Small Pest Deterrence

[bula]

Found some Ortho ant/spider/roach spray from last year and did a swatch around the buildings and doorways and such, last week. This week got some Vets Best choice all natural , a tree hugged with every purchase stuff, for fleas and ticks. Just put an application of that down, around house and patio, garage. Then wired the end of an old tube sock to hang in front of the box fan in the garage, and gave it a good spray of a flea/tick/skeeter natural repellant, to waft around where wanted. Being as I live smack in the middle of the snow belt..gotta wonder what you guys have to deal with, or just get used to ? Rice loads in 44spec, mag and 480 are ready and waiting for the wasps and bigger hornets.. I've dealt with skeeters in the Assateaque, and Tampa Bay salt marshes and the short life span desperate ones at altitude in the Wind River range, so I know it gets WORSE.. 

[bigbrowndog]

Seems with the heat here in Central Texas skeeters aren’t a problem until early or late in the day. Which are the times you want to sit out or be out, the wind or breeze helps also. Ticks are not really an issue unless I’m crawling through brush, and much of the brush is what we call Cedar and supposedly it’s a natural flea and ticks repellent. I normally pick up fleas when dealing with feral hogs, so try really hard to use Permethrin doused clothes during those activities. Chiggers are our biggest personal pest, again Permethrin or DEET dousing helps. Scorpions can be a pain, in that they come in the house and can be inadvertently found in your shoes. Happened to me twice, which lead me to bouncing shoes and boots before putting them on, also spraying the perimeter of the house exterior with Demon. Our inside cat does a fine job of finding and either killing or bringing them to our attention when they do find their way inside, lately our biggest safety issue is the Copperheads, I do not recall ever having to deal with them in the past here in Central Texas, but lately they have become common. The live oak leaves make very good camouflage for their skin pattern, so whenever I’m walking or crawling around I’m looking very carefully.

Trapr

[richp]

My cousin and her husband have really had a problem with the copperheads here in Comanche county this year. A niece of there,s was bitten on the ankle, only one fang penetrated. They must have a den nearby as he posted a picture on facebook of three together, he dispatched them shortly after the picture was taken.

[bula]

Copperheads a concern of mine. Maps of their range fall short to the south of me, but those maps lag way behind.. Ticks and feral hogs and other nasties are spreading faster than "studies" can document. Hope the 2 big black snakes here eat the 1st ones that make it here, if not I'll whack'em. 

[x101airborne]

Here at the Gonzales Ranch, we have a concrete cistern in the yard. Years ago, I found a hole dug under it and decided to get a piece of water hose and dump about 2 cups of gasoline in it. Nothing came out. Later that evening I walked out and shot 24 copperheads. The next night, 22. The third night, 18. I have been bit but did not receive antivenom. 7000 dollar hospital bill for sitting me on a couch in the waiting room having all the new nurses escorted by and told "This is what a snake bite looks like.". I went home 4 hours later and had a swollen foot for 4 days. Peeved me off since I could have bought a ton of bourbon for 7 grand for no more help than I got at the hospital.

[bigbore5]

May 28, 2022 15:15:58 GMT -5 x101airborne said:

Here at the Gonzales Ranch, we have a concrete cistern in the yard. Years ago, I found a hole dug under it and decided to get a piece of water hose and dump about 2 cups of gasoline in it. Nothing came out. Later that evening I walked out and shot 24 copperheads. The next night, 22. The third night, 18. I have been bit but did not receive antivenom. 7000 dollar hospital bill for sitting me on a couch in the waiting room having all the new nurses escorted by and told "This is what a snake bite looks like.". I went home 4 hours later and had a swollen foot for 4 days. Peeved me off since I could have bought a ton of bourbon for 7 grand for no more help than I got at the hospital.

Sounds like the hospital gave a bigger bite than the snake. At any rate 64 snakes in three days is pretty serious.

[bula]

Hospitals..Years ago the wife took me to an ER. My back had gone out. She helped me in, an hour on a bench. Then was escorted, no contact, to a gurney. A difficult climb up and on. Laid there for another hour. Rolled off and left. A nurse caught us in the parking lot with a clip board and wanted me to sign papers. NOPE. Told her I received NO care, never saw a doctor. didn't get a shot, nada, nope. Bye ! Grrrr !

[greenchile]

When you shoot a box of shells THREE nights in a row...that's a lot of snakes.

[edk]

ER story: cut my ear pretty good and did need several stitches. In and out in 1-1/2 or 2 hours. Bill was just under $10K.
Line item: $150 for "self-administered medication". This was apart from the pharmacy fee and nurse charge for same. Hospital billing explained it as charging me for my labor!

We use Bifenthrin for mosquitos and hornets/wasps. It is easy to use and it seems pretty effective.

[bula]

Yeah , that's a big scary pile of snakes ! Think I saw the movie..! LOL. I'm a snake friendly guy, but there is a limit. Also, not cool with having the poisonous types near homes, children, pets. 

[x101airborne]

I dont kill venomous snakes in the bushes. All they ever want is to get away from me, so I let them. I do wear snake proof boots as a precaution. In my yard is a different story. When I got done after those three nights of shooting snakes it looked like mice had a miniature artillery fight from all the holes in the yard. LOL.

When my Mom and Dad bought the 77 acres down on the coast, Dad had a contract guy come in with a tractor and shredder (bush hog) and mow the entire place down. It had LOTS of over grown grass and weeds. You could sit on the porch afterward and not only watch the buzzards and hawks feast on the dead rattlesnakes, you could watch the survivors crawl across the yard trying to make it to tall grass again. I think we killed around 14 over 3 days. I didn't really keep a close count but it was enough dead that I had to take the shotgun hulls home and reload them.

[jeffh]

Biggest problem I have is carpenter bees and yellow jackets.

The carpenter bees seem to be able to dodge CCI 22 LR shotshells out of a Ruger Bearcat, so I tried instant grits in a 44 case. Still seem to be able to dodge the payload. Problem is - once they realize you're out to get them, THEY'RE out to get YOU. A badminton racket will stun them, if you catch them off guard, but then you have to find them in the grass and stomp them into a grease-stain or they'll get back up and come after you. Had one chase me all over two acres one day.

A girl at work put me onto Delta Dust, by Bayer, and you puff it into the holes they bore into your wood - even TREATED wood. They'll eventually fall out and crawl around and you still have to stomp them. Trouble is, it doesn't get cool enough at nights to get near the holes, once it gets warm enough that they're out in force.

[iwsbull]

Good news on the carpenter bees is the male can’t sting only bluff and the female is in the nest most all the time ( females have a solid black face males have a stripe of color). Temprid spells death to them but be careful with the application as it can also wipe out a hive of honey bees if they forage in an area contaminated with it. Dust and plug the holes is the best way as you also kill the young as they hatch and emerge. The dust is also very good yellow jacket nest.