Brendan Had damage from Wilma so last year I "loosened "it up rather than tightened.lol Took everything off the roof except 4 inch vinyl lattice. Going to use vines for shade come summer. The first time I used Zebra finches ,second time orange cheek waxbills.. These didn't work at all for several reasons besides being killed by rats lol The runaway best has been Honeycreepers. No mess of seed eaters and since I water every third day liquid droppings are no problem. They are voracious insect eaters main problem with keeping them in cages.. One small problem they ate EVERY insect so had to supply pinhead crickets. Again no problem as I keep Anoles ,geckoes and two skinks. They ate all the lady bugs as well as the mantis which is why if I try it again thought I'd go up to those tropical GIANTS lol. It's kind of fun to try to get it balanced out but I fear impossible in susch a small area. Warning for those thinking of using Anoles.lol Given good conditions your pair will turn into hundreds lol. Besides what happens when you run out of bugs?? They will starve. I let them come and go as they choose as they are quite common here in florida so if they run out of food they just go outside. Now that the roof is open again I'm attracting wild birds. Which solves some problems creates others. lol Of couse this means I can't keep domestic birds I'm going to try the honeycreepers again not so much for the bug eating but because two clutches would pay for the entire remake of the shadehouse And also they are my favorite bird. Nothing more beautiful than a male in full color. Wilma almost wiped out my bird collection and was thinking of giving them up. except in the dedicated aviary. There are soooooo many problems with keeping birds and I'm getting old lol I added some California and button quail to the aviary as a method of weed control. Too soon for results but they are delightful to watch and they do clean up the floor. Rats and snakes are just minor problems in aviculture unfortuneately . If your thinking of using finches for bug control I could make some suggestions or at leat tell you which ones to avoid lol gary

Hi, I think you may want to wear dark colored long sleeve shirts and long pants when you work on your garden. A bee once sat on my bag that has a yellow flower drawing. And when I went to picnic with my yellow shirts on, a bee followed me around.. I'm scared of certain bugs that harms me if I get bitten. Although seeing giant bugs still gives me goosebumps, it's manageable now. Let me explain the reasons why I kind of got over the fear. I had to live in an old house that has mouses, roaches, ants, mosquitoes, etc.. Next room that I moved in was an old wood craft building. I cleaned up the place and applied the drugs to remove them. But, then entire place was wood=food for termites and warm weather didn't help the situation. So, by the time I moved out of that place, I become numbed by the frequencies of their appearance. I guess when you have no choice but to face with your fear everyday basis, you learn how to get around it, live with it, and survive. I hope this would be helpful to anyone who reads it. However, I don't recommamd you to force yourself too much because I don't want you to be traumatized. This is not a race. You can deal with it at your own comfortable pace.

Sure looks like a Sri Lanka Weevil : Little Leaf Notcher Weevil - Myllocerus undecimpustulatus This species is very similar to the common, native, broad-nosed weevils (Artipus floridanus) found in Florida, but has been imported from Sri-Lanka. It feeds on a wide variety of host plants and has become quite established in the southern half of the state. There is a great article and a key at The Florida Dept. of Agriculture website, and also a leaflet on pest potential. Haven't seen any in Charlotte County yet ! TBTG ! This post was edited by jofus on Sun, Jun 29, 14 at 14:08

If you just now starting to notice these beetles, they probably are just starting to emerge from the soil to begin their mating season. It's pointless to check for grubs now because they probably haven't even laid the eggs, yet. If they have laid them, they haven't hatched, yet. If you see more then a handful of them flying around (maybe smacking into your homes siding, even) it's a good bet that your lawn will be infested. A single Green June Beetle female can lay up 65-75 eggs in a two week period. The eggs hatch in about 18-20 days. If you wait until about the first or second week in August to apply a Dylox treatment, you will get good control. Dylox only lasts about 48 hours before it loses effectiveness, so you definitely want to wait until after they have hatched, You should be fine applying Dylox when you seed in the fall. However, that's a general statement... and it will depend on the specific product that you are using. Last year, I applied Bayer Advanced 24 hour grub killer (w/ Dylox) around the time I seeded and there was no impact on the germination or development of the Turf Type Tall Fescue. I will caution you- Dylox is really the nuclear option. It's one of the more dangerous lawn chemicals, IMO. You don't want to let your children or pets near the stuff. For my dog, last year I didnt let her renter the backyard for about 1 week after the treatment because there were thousands of dead grubs on the surface. I was afraid she would eat the grubs and ingest the chemical. I am typically the type of lawn care nut who tries to go 100% organic/natural in my backyard due to my dog (and future baby... only a few months away!) However, sometimes you have to use what tools are available or make the choice between the lesser of two evils. For me, grub preventer (e.g. grubEx) in my backyard is more of a problem than grub cure (e.g. Dylox). GrubEx and other preventers purpose is to sit there in the soil for several months, active.... just waiting for my dog to dig a hole to bury a toy or bone that she will later dig back up and eat, ingesting the chemical. Dylox, on the other hand, will break down in a couple of days. Thankfully, I haven't seen a single GJB this year. Last year, I had a biblical plague of those buggers. My approach is to play it by ear. But if I only see a couple of them, I'm not going to sweat it and will likely skip Dylox.