I had the same problem as you guys. I tried Ammonia, Cages, Everything. After giving it lots of chances 12 months...I had to get rid of the nest (and babies). The mother hasnt been back since, although she did spend several days staring at me from the fence. Not a pretty solution but i didnt fancy the poison route. A quick death seemed the best for the young, much better than a slow painful death. Afterwards make sure you Block any AND all holes with rolled up chicken wire. Sorry to all you animal lovers out there. ... View related article.
It does look like a Hosta to me. Did you know that its also Prince Charle's favourite plant. There are supposed to be over 3000 varieties (source Wikipedia, seems a lot to me.) so thats as far as I can go with helping you out. They are loved by snails and slugs though so be careful if they are a problem in your area. ... View related article.
havent tried this but i believe that that putting a small marble (round glass bead) in the kettle (leaving it in all the time) will remove limescale from the inside by basically chipping away at it whilst is boiling. Several people have sworn to me that it works but my wife still uses the commercial de-scalers. ... View related article.
