Hear that Mosquitos!!?
Blood Wars
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New Pest Repellant to be tested at Jungle Heights
That's a great article, Randy!! We have 2 pecan trees, so of course we have squirrels, too. They empty my bird feeder much faster than the birds do. grrr... If you find an ACME product that works for them, let me know. ;-)
The Nature Shield sounds great!!! I'm looking forward to hearing how it works.
LOL, thanks-...I haven't found that ACME kit just yet...everytime I think I've given up, I try something else..but that's a loosing battle!
Yes, I'm looking forward to trying the Nature Shield....they also have some fertilizer for lack of a better word that's organic..and when they explained how it works, it sounded identical to Seaweed extract..which I've had more than happy results with..
I don't know how to score this. We have been at war with tree rats for several years. The national forest is across the street, so we have an abundance of the critters. Like you, they have really taken a liking to the pears, ripe or not. We just had given up on our peaches, so removed the trees. Last year, since DH had retired, he brought out the shot gun, and dispatched about a half dozen. Well, this man will stop traffic to get a turtle out of the road, so that boat didn't float this year. The old BB gun that you can watch the BB roll out the end stopped scaring them, in fact, they just about would turn around and laugh at him. Yesterday we went shopping, and came home with a live trap. As of this evening, we have removed two squirrels, and right now have a coon (also a pest) is waiting for his one way trip across the lake, to live out the rest of his natural days, away from the population. Hubby is very pleased with this situation. They all seem to love peanut butter.
Get ready for a long fight then. My neighbor bought a trap, and we're in the middle of the city, has removed 66 possums in the past year...Good luck! I just start planting an animal patch for them to eat stuff, and suspect I'll never taste a pear from my garden!
Well, around here, it solves two problems.....gets rid of pests, and gives DH a chance to get "windshield time". It allows me just a few minutes by myself!
Thanks for sharing your urban battles.
I have a friend some birdnetting for his fig tree - still lost most of the figs, but did find one bushy tail martyr.
arrgh..was sidelined with Shingles...
Here is the follow up blog with phase I of testing
Blood Wars, The Strategy
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Oh, you poor thing! I hope you feel better! Shingles are awful...
I hope you are better soon. Shingles are the pits,
BTW, the count is 3 coons and 6 squirrels, with 3 to go. Hoping we don't have to dispatch them.
Take care,
Annette
Wow...hmm...I think I might invest in one of those traps.
We picked it up at Tractor Supply. So far it's been a good investment, Since we live near the forrest, it's not hard to release them near a water source, and there's no anguish about killing them. Don't get me wrong, we like to watch their antics, but they have become destructive.
Good news on the "test".
I'm fighting flys since we got the pair of dogs - wonder if it will work on them, too?
I bet our local feed shop has some traps..
Hey Bubba,
Ya know..funny you should ask that. I've noticed an explosion in the fly population with the heat. So I particularly test the side walk where the flies liked to hang out. First test round didn't seem to bother them a bit...they landed as usual.
I have 2 fly-traps hard at work and have hung many old-fashoned fly-strips - the strips load up within 2 days.
I was beginning to wish I hadn't sold the bug-zapper many years ago.
There are a few mosquitoes in the mix, but waaay outnumbered by the flys.
Thanks for the update.
Just an FYI - Circle S Vineyards is having a special release on July 4th, and I'll be doing the annual Fish-Fry at Bubba's.
Yeah, I do keep stocked with the fly strips..for the most part they are staying in the garden and away from the seating area so I haven't fussed yet.
Cool on the Circle S. I think we still have a little cheese dish of yours.
can you Dmail me the address of Bubbas..ironically..I don't know where it is...
I have a lot of the long-legged fly. They are predatious and don't bother me, but there are a ton of them. They are smallish and irridescent. Tons of them this year.
Yes, I don't remember seeing so many. They don't bother me though. They just like warm surfaces, and aren't pesky like some of those Australian flies..I visited a friend about 100 miles out of Melbourne, the flies were so pesky it was horrible..they won't leave you alone. There were also thousand upon thousands of Cockatoo's and couldn't resist telling the friends how much they're sold for here. There, the farmers shoot them.
I feel for any animal/bird that becomes of interest to humans for petting or for profit.
In Idaho we had deer flies and those pesky little things can bite. Yow!
Oh I remember those! I use to live in Boise, actually Garden City.
I lived up north in a town called Grangeville. Actually on a cattle ranch just south of there.
RJudd, your writing is the best. Great article! All of us are rooting for you with the mosquito repellent testing. Nasty little buggers... The Big Bugger in the attached photo is the animal that has proved impossible to outwit, for me. In this photo he was up in the kitchen window trying to figure out a way to get in. All I can think of is that I was cooking something that smelled really good. I guess destroying my bird feeders and gorging on seeds and nuts had finally bored him.
I'm afraid traps (lots of them) are the only solution. And "I'm afraid" is the operative phrase. Eegods..
NLaw
Thanks Nlaw!
I still need to get to the next stage of testing, but right now all I have time to do is water. If you hear a blood curdling scream over there, that would be me opening my water bill!
That Racoon looks about the size of the one that takes dips in the pond! They aren't very shy are they?!
Rj
Not shy! Once one was down in an herb bed on all fours when I went outside at night. He raised up to his full height, standing up tall-- and scared the bejeesus out of me. He was a really big one. It was the stuff of nightmares, I'm telling you. .
Sorry about your water bill.