Starlings: Alright, the general concensus is that the best way to get rid of starlings is to shoot them. I have no objection to doing so, however I don’t have a good place to put the feeder that will allow me a shot without a house or street behind it. Admittedly both houses and road are 50 to 100 feet (or more depending on which way and angle) from where I’d be shooting, but still. Best compromise I can come up with is to move the feeder to a place that’ll put the shot away from the houses, and it would have to go through a couple bushes and trees to get to the road. The pellet gun we have would go through all that and still go through a car window if I timed the shot badly. What is the lowest speed/size/etc air rifle (BB or pellet) that will do enough damage to the starlings to make it worthwhile? (Ok, I’ll admit I could move the feeder to the back of the house and shoot off into no-mans land, but then I can’t SEE the feeder from in the house. We tried that last year, took all the fun out of it, there’s no good way to watch the feeders in the back from inside the house (yes, thats a failing of the house, one we’d like to eventually fix…..))
Seed starting: Last year I had surprisingly good luck with my attempt at seed starting. I didn’t get much off the plants, but I think that was a weather issue and my inexperience more than anything else. So, this year I’d like to do a bit more. I’m looking at setting up a proper seed starting tray, with lights, so I can start more seeds and hopefully have them a bit more mature when its time to put them out. Question: do I NEED a heating mat? What about anything else equipment wise? What do you consider essential to seed starting?