Thanks for the I. D. Karen! I did an internet search about the plant using the I. D. you gave me and oh my... It really is a DEVIL plant for tropical climates! It can really get monstrously huge and invasive as it climbs up trees and takes over them and ultimately killing them! We don't have freezing temps so all the more I need to get rid of it now as it is also reputed to be virtually indestructible once it reaches the top of trees because of its aerial roots! tropical -------------------- Here are excerpts from what I read... (Taken from http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/51451/index.html) Quote: ===== "Golden Pothos are great houseplants but can thrive outdoors in warm areas including my area (zones: 10a, 10b, 11 and below). They are native to the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, where, in the humid, warm, tropical jungle climate, they can grow to be whoppers with leaves over 3 feet across and up to very many feet high into trees! You can keep them potted worldwide indoors as long as temperature is controlled to suit the plants' needs. However, if grown outdoors, they can quickly climb up trees and possibly take over (listed as Florida EPPC Plant List Two on Counsil For Invasive Species Plant Control) but are beautiful and extraordinary vines with that tropical look. They are also called Devil's Ivy and Taro Vines (or you can, like I do, call them 'jungle vines'). If you do own one, however, best to keep it indoors unless you'd like it outside, and, if you do plant it outside, watch carefully so it dosn't possibly take over." ====== Quote: ======= "These have been growing on oak trees in my yard for 30 years, sometimes killed back by cold, but coming right back. As the plant climbs higher, the leaves get larger and split to allow the air to go through without ripping them. When the vines drop down, the leaves get smaller as they grow closer to the ground. Another common name is Hunter's Robe when it is growing in large trees." Quote: ======== According to professor Pedro Carauta, specialist in Ficus, this species seems to kill fig trees in general. I don't know how, but that's an information to look for before making it to climb trees. I have one growing on a pot. It's been there for 16 years. I never changed the pot, nor feed it with anything. It just keeps growing. If I wanted to kill it, I don't know if I could."

"I can say that we do have centipedes in IL. I wish we didn't." I didn't know we had lizards in IL either until one ran through the house. My DH thought he was seeing things until we found it dead a few days later. It had a little stab mark in its chest, so obviously one of the pets got it. :( For a year we thought it had to be someone's escaped pets. Lizards in Illinois? Then they were rehabbing a 100-year-old house up the hill and found the foundation area just full of them. LOL, I still remember the screams of grown men. They estimated tens of thousands. (I have no idea how correct that is) Kimmsr, your paragraph ought to be sent to every gardener, every spring as a reminder. Bugs are just a part of it all. My neighbor found a snake the other day and I'm pretty sure she's blaming me and all of my gardening. She was very upset. I said "Well, maybe that's why I've yet to see a rodent around here. Hope he keeps up the good work." I got the dirtiest look. LOL.

Just fix the door seals and let them be. They promote aerobic metabolism, good bacteria and fungus. Consider it a good thing for now because they will distribute organic matter all over your yard, which is something you couldn't pay a company to do like Gods little creatures can. They have had a coincidental season which has allowed them to populate vigorously so I would let them do their thing because they will be gone next season and your soil will be much more rich in nutrients because of them. If it were me, i would put away the chemicals.

I live on property overlooking a lake in Florida. My 4 large 2-week planted banana plants were doing so well until one day we came home to find one shredded so badly that its trunk was at a 120 degree angle, like a tree almost cut down, and the trunks on the other 3 had shredded damage also. The next day, the 1 tree finished falling over. Then I caught the culprits in the act--they were Muscovy ducks! They were nibbling on the trunks at beak height and shredded them downward. Further research online yielded that indeed ducks and squirrels love the sweet trunks of banana trees. Further research suggested a deterrent for ducks: those wind pinwheels or spirals, the sparkly kind. They do not like to see sparkly movement. No problem since I installed the pinwheels at strategic places around the banana grove.