Hi Jane, That's too bad about your special plant. Here's hoping it recovers. A few years ago, I bought Bonide insecticidal soap to use in the house. Active ingredient was potassium salts of fatty acids. "Ideal for organic gardeners." Milder than what you're talking about. For 3 years now, my plants have been sprayed with Safer's 3-in-1 product - fungicide, insecticide, and miticide, suitable for organic growing. Works for me. Just yesterday, I ordered the 32-oz. concentrate. I use it in the bathroom with the critters shut out. My super-duper awesome ammo, though is 1600 X-Clude. Main ingredient is microencapsulated natural pyrethrum, from chrysanthemums. This year will be the 4th that I've used it. The label says you can use it inside, but a commercial grower who uses it advised against that. The aroma is strong, and I wouldn't use it in the house, even if there weren't critters around. Well, if I could aim fans out the window, close the door, and shove towels underneath. In late summer/early fall, about when you'd be bringing plants inside that have been outside all summer, you spray plants five days apart, 2 sprayings total. Online prices vary wildly, if you decide to check it out. If you go with it, let me know, cuz there are some specific instructions for it to be the most effective. http://www.ghorganics.com/XClude1600.html Here is a link that might be useful: Safer 3-in-1 plant spray

We have had these bugs nesting near our patio in a hanging "chime" for a few years now, that has horizontal metal tubes. They plug up the middle of the tube with grasses and close down the entrance so they can squeeze in- and plug it up completely in the winter. They seem to be a solitary insect- 1 bug per tube entrance- although we do have a few living in this chime. I too have seen them resting on trees- and vertical plants in the garden- and I believe the males are much smaller- shorter, thicker and more bronze/sheen black colored- who knew they were hard to find- maybe I should bottle one up and make a call next time I think I see what I think is a male- they do not appear to live long- I doubt I will see one again this year- although momma can be seen tending the nest early in the cooler morning temps in the hot weather. I believe they live longer than one year- as it sure seems to be the same creature we see every year for the last few years. They are frightening to witness- but we have never had any trouble with these bugs- they generally keep to themselves and have never shown any aggression- and actually seem to prefer privacy and solitude. Bonus that they like grubs! I was concerned they might be harming trees. I hope you can put your concerns to rest soon and maybe even appreciate them for their fearsomely odd appearance-

I have this one and it's pretty good. I'm not wild about the rice krispies and keep thinking I'll replace them with something else, but I haven't figured out what to replace them with. It's still OK with them, but I'm leaning toward replacing them with frosted mini-wheat cereal. Homemade Granola POINTS® Value: 3 Servings: 12 Preparation Time: 10 min Cooking Time: 30 min Level of Difficulty: Moderate Each 1/2-cup serving of this healthy, homemade granola is drastically lower in fat than most store-bought varieties.  3 cup uncooked quick oats  2 oz ready-to-eat crisp rice cereal, about 2 cups  6 Tbsp honey  1 tsp canola oil  1/4 cup apple juice  1/2 tsp ground cinnamon  1/2 tsp ground ginger  1/2 tsp vanilla extract  1/4 cup slivered almonds  1/4 cup dried cranberries  1/4 cup raisins Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix uncooked oats and puffed rice cereal together and spread on a non-stick baking sheet with sides; bake for 10 minutes, stirring once. Meanwhile, mix honey, oil, apple juice, spices and vanilla together in a cup. When oats and puffed rice are done, spoon into a large bowl; set pan aside. Add almonds to cereal mixture and stir to combine. Pour honey-spice mixture over cereal mixture and mix thoroughly to distribute and coat completely; spread mixture back over pan. Return pan to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring every few minutes. Remove from oven and spoon back into bowl. (Note: Be careful that granola doesn't burn - especially cereal along sides of pan.) Stir raisins and cranberries into mixture; let cool. Store in an airtight container. Yields about a half cup per serving. Annie

I have never consciously eaten a bug! Oh no! I do eat shrimp, crabs, and lobster; Wes tells me they are "bugs." No; in my mind they're not! They're "seafood!" I don't eat creepy crawlies! When I lived in Spain there was a little bodega in the ground floor of my apartment complex. They sold wine - offered from three huge (taller than me) wooden barrels - white, rose, and red. No bottles; no fancy names. You brought your own container, from 4 ozs. to five or more gallons, and they filled it for you. They also offered fresh garlic, onions, olive oils, olives, and gigantic lemons - and a huge half-barrel filled with live snails. Huge, live snails. There was a bead of salt along the top of the barrel to keep them inside. The lemons, oils, and garlic were all displayed in smaller half-barrels around the snail barrel. I just couldn't bring myself to try them. Depending on the day, they would sometimes bake fresh bread, too. That was it - three wines, garlic, olive oil, onions, olives, lemons, snails - and rustic bread on whim. It was a wonderful shop and had been in business for decades. I did eat a roasted sheep's eyeball and tongue. I also tried, and really liked, a tapas dish of tiny whole octopi cooked in their ink and garlic. This post was edited by caroline on Sun, Nov 2, 14 at 15:04