ew...aside from not stepping on them out of kindness...I don't think they do anything but inhabit large pieces of rotten wood. Those in a garage should be just wanderers.
What's bugging you, Mid Atlantic? summer 2014
Yeah, wanderers indeed but bugs in the house need to get smashed or otherwise removed.
I do agree. For bad ones, I consider it 'removing the genetics that encouraged them to come inside in the first place. ' And eventually my yard will have only spiders genetically predisposed to stay the heck OUTSIDE.
Lol...I love that mindset although I'm not sure what the science community would say.... :)
I'm a certified part of the science community, and I say it's a valid theory... if we all keep squishing spiders that come inside, those who avoid indoor spaces are those who will survive to reproduce and pass along their genes.
There needs to be a mechanism for determining that behavior (choosing outside locations rather than indoor ones for shelter), but there are plenty of things that distinguish our homes from outdoor spaces... think of all the indoor chemicals such as house cleaners or whatever fumes are given off by paint and carpeting... those are common to most homes.
So keep squashing the ones that you find invading your home!
(I used to carefully carry spiders outside, but our home in Frederick seems to be Spider Heaven... we are just inundated with them, inside and out, so I feel no hesitation any more when I smoosh one in the house.)
I kill the strange crickets I find in my basement, mosquitos and the tiny mite-size bugs that crawl out of seed heads I've collected and am sorting inside, but other than that I usually toss insects outside.
My youngest daughter, who is an insectophile, has been a huge influence.
cool, Jill, I like your thinking!
Insects probably outnumber humans thousands or millions to one!
We get our house sprayed around the outside and occasionally on the inside. Darcy doesn't like bugs. As a result we barely ever see a bug inside, which is nice.
Saying it again---NO links work today....still all screwed up!
G.
oh. Well it did work when I first posted it. So maybe it will by the time Jeff sees it.
It works if copied and pasted into a new search box..
I copied and pasted it....HILARIOUS!!
Happy bug fact of the day;
Brown Recluse spiders do not live in any Mid Atlantic state
http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef631.asp
Well that's a load off Sally!
That's really good to know! Thanks, Sally!
The Brown Recluse is really the only spider I worry about, because the way they hide makes them too easy to put your hand against them. I have enough trouble trying to avoid well-camoflaged saddleback caterpillars! (and yeah those are the worst sting I've ever had)
I just ordered a hundred gummy spiders and 12 dozen plastic ones to put in our Halloween treat bowl. They'll go well with the big spider hanging off our porch light (His name is Charles. He's Charlotte's cousin, and he's really very friendly.)
Eliot-kitten attacking Charles
This message was edited Oct 15, 2014 1:46 PM
make that WAS the only spider ...
In theory I should worry about Black Widows more. But we've found and dispatched them so regularly here for years that I am simply accustomed to their webbing and the kind of places I find them, and my radar seems to go off when needed. They like to hide at ground level, under or in something black, they seem to love heat. Their webbing is messy and noticeably stronger than normal spider webs.
Jill--
Did I give you that BIG black and green, fuzzy spider?
I know I had one-and I think I gave it to someone...????
G.
Slugs are bugging me! They're out in full force, and some are at least 2" long. Yuk!!
Greenhouse camel crickets are bugging me. Suddenly seem all over the basement...need sticky traps galore.
Yeah--Crickets are so annoying! There is usually one chirping away
in my lower level (Shop/Laundry). Is there any way to lure them out
in the open? What would the bait be?
If I would ever see one--I will stomp on it. But--usually they are hiding
behind the freezer or somewhere else..chirp..chirp...chirp..chirp...UGH!
Sometimes I find a dead one,all chirped out..Then i add it to my collection of bugs.
G.
I keep a spray bottle of insecticide in my basement just for camel crickets. I've only seen them in my shed so far this year, though.
I think field crickets, those chirping in the basement, might be lured to a sticky tap with some oatmeal on it. I'd get a pack of sticky traps and stick them (haha) under various low, warm hidden areas that they may like to explore.
And a round of insecticide spray along all the baseboards and under those same low places is probably going to cut down on them too.
Would "Home Defense" work? It is known to lay down a barrier that lasts 3 months.
If not--I am sure i have some other Insecticide.
My Shop are is 75% underground. Always a bit smelly (moisture...mold)
so they just love it there...It is full of STUFF (junk) too, which does not help.
I know.....I know.......some day.......................G.
Home Depot sells a product called Damp Rid that's good for soaking up moisture. For some reason, our HD stocks it in the paint aisle.
Edited to add that dehumidifiers work wonders! We have an automatic one in our basement storage area. The water drains into a drain pipe in the floor so we don't have to empty it.
This message was edited Oct 16, 2014 6:50 PM
Muddy--
Yes! Damp-Rid is in the Paint dept. It is NOT a cleaning product--which
would then be in Aisle #3 with all the other cleaning supplies.
Yet--Aisle #3 carries ALL the air fresheners and the Mold kits.
I tried a can of "Damp Rid" once but it was not as useful as I had thought. Pretty YUK!
Yes--the contents absorbed a lot of moisture--and then I had a can-full
of wet goop. That was it....Can't re-use it!!!--you have to toss it.
Once I locate my Dehumidifier in the lowest level (#4--Shop)--the water will,
automatically,drain, via a hose attached, into my Sump Pump.
The Shop level is a nightmare!!! It is full of too much junk which does nor help
the "air quality" there....
Right now--it is still in the club-room level (#3)--which is also plenty damp.
It fills the receptacle (2 gal.) every 2 days if I let it run all day.
Gita
It's wicked expensive to run a dehumidifier all the time though. We have one and used to run it in the summer a lot and then I realized that it was jacking up our electric bill. Now we don't use it and it's just for show. It's so dry downstairs in the winter due to our pellet stove that we could use some humidity down there in the summer to let the wood reabsorb what it lost in the winter.
Well, the dehumidifier does half the job of the AC. It might be expensive either way, to get comfortable air in summer. Keeping our basement dry enough so it doesn't smell noticeably musty or grow visible white mold, thats what we use it for.
Gita, HD also sells refills for those Damp Rid containers. It's in a foil-type bag.
I set our basement storage area dehumidifier on 50-55% humidity, so it's not on all the time. We have a lot of stuff stored down there that I don't want to be ruined by mold.
I think mine is on "Auto dry"....It does not have a %'age setting.
Low fan--Auto dry-- and Continuous run. It also has an adjustable moisture
level worked by pushing a button. It is a Whirlpool--now many years old.
Here is the interesting thing I discovered.....
They suggest you use a screw on hose cap to close off the outlet hole.
Well--the water container is JUST plastic--so it does not screw on tight enough
and when the container fills up past the hole--it can leak.
My resourceful solution????? A REAL cork-- wine bottle cork. NOT the fake cork.
Stuff it in the hose-hole and as the water fills, over and over again, the cork
swells up and forms a tight seal. I save this cork and use it over and over--every year.
Just my brain at work! :o) G.
This bug sat on my wall above my basement door, without moving, forever.
It was about 1-1/2" long--feet included.
What is it? good?....bad?..... Gita
That would be an assassin bug G. Don't kill it, it eats other bugs. But don't touch it either use a piece of paper or something to safely move it outside.
Thanks, Jeff--
I've always heard you all mention this bug's name--but never seen it.
It is pretty big.....hopefully, with am appetite to match.
It was already outside--above my basement entrance. On the concrete
wall just below the siding.
Had a huge swarming of winged ants (NOT Termites!) yesterday all around the
concrete base near the steps by the basement door and the patio area right below it.
Th4ey were also near my A/C unit and the grass near it.A major migration to who
knows where...They were all just milling around....Odd time of year for them to be
emerging. Winged=just hatched--right?
I got my Ant spray and dispatched them all. Not sure where their nest could have been?
May be under the concrete covering the brick ledge? Who knows...
GONE!
We had wolf spiders so large they looked like a mouse running from spot to spot. I'm just catching up here too.
Since the pollinators are dormant now I can spray my hemlock and large holly with systemic. I'd really hate to lose my only hemlock.