Courtney, Thanks for saying I am a wonderful teacher. Sometimes I really, really struggle with the best way to make a point without coming across as an overbearing organic wacko. (smiling and poking fun at self as I say that) The post in which I told you that chemical companies fund the very research that says their products are "most effective" was one of those times. I could tell you had really done your research and understood WHAT you read, but just wondered if you had thought about who was paying for that research? In many ways, the research system in this great nation of ours is evil....and not just with regards to the gardening world....how about in the pharmaceutical world as well? There is such a complicated financial relationship between the companies who MAKE/MARKET the products and the very researchers/agencies who evaluate their safety and effectiveness. I find it impossible to imagine university researchers and regulatory agencies are not influenced by the large multinational firms who market these products AND fund the research that studies these companies' own products. There is a superb book out that studies the complicated relationships that exist in the agricultural/horticultural world. It is called THE WAR ON BUGS and was written by Will Allen. It basically describes in great detail the vast ongoing collusion between the chemical firms, the university researchers who study their products AND the media. These three groups have combined to convince us all that commercial agriculture cannot "feed the world" without a heavy reliance on chemicals. I highly recommend this book. It is the best explanation of the complicated relationships/processes that I have ever seen. I linked info on The War On Bugs below. If you go to that link, read the review by Dr. Rob Williams near the end of that webpage. This is a book that everyone interested in horticulture and agriculture should read. And, how much of the chemical pesticide-related research is funded by the chemical manufacturers themselves? Research done in the 1990s found the chemical manufacturers and their industry lobbying groups were funding 66% of the research at that time, and it was increasing at a rate of about 3% a year. (As government cuts research funding, the manufacturers step in and fund more and more and more.) OK, I'll stop going on and on about the chemical manufacturers! I bought Milky Spore powder in a 40 oz. can and applied it over the 10,000 s.f. closest to the house, following label directions. When you have acreage (even 1 acre!), you just can't treat all of it, so I concentrate on the area closest to the house, yard, barn, garden, etc. If I had felt like I needed to do additional treatment, I probably would have treated a 10,000 s.f. area every year until I felt I'd covered all the area I wanted covered. Keep in mid that Milky Spore powder is a bacteria that should grow and spread on its own over time. Nolo Bait for grasshoppers works the same way--once you establish it on your land, you often have it forever after. I think I walked around with the cannister and sprinkled about 1 t. every 4 feet in a sort of checkerboard pattern. They also make milky spore powder dispensers or spreaders. I never try to treat a really large area because it costs too much to do so. I just treat what I can. Dawn

While some people think Japanese Beetles are dump because they fall off the plants they are munching on when disturbed, their evolution probably taught them that that is a good way to avoid any predators. If being blown off a plant by the wind was a good means of control the wee buggers would not return to the plants they were blown off. Maybe putting a very fine meshed screen downwind to catch the wee buggers would be more sucessful.

Wow, Jokik, I wasn't aware that personal attacks were allowed on this forum. I'm sure you thought you were being so subtle with your Common Sense for Dummies comment. Aren't you clever! So what are the "more than adequate" precautions are you taking with this dumpter-diving wood furniture retrieval? If you are so well-informed, I guess you know that bedbug eggs take 2 weeks to hatch? I'm shocked that you are being so rude about something that's turning into a public health crisis in every major city, every college campus and many single family homes in the middle of nowhere. I feel sorry for your neighbors. If you were so nice and so smart, then you would give a little tutorial about the details about how "more than adequate"ly you clean your dumpster finds so that other people on this forum will learn how not to get bedbugs if they should choose to continue to dumpster dive. But I suspect you are not so nice and so smart. "Common Sense for Dummies" back at you!

Interesting that the positives come from an owner point of view. From a repair/install point of view I think you'll find the opposite. It is a diving accident some years ago that bankrupted the nations largest association of pool professionals when they had nothing to do with it. Because of that, you will find that the nations largest association of pool service people are not insured to install or touch diving boards for one reason. Lawsuit exposure. Boards are great and when properly used, they are not a problem. But, court rulings have found that it is not proper use that determines liability. It is deep pockets and slick lawyers. Ultimately, the future pool owners pay for this in the form of higher pricing and lack of purchase options. In So Cal, you will be hard pressed to find boards these days that are installed by professionals as the risk of exposure is too great. My business is not worth making a few bucks on a board only to be sued later for something I had nothing to do with. Regardless of depth, injury is highly likely with a head first dive and it is the industry who ultimately pays. Just a view from the other side. I liken the whole situation to helmet and seatbelt laws. Put a helmet or belt on and statistics say there are fewer injuries. Swim in a pool without a board and the statistics ar better.