I hate to go there, I'm going one more organic year with plants in the ground. Bugs or soil, one is as bad as the other. I hosed them off pretty good drowning them. I wonder what those little white things they carry in their mouths are? I think they are eggs and they are all over my plants. I hosed them twice. If they can't burrow into the plants, I'll just treat it by drowning. I didn't know ants ate aphids. I don't see those as often as other bugs.

I'd guess rabbits too. They keep digging in my garden this year. I had doubts at first it was bunnies b/c the very tiny lettuce starts in the be were all intact but in a later incident, they made more of a bunny shaped hole and they are the most prolific creatures out here. They've dug in mine 4 or 5 times. They wait a couple weeks then find some more newly sprouted beans to dig in. Soon, I think everything will be big enough to handle them. Here is a link that might be useful: Tales of a Transplanted Gardener

Robins are birds that I enjoy viewing, but not as they try to build nests under our porch lights which are on both sides of an area right by our front entrance door. For three days my husband has removed the straw, twigs, etc in order to prevent a completed robin's nest. They put the straw, twigs, etc. up, he takes them down immediately. Today after reading these posts, I sprayed the area with ant and roach spray that I use when the ants try to visit too close to our outside walkway. Two robins just came with straw in their mouths, but they flew away. I hope this is a long-term solution. This is the first time that we have had this problem in the nineteen years that we have lived here. I am already tired of the mess on our porch and the potential health hazard presented if the robins succeed in building a permanent nest. We have plenty of trees that the birds usually choose for their nests and are still quite welcome to do so. However, why our porch this year is a puzzle. Thanks to all who have posted for their solutions. To the haters, because one does not want a bird's nest in an area that he/she frequently uses in his/her home, does not label the person as an animal hater. Why should my quality of life be compromised daily upon trying to enter my home for the sake of a bird's nest? The answer is that it shouldn't and will not. We will win this fight and reclaim our safety and keep our good health.

Nice idea, but I too could see it being left open and someone falling in our house, or better yet the cat curling up in it for his nap, (which would be more dangerous for the person that stepped on him!) LOL! We did in our current small basement/playroom what che1sa posted. We turned it into a media/tv center for the kids, low to the ground so that the tv would not fall. We also put in pull out shelves for the dvd's, videos, games etc. I got the idea from something similar I saw in Southern Living mag. years ago. Ideamom are you building now or maybe your finished already?