was too full for peanuts? Hopefully, it will be back.

OK, I get it now. Real chimney to a woodburning fireplace in the basement. So the chimney has to stay. (I was thinking perhaps it was a water heater or furnace flue and could either be re-routed or decommissioned if newer heating unit has been installed.) Probably masonry but possibly prefab insulated chimney pipe. But the electric fireplace add-on is going to be demolished so you're reclaiming some floor space and are opening up part of that wall. So we're left we how to contend with what's left, which is exactly what you said from the get-go. I was over-thinking it. OP not in possession of the house until August so can't go poking & peeling off layers of stuff. Another couple of ideas after seeing some pictures. First one won't work for you but will toss it out as an idea that might work for someone else. After the fake fireplace is gone, frame it out wider and hang the TV there, with storage accessed from the side. Second idea is a tweak on the first one. Frame it out wider and make the whole shebang look like a cabinet. Part of the 'cabinet' would be chimney but the other half would be real storage. Put doors/ drawer fronts on all of it with only half serving a real purpose. Either stash sofa throws/ DVD's etc. there or turn it into pantry. (The pantry could open up to the kitchen side with dummy doors on the living room side.)