Bughouse construction / Tampa pest control
Rodger Wenzlaff
7 years ago
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suncoastflowers
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Is something killing my oak tree?
Comments (19)Removal wasnt intially an option for me, but when you (and the other half, she refered to it as "letting it die a slow and natual death") put it that way, it makes sense. The tree is spotty all the way around. The only real area it is providing shade to is that back corner(back right in the picture). There arent any other shade trees in the area, so a replacement would definately be necessary. Throwing good money at bad, more than likely. Cutting it down and replacing with a properly placed, planted and taken care of tree may be a great option. Anyone have any ideas on how much it would cost to chop this sucker down and get some fire wood? I could also use some browns for the compost pile, or maybe some nice mulch? Another thing I have to consider is that my city does not like trees being removed An inch of replacement tree for each inch of DBH removed or "30 inch or greater DBH, $50.00 per inch removal" Unless: The tree is diseased or injured to the point it will ultimately expire or no reasonable remedy exists The tree is in immedite danger of falling and no economically praticable remedy exists The tree is significantly endangering existing structures so that its continued presence will ultimately cause damage and no remedy..... In the citys professinal opinion the tree is substantially endangering existing pavement or utility services in a manner that threatens to damage property or life The tree creates unsafe visibility that pruning will not rectify It is found by the city to be in the interest of the general publics health, safety and welfare that the tree be removed. I will be making a call to thecity tomorrow......See MoreAssassins
Comments (29)You make some very good points, minibim. We will NEVER turn Florida back into what it was. I'm only hoping we can keep some of it from getting any worse. I'm a 64 year old Florida native and I've never lived anywhere, city or country, that I didn't have green treefrogs around the lights at night. But that doesn't mean every other yard had them. Just that they were always frequent visitors to yards that supplied (intentionally or otherwise) food, shelter, and a bit of water somewhere. The Carolina anoles are making a comeback and are adapting to living with brown anoles in the same habitat. That's a sign of nature "rolling with the punches." Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes we have to help it out a bit. But overall, Florida is being taken over by exotic species, and some of them will never be gotten under control. What it will do long term to the environment is anybody's guess. Probably won't be good, though. I guess my feelings about the CTF stem from the fact that it isn't too late to stop them in some areas. And I just don't understand why everyone wouldn't want to at least TRY. But I've said my piece on this subject over and over, and many people still don't get it. I think, like sterile Mexican petunias, it's an issue that some folks just don't want to hear about. To me, that's sad. Yeah, if we could get rid of every single CTF in the state, which we can't, it would only be a drop in the bucket in the war against exotic species. But it could certainly go a LONG way towards helping to save the green treefrog. Which, btw, is definitely in peril, according to every source I've ever read. Some think they will be extinct within the next decade, certainly at least gone from Florida. ALL our native frogs, across the whole country, are in decline due to environmental reasons, including over-development and pollution. But the CTF is hastening the demise of the green treefrog, and will certainly destroy it long before the environmental issues have been resolved one way or the other. I have always said, everyone will have to make up their own mind concerning what they want to do about these invasive frogs. For my money, it's whackity whack. It helped my green anoles and I think it is the only chance I have of enjoying green treefrogs in my yard again. CTF's belong in their native country and not here. They are not welcome in my yard, but I don't think there is another thing I can say to help people understand this issue. By now, they either get it or they don't. Moving on, here, to other posts on other topics. Marcia...See MorePalmetto Bugs
Comments (106)Wow, a really old post! Yes we moved down here and bought a house in the Palm Aire area, off University Pky. Never had a roach in 9 yrs. I do not use a exterminator, however I've had a few ant invasions. Used Borax and seemed to work quickly. Haven't had any ants in a few years. I have been attacked by fire ants and wound up going to Urgent Care a few times. Now I wear socks and long pants, each time I work in the garden...sweating like a bull! The house we bought is a typical ranch but was owned by a single woman who took good care of it. Very clean and I don't know if she had a pest control service. But we never had a roach. We did have a snake come under our front door which scared the heck out of us, we had rats in the attic which was taken care of by a rodent control service. That was years ago. So far, so good. I hate the summer and regret not being a snowbird. The heat is intolerable and I hate working out in the garden. The Pandemic put a terrible restriction on socializing and attending my orchid groups. Welcome to Sarasota, Valerie. Maybe we could meet for a coffee or wine one day. Jane...See MoreOrganic Lawn Care in Florida???
Comments (7)Okay, just to be clear, does CM stand for corn meal? Are we all talking about ORDINARY ground up corn, the kind you can get at the food store and very similar to the kind you can get at the feed store? Because corn does not break down and wash away. That's what chemical salts do. Ordinary agricultural corn meal in my neighborhood costs me about $6/50-pound bag. That's $2/1000 square feet. Store bought compost delivered in bulk costs me $35/cubic yard plus $40 delivery fee. At a rate of 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet that's $75/1000 square feet. So I can apply ordinary corn meal more than 30 times before I have spent the cost of one application of compost. I will concede that ordinary corn meal is not the highest protein value per $ (not always), but certainly it is an extremely valuable addition to your organic program. My underlying soil (call it sub soil if you have the nerve) is crushed limestone. Below that is solid limestone. Our landscape had been neglected for decades and all the soil that might have supported much turf was washed out. At first we brought in "topsoil" to bring the level up to that of the surrounding concrete walkways and curbs. We nearly broke out backs on the clods in the topsoil. For our next round of surface preparation we bought a sand-compost mix. It was pure white beach sand (from our ancient Texas beaches that are now 50 miles inland) and pig manure (fresh, hot, and very rank smelling). We all know that compost will decompose completely. That was back in 1992. Since then our sandy soil is completely black with humates and byproducts of the organic program started in 2001. In that time I applied compost once before I learned that I could not afford any organic program that relied on compost. Then I discovered ordinary corn meal, corn gluten meal, and other ground grains available to me but maybe not to you in other areas. Since 1965 I've been working on yards in Calif, Ohio, and here in San Antonio. I've never had a yard this easy to keep and that looks even remotely this nice. My California yards were more lush than most I've seen in Texas. Florida yards are unbelievable to anyone who has not seen them. Here we have trouble growing house plants that down in FL are full sized shade trees. So, all that to say that I think sandy soil is excellent. Adding ordinary corn meal will feed the microbes that are already there. ONE application of compost will bring in more microbes that may not already be there. Repeated applications of compost tea is so INexpensive that if you are of the mind to make your OWN, I will not argue. In fact I have posted a website for an acquaintance who put off posting the info on his website. If anything else could be done to improve sandy soil, I would say add clay, but that is a topic with so many paths that is way beyond my ability to track. Clay is not clay is not clay. In my previous life we used a certain type of clay as a heat shield inside jet engines, but not any other type of clay, only the clay mined from a certain mine in Massachusetts (or somewhere). I usually don't get too involved in detailed clay/sand discussions....See MoreA J
7 years agoRodger Wenzlaff
7 years agoA J
7 years agowritersblock (9b/10a)
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7 years agojadegarden2
7 years agoRodger Wenzlaff
7 years agoRodger Wenzlaff
7 years agoLaura F (z9FL)
7 years agoRodger Wenzlaff
7 years ago
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