Got mosquitoes eh?

PBMAX · May 7, 2000

Ya'll think the critters are gonna be fun for you.Here in central Alabam we didn't even get a good frost this winter.The critters are already at in a big way even with the temps rising early (high today was sapposed to be 87) AAAH!! Well maybe this year I will invest in "repelant companies" can only stand to make a few $/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Lil' Paul

TomG · May 8, 2000

Bigfinn: Not many ticks around here. At least one bug that we're short on. I've never seen one on me or the dogs in the three years I've been here. My wife grew up nearby.

Last summer a neighbour a said that a cow moose was hit on the highway and was infested with ticks. Maybe people who keep livestock see more ticks.

Mryan · May 8, 2000

Here in SE Massachusetts, we get our share of airborne pests as well. It starts in early april with herring flies (probobly a variant of the black fly. We call them herring flies I suppose because they arrive with the spawning herring). Then the mosquitos, some of which could carry a small animal away. We also get tons of deer flies and horse flies. But the real fun comes from the the horse flies on steroids. I'm not kidding when I say they get to be almost 2 inches long. When they bite, they take a BIG chunk of flesh away. I once whacked one with a shoe, and it still managed to fly away. It seems that we are never lacking for annoying insects. And the bastards have the whole day covered....Mosquitos early morning and late evening, horse and deer flies during the hot part of the day.

The wonderful state of Taxachusetts will come and spray for mosquitos, but you have to call and ask each week. They come weekly and spray plus at certain times they will put pellets in standing water. It is beautiful for a day or two after they spray. God, I hate bugs!!

Mike.

GaryK · May 8, 2000

Here in Pamlico County, NC we have named them the county bird. Usually aren't too bad until later in summer but we have a whole bunch left over from all the hurricanes last year. Bunch of'm carried my dog off last night. My wife has to use one of those bug suits to work in her gardens. Can't wait for the yellow flies to come out!

Bird · May 8, 2000

Hey, at least you've got someone else that will come and spray./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif The only way it'll get done around here is if I do it./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif So, it's a continuous battle with the fire ants, red wasps, yellow jackets, mud daubers, mosquitos, and spiders. And I'm sure I like them about as much as you do./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

MChalkley · May 8, 2000

Yeah, I got attacked by 5 or 6 wasps this morning. They had built a nest in the loader tube. I used it last Thursday and this morning it's got a wasp nest in it. The battle has begun...

Mark

Bird · May 8, 2000

It's that time of year again. The only reason I didn't crank up the spray rig today was the 20-30mph wind.

Bird

Muhammad · May 8, 2000

Can't be as bad as a pack of carpenter bees on all four sides of my house, can it?? Well, they are on 6 walls, to give you an idea. They can't pick from any of the, oh, couple thousand acres of woods around here, or the old shed, or even the barn… but rather find the only coated log house around?

Problem is they are about 20' in the air, munching up near the roof, so I can't get close enough to many of them... So far, I got one of about a hundred, and that one came down to earth. <<munchmunch>> They are just too fast! Last year I got some early in the morning while they were in their holes, though!

Good luck,

MChalkley · May 8, 2000

Yeah, I guess you've got me beat on that one. We've had them here, too, but we just last fall had all the exterior wood repainted and that slows them down for a year or two. Pity there isn't a 3-point bee exterminator...

Mark

Muhammad · May 8, 2000

Well I figure some device with a long, flexible hose with a big mouth opening on it to suck the little buggers up would do. As for exterior being wood, that's all is is... 'log as can bee' (hyuck hyuck) but stained and sealed pretty heavily. They aren't supposed to like the sealed wood, but like I said they picked it over thousands of trees within a 2-3 second flight by bee. Maybe they have a thing with causing damage to things that cost money to fix... a tree doesn't get billed to have its trim board replaced does it? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

MChalkley · May 8, 2000

I'll bet a PTO would power a monster vacuum cleaner. Reminds me of a B.C. cartoon where a sentry ant is standing on top of the ant hill and spots an anteater coming and yells "Alert! Alert! The 'sucking death' approacheth!"

Mark

Muhammad · May 8, 2000

I'm getting some ideas - I think the opening would need to be about 4' wide since the carpenter bees fly so quickly, in a fashion similar to humming birds. For uses like mine, the 'hose' would need to have a reaching arm/extension wand to get in hard to reach areas. Suction would have to be +200mph (Preferably +500mph though) so you could get more than one at a time, and also without too much 'chasing'.

Also, it should have a 'wide mouth' attachment to reverse as both a leaf blower and a leaf vac in the fall. It would need a large capacity trash bag (+15 bushels) for the bee_or_um_leaf clippings, with hydraulic dump, of course. And last but not least, a built-in camera with fender-mounted monitor so we can check progress (oh also hydraulic control of the bee-vac extension wand so we can stay cool in the cab on the hot days). BTW, we don't want to pay more than a few hundred (max of $1,000) for this simple device. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

So who wants to make it?

MChalkley · May 8, 2000

Sounds very reasonable, Muhammad. Certainly no one would consider your requirements any more rediculous than mine generally are when I visit my dealer. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Mark

Alan L. · May 8, 2000

The skeeters down here in Texas are so big we have to haul off the dead ones in our front end loaders.

MChalkley · May 9, 2000

The ones around here are the reason I've tweaked the Cummins in my Dodge up to over 800 ft-lbs of torque - we just have to wrap a 3/8" grade 80 chain around 'em and drag 'em off. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Mark

TomG · May 9, 2000

Local trick. WD40 spray works real well to clear out wasps. They don't even squeak when you sweep them up.

MarkV · May 9, 2000

Know what you mean Muhammad. We are building and the bees are taking it down as fast as I can put it up. Ours is cedar with a stain that has a bee repellent added. Doesn't work. Got me again.

Mryan · May 10, 2000

The spraying doesn't touch the horseflies though, especially the monsters. If I could invent a giant horsefly call, I'd set up a blind and try a 12 gauge. They're big and don't move nearly as fast as a duck. Could be fun, too./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Mike.

Mryan · May 10, 2000

Make sure you include a shreader, or something. Wouldn't want to empth the bag full of LIVE bees. Much better to have only bee pieces./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif If they weren't on the house I'd suggest a flame thrower. Did I mention that I HATE bugs??/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Mike

Bird · May 10, 2000

Yeah, we all love the bugs./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif I sprayed all around the house this morning, inside and outside the shop, and in the barn; that is, after I fixed the pump that was seized up from not being used since last summer, and then worked on the carburetor on the pump motor./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Red wasps were already building nests under the eaves of the house and in the barn. And I stirred up a little snake overhead in the barn, but he got away too quick for me to get a good enough look to identify him. We've been here over 5 years and that's the first snake I've seen on our property, and I like that about as much as I like bugs./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird