It's interesting digging down into boggy ground because you go through layers of different type materials. In my case, first there is a 6" rooty loose peat layer, where the material falls apart and look dark brown and fibery and woody, damp to wet. There is also old pieces of wood in it. Then, below that, is a totally different material thick that is dark gray to black in color, very compressed, almost clay-like, dry yet sticky, and is difficult to break apart. I think it is compressed muck. Then, below that is another type that is different again. It is greenish in color, slimy, wettish again, and has long fibers in it that look like grass or sedge. This looks lower quality to me. I haven't gone deep enough to hit substrate mineral soil, the above is no deeper than about 2 feet down. I'm thinking some of this material must be very old, ancient, and began to accumalate thousands of years ago. No mastadon or wooly mammoth bones yet tho :-)

I have been in Florida since 69, the native wildlife & plant life has been changing for many years but the global economy is really taking it's toll. Florida is different than many states as the sub-tropical weather allows many species to climatises & flourish here. We ship plants to all parts of the globe & they ship theirs here. There is no way a inspector can confirm a entire shipment of plants if pest free, hence we have citrus greening, a half dozen types of white flies. sri lanka weevils, Cuban tree frogs, pythons and a Gambian rat as big as a cat in the Fla Keys. As much as I don't like indiscriminate killing of wildlife I will exterminate every exotic pest I find. The health of the Fla ecosystem is counting on it. Check out the Fish & Wildlife page on current exotics. http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/amphibians/ Some are not much of a problem but others like the Bufo toad or Cuban tree frog are. Just my two cents Craig Here is a link that might be useful: FWC invasive speices

Midwesternerr's advice is right. Another de-chlorinating product is "Ammo-Lock". It also helps remove ammonia from the water (caused by lots of tadpoles pooping). I use a pre-formed stiff pond liner, rather than a flexible one, to stand up to tree roots and punctures better. To avoid trapping little critters in the pond: One can also use water plants and thin, flat rocks for "ramps" to let young emerging frogs/toad and salamanders. I have a potted water willow in my small pond and the roots grow out 8-10" from the edge of the pot. The top of the pot is just above the water level, but little critters can climb out of the water via the floating/partly submerged mat of roots. Then they can walk up and exit on the little ramp I have bridging the willow pot to the pond edge. I have 2 other 'ramps' in other parts of the pond and I try and keep it full. Most emerging frogs and toads can climb the smooth plastic sides without ramps... You can get an inexpensive pump filter for small pond pumps. The one I use is essentially a plastic box around several layers of foam filter. The pump body and water intake goes inside the box, and water passes through 5-6 layers of the foam material before entering the pump. The filters/distance means even tiny critters do not get sucked into the pump. You can remove and clean it easily without disturbing the tadpoles. I recommend letting algae grow on the sides of the pond. Tadpoles eat a lot and they love munching algae. I also bring duckweed to the pond - it helps provide food, oxygen and clean the water (tadpoles poop a lot of nutrients). Besides the water willow, I have Pickerel Weed, and Lizard's tail in pots in the pond. You can supplement your tadpole's pond food with lettuce (they like Red Leaf Lettuce the best, but larger tadpoles can eat Romaine). They also LOVE daylily petals. Every now and then, especially when it's about to rain cats and dogs, I let out a few inches of water from the pond. This gets rid of some of the "old water" in favor of new. Be sure there is some shady, leaf-litter habitat near your pond. Ideally connected to larger expanses of such habitat. If the pond is in a sunny area surrounded by mowed grass, the emerging frogs and toads will have a long "death march" to safety. Finally, even if you do not have frogs/toads in your yard now, you can transplant tadpoles or tiny toads/frogs from elsewhere. But be sure to get them from ephemeral wetlands if you live in suburbia - Bullfrogs, Pig Frogs, Pickerel Frogs, etc. need larger water sources. Or get tiny toads as they emerge from their nurseries elsewhere.

I have a similar problem - I’ve attached four photos: two make the insect look oval and brown, but the other two make them look more silver. I am not sure if this is just due to the color of the background. With the naked eye the insects in all four photos seemed to be the same insect. I am reaching out because the plant these insects are inhabiting (an anthirium) is slowly dying. It has dropped 80% if it’s leaves and has stopped putting out new growth. I am concerned that the insects are feeding on the roots, as I don’t see any insect damage to the leaves or “branches” of the plant. I inherited the plant from my grandmother when she passed about a year ago and it appears to be very old and has 8 inch long “trunks” and was very full when I originally took it home. A few moths ago, at the recommendation of a local nursery, I replaced the first 1” of soil with sand and refrained from watering my plans for roughly 2 weeks. I have since gotten back to a once-weekly watering schedule allowing the surface to dry between waterings. Although I no longer see these insects on the surface the plant continues to struggle. Recently, when I lifted the planter, I found them scurrying around on the underside of the pot. Any help identifying or understanding how to get rid of them would be very very much appreciated!