I think we found a pen-pal. Thanks!

I'm not sure if you are still in need of a penpal for your daughter, but I just sent you a PM.

Hi, My oldest daughter would LOVE to have a pen-pal. She's turning 12 this July and she loves to write. Whether it's stories or letters, writing is one of her favorite things to do. She also enjoys singing and she sings in the church choir. We live in out in the country in south-central PA. She is the oldest of 8 brothers and sisters. E-mail me if you have a daughter (of similar age) who would like a pen-pal, too. (BTW: We are Catholic.~I know that can make a difference to some people.) Thanks.

Thanks savmom, Spelling City looks like it could be a bid help!

Thanks again for all the good ideas and information! You have all been a wonderful help. I think I'm going to use the Dolch and Fry list that Jenn1129 mentioned. That way I can taylor it to my son's needs. I must figure out what he really knows and what works best for him. His spelling is on all levels and I fear that one particular program may be too hard or too easy for him. So this way I can work with him and meet him on his ability level. Hopefully then I will have a better idea of what grade level and style of learning to get for him. Thanks again to Jenifer and everyone!

Thanks everyone for all the ideas. AAS is a very good program, but I was hoping for something a little less time consuming. I can barely get a day's worth of work done for all the kids as it is now. I was hoping to not add to much more work/time into the day. Can someone tell me more about Spelling Workout?

My 8 year old son can read very well, but his spelling is terrible!!!! I looking for a phonics based spelling program for him that is workbook style. Can anyone recommend one? Thanks.

I can tell you that "Sunbeam" is NOT GOOD!!! I had two of them the first broke in 7 months and the second in three weeks!! My sister also had problems with hers. So I'm looking for a good quality bread maker to buy, too!

Thanks for all your help. We are still looking for someone to help us remove the bees, and we are not having any luck. This whole experience has me thinking about starting up beekeeping. So for future reference: Do you know a good/cheap place to buy beekeeping supplies? Do you know any good books or DVDs we can buy? Thanks again!

Hi, The bug is a saw-tooth grain beetle. They are over in my cupboard as well as many other areas of the house. We just bought the house and I'm was shocked at the mess left by the former owners, which has led to this bugs infestation! As for how much to use: It said on-line to spray the cracks of all the cupboards, and it didn't say anything about diluting it. So I guess I would have to try it to see if it works. But if I need to stray all the cracks it would take a large amount to cover it all. I did see the distillers on-line and also on ebay. Yes they are pricey, but I had heard that it can be done with two pots, a hose and some ice. I was just wondering how that works. But if it takes that much to get a gallon it may not be worth the trouble! Thanks for all the suggestions.

Thanks for your input. You feel the price is inexpensive, well, perhaps when comparing the two sizes it is, but I just don't have $100 to spend right now on the cedar oil. Also, I'm sure you can make cedar oil at home. In the process of looking for the information on how to make cedar oil I discovered that the American Indians made cedar oil to rub on themselves to kill ticks and mosquitos. So if the wonderful native American Indians could make cedar oil I'm sure there is a way I can. All I need is the know-how!

We have these tiny little bugs in our kitchen cupboards, I wanted to try to get rid of them, but I didn't want to use chemicals. I've been reading that cedar oil should do it, but cedar oil is very pricey at $100 a gallon!!! Since we have lots of cedar trees in the woods next to our house. I wanted to see if I could make my own cedar oil. Can anyone tell me how to make a homemade distiller? Or does anyone have any other pointers on cedar oil (making it or otherwise)? Thanks!

Thanks for the information. This whole thing has been one HUGE learning experience!! If we decide to do this ourselves, do you have any good helpful pointers on removing the bees and saving them for ourselves? I really don't know a thing about bees! Also, are honey bees the only bees that swarm? Thanks for any info.

Thanks for the information. You had my hopes up that we could find the bees a new home for only $100. But that price quote was for "swarm removal". Our problem is called a "colony extraction". A colony extraction starts at $300 and price increases from there depending on travel, time, and difficulty of the job. I think if I was going to pay someone $300+ to remove them I'd rather pay a little extra and buy all the equipment and do it myself. That way I could start my own hive for the honey. Thanks again for the information, it will help us decide what will work best for us (and the bees).

Thanks for your thoughts. I also thought finding someone to take/remove the bees would be easy, but all the bee keepers I talked to said no one wants to do it anymore due to the fear of lawsuits! That's so sad!

Thanks for your thoughts. We also checked into that option, but we just don't have the equipment, money, and knowledge to do it. The hives cost about $200 and removing wood siding from a second story window would take a lot of work, which would upset the bee quite a bit. (sounds painful!) Smoking them out would be nice, but it would be hard to smoke them the entire time we are trying to remove all the siding, especially since we don't have a smoker. While I LOVE THE IDEA, it would end-up costing us up to $500 (total~including the hive) just to buy the equipment we would need to do it safely. We just can't pay for that right now. That's why we were hoping to remove them in the winter while it's too cold for them to fight back, but it sounds as if that's not safe for them. Thanks for the thought, I really wish we could do it!

Thanks for all your help and information. I will continue to search for a safe, bee friendly solution, but if none are found by January the bees will just have to go. Thanks again.

Thanks! We did try some of your ideas you listed above. I wanted to try to save them since we keep hearing about the bee shortage, but I'm beginning to think we won't be able to save them. We just can't seem to find a way to move them without hurting the bees. But I'll keep trying for now. Thanks again!

We bought our house last fall (late Sept.). We didn't notice them till this spring. So I'm not quite sure when they came. But we did see a swarm in May. That was after we found the bees going into the hole. There is a cavity under the window. It would be large enough to fit a 10 to 20 gallon tank. It is covered with wood siding and the siding has a quarter size hole in it. We need to replace the window. So one way or the other the bees need moved out. Thanks again for any information.

Hi, We have honey bees living in the very large cavity under our bay window. We called every local bee keeper in our area, but none would help remove the bees, so we were hoping to move them out during the cold winter months. Can this be done? Also, is their a way to move them and use them for honey? Any ideas or information is wonderful. Thanks!

Oh, sorry :blushing: I mean the machine/tractor. :driving: Its brand name is "bobcat". I didn't mean the animal. http://www.bobcat.com/ Although, if my brother had a real bobcat that would be interesting!! I would just hope that they can help get rid of ticks, too!!! :lol: Oh, and thanks for the bat idea.

Thanks everyone for your ideas! My brother was over today with his bobcat and was moving around some piles of ground for us. He plans to help us by dig up around the edge of the woods and clean out the brush. I think a boundary (Gravel and/or chemical) is a good idea and I'll see what he can help us with. I think some type of bug repellent would be really good for the kids. And I'm ordering those Guineas!! Thanks again! All your ideas have been very helpful! And I welcome anymore ideas anyone may have. Thanks!

I have heard of Skin So Soft. But I don't know anything about it. Do you have any idea why it would detract ticks? And where is a good place to buy some? Thanks so much!

Oh, never mind. I see they only send them June through Septmber. Thanks again!:001_smile:

We basicly live in a woods. It's cleaner around the house, but past our "yard" the woods gets very over grown. We plan to try and clean it up and cut all the over grown brush down, but things take time. I know we will always have some ticks, but I just want to get them more under control. Thanks for your wonderful idea.