We had a lot here near Chicago too. They seem to be very flexible in what they will eat. Previous years they totally destroyed our whole stand of cannas, but didn't touch them this year. We have them in large numbers on the raspberries every year, but the other plants vary. They also hit the pole beans, blueberries, cuphea, 4 o clocks, and rhubarb. I had heard four o clocks and rhubarb were toxic but apparently not. We went out several times a day with buckets of soapy water and got as many as we could find. I heard milky spore doesn't do much unless you can apply it to a very large area. Here I think they would just fly in from all the neighbors yards.

Thanks for the info. @windowsonwashington - for foaming the weight box, do I just need to fill the hole to access the weight box, or pull the entire channel piece of wood out and fill the entire section with foam or insulation? So my question is, am I ensuring that openings are closed for a draft or fill the entire void? My thought is the void just needs to be sealed, not filled as a void of air as long as it's filled should help insulate. @Fenestration_Taylor - In your experience what is the markup for the ThermoPlus? Also, no I am leaning back toward sash kits because the local Kolbe rep said he would come out and help do the measurements to ensure they are done right and precise. I am not afraid of doing a little planing and trimming especially since the frames are in good shape and it's all wood. The problem was the last house was all Granite all the way around the window so if you measured on the large side and had to cheat in, there's only so far you could go.

The SNA a two hour drive from my place and It's still on my to do list. Spring is the recommended time to visit there. Guessing the bugs get bad by summer. Let me know if you're in the area. We lose many pine trees from insects, the pine bark beetle for one, this seems to be aggravated by dry seasons we have regularly during the summer season which puts the trees under stress which the beetles like. This is a picture of some Pinus strobus at a city park outside of town. You can see the sickly crown needles at the top, possibly pine bud worm. It doesn't always kill the tree outright but can. Once the tree is dead, it usually rots about half way up first, then snaps off in a wind. These trees are on the way out. From what I know from their history, they are over 100 years old, possibly 150.

I have never dealt with rust before, either ... battled plenty of other things with my two Queen Elizabeths, but 'Miracle on the Hudson' has until this year been absolutely, totally, reliably pest and disease free, aside from the usual (though not particularly numerous) Japanese beetles in July. I expect those. But I have never, ever seen anything like this on a rose. More importantly, when I cut back a few stems today, I encountered "mushy brown pith" all the way to the ground... on every single stem. This rose was wrapped in burlap and mulched for the winter (my usual procedure up here in north-central Connecticut) but of course we had a super strange winter with zero snowpack, bitter cold in February, record warmth in April and again last week, but otherwise a cold, raw, wet spring... except for the stints of sweltering summer temps. Poor plants, they are inside out and upside down. So I don't know what's happened to this beauty but I am going to pull it out and start over ... hoping I can find another one. Here it is in its glory last year... My heartfelt thanks to all of you who replied!