[BlueTie]

I built my house about 5 years ago in a subdivision. First year on the back deck at noon there were a handful of bees buzzing around and at dust I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos.

After 5 years of watching my neighbors spray for mosquitos in their lawn, and anti-grub stuff, synthetic fertilizer all spring and summer -> they're all basically gone.

When you think about all the forests getting knocked down to build new houses not just in the US - but even more so in rapidly growing 3rd world countries...it makes sense.

[twiddling]

Yeah, when we bought our house , we stopped the maintenance of the backyard with chemicals that the previous owner did. Planted more native shrubs and trees and now eight years later we have got a pretty vibrant patch, with lots of birds feeding on the bugs.

Of course this has put me in conflict with my neighbors who make snide comments about a poorly maintained yard... sigh

[40four]

I agree with you all’s sentiment. But, I wish it was a simple as letting things get ‘back to nature’ but it’s not unfortunately. I live in a rental, halfway through our second year lease.

We have a really large, fantastic yard. It is landscaped nicely with mostly ’native’ plants. Rhododendron, azaleas, among others. Also full of large, old growth trees. Many probably 150-200 years old according to the arborist who came out and surveyed recently.

Due to the large tree canopies in the neighborhood, we have an unbelievable bird population. Numerous small birds special, huge seasonal flocking birds passing through, hawks, even a couple resident owls. Huge amounts of squirrels and small mammals.

Unfortunately, we still have a horrible mosquito problem in the summertime. It’s really almost unbearable. I strongly considered having the yard sprayed last year, but resisted the temptation.

[harryh]

Total land devoted to forrest in the US has been basically stable since the early 1900s and has actually increased a bit in the last 20 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reforestation#United_States