formica, thanks for your nice and informative response. it made me realize i probably don't have the time for this :/
hannibalcanibal, same to you...i think.

you are right though, i guess as long as everything is good, plants might be overkill and cause problems if not taken care of meticulously (being 3rd shift = not a ton of free time)
and to you aaron s. thanks for your advice though it was a bit harsh. or at least i took it that way. idk, maybe you were just being silly. i hope this is the case. i didn't build a termite mound b/c mellik told me they didn't like termites...they party and drink too much. :P