interesting sandy. i knew the vit k treatment but i didn't realize it was heparin! which leads me to my mystery, though i never would use poison bait. it is all this talk of rats and mice. someone is trying to move into my romeo's sleeping box in the shed. but my reason for posting is quite hilarious- he went to investigate why my 15 some pound bag of composted manure was moving. i am standing at the back door and hear "SQUEEK!" i wish i saw it, but alas i had only my tshirt and undies on and it was still daylight. hey, i work midnights, ok? :) i had a mental picture of it jumping in the air and squeaking at the same time. the big oaf ran out of the shed, belly to the ground, and wanted back in the house. that surprised me. my old man at romeo's age would have had his whiskers twitching in anticipation. so, my mystery continues....though maybe in the process we have discouraged our visitor. i also took the top off his sleeping box to make it less inviting. i have found no rear projectiles. i am also considering leaving the feeders empty for awhile. i would hate to do that. just sharing a story. i didn't want to start a thread just for it. it almost applies.

I, too, read about the black sunflower seed's shells being allelopathic and inhibiting the growth and health of plants surrounded by them. After years of considering the shells to be good mulch, I got out there and raked most of them out and moved the feeders. I was amazed to see the difference in that bed in the next season - better growth, bloom and general green-ness on the mock-orange shrub, the hostas and the spring perennials. I'd tend to side with not hanging a bird feeder over a planted bed full of things I love (not a feeder filled with black sunflower seed anyway!)

I would suggest looking at your lease agreement carefully... I've been in the property management business for a fair few years, and many of the leases I have seen include stipulations (usually in the section titled "Use") regarding interference with the quiet enjoyment of other residents, occupants, or guests. If something along these lines exists in your agreement, then your neighbors are in violation of theirs. Bring this to the attention of your property manager, and that should get something going. I can't imagine that they wouldn't be aware of the terms and conditions of their own lease agreements, but it could come down to plain and simple incompetence or apathy on their part. In that case, as was said before, look for housing elsewhere.

LOL..... Women.... you never catch on.... But that's good. Didn't you watch Everybody Loves Raymond when Robert was supposed to make the wedding invitations? Chemocurl, that's true, but they also say "A woman's work is never done... since the invention of the TV!" ;) Now go fetch yer men a beer, bring their pipe and slippers and give him a nice back rub. To quote some great men: Women.... can't live with 'em. Pass the beer nuts. - Norm Peterson Women.... can't live with 'em, can't stuff 'em in a sack! - Larry (of Larry, Darrel & Darrel) Oh, this could get interesting! ANYWAY, I was going to just put up an eye hook (ask your menfolk what they are if you don't know, ladies... hehe) and put a rope through it. Simple and effective pulley system. And BTW, guys NEED $30k pickups to carry home 500 pairs of shoes for whom??? Maybe we should use the same argument: We need a BLACK pickup, and an EBONY pickup and an ONYX pickup... After all, you can't drive the white pickup after September...