Summer 2020 Banter

[ForestHillWx]

Surprised how quiet the threads are with a tropical storm at the door. If this was winter I would expect pages of overnight posts. 

Im looking forward to the deluge. We need it. 

[etudiant]

8 hours ago, tdp146 said:

Can anyone identify this guy who bit me and it hurt like hell?

Looks something like an Assassin Bug, one of the true bugs that preys on other insects mostly.

They bite by poking the victim with their beak. The bite is both painful and can cause swelling which lasts for days. A variant found in Latin America can infect people with Chagas disease, which damages the heart, but ours don't, fortunately.  See: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/assassin-bugs/

[LibertyBell]

52 minutes ago, etudiant said:

Looks something like an Assassin Bug, one of the true bugs that preys on other insects mostly.

They bite by poking the victim with their beak. The bite is both painful and can cause swelling which lasts for days. A variant found in Latin America can infect people with Chagas disease, which damages the heart, but ours don't, fortunately.  See: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/assassin-bugs/

Yet another thing to have to kill.  I have been spraying nonstop this season.

 

[etudiant]

48 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

Yet another thing to have to kill.  I have been spraying nonstop this season.

 

It's a problem, these bugs actually are very helpful, they prey on the other insects that are dining on your plants and flowers.

Spraying is sort of creating a virgin territory, open to anyone, so usually that is the most aggressive species that rush in to take advantage, rather than the ones you want.

[LibertyBell]

2 minutes ago, etudiant said:

It's a problem, these bugs actually are very helpful, they prey on the other insects that are dining on your plants and flowers.

Spraying is sort of creating a virgin territory, open to anyone, so usually that is the most aggressive species that rush in to take advantage, rather than the ones you want.

The problem is my garden has become an obstacle course, I can't walk more than two feet out my door without either getting stung by something, bitten by something else, or caught in a web.  I was waiting for all the birds that come to my yard to eat them but they seem to be more interested in the berries or drinking the water from my pond lol.  This season has really seen a bug proliferation and a lot of them have also been coming inside my house and I'm trying to figure out how they're getting inside too. 

[etudiant]

Well, the webs mean the spiders are really trying to thin the herd in your garden.

Am surprised that you're getting zapped repeatedly though, as most insects try to pick only on stuff they can manage. Of course, for mosquitoes, deer flies and such, you are the main course. Wasps and hornets will be a problem if you're close to their nest, not always easy to see as many wasps nest underground. Just be careful about ticks, they are a real hazard, made worse because their bite is rarely noticed and the damage can be life long.

Stuff coming into the house is a real pain and one only realizes how many cracks and gaps are in a house when one wants to seal them. Diatomaceous earth is probably the most helpful product here, it is basically barbed wire for bugs, 

 

[tdp146]

3 hours ago, etudiant said:

Looks something like an Assassin Bug, one of the true bugs that preys on other insects mostly.

They bite by poking the victim with their beak. The bite is both painful and can cause swelling which lasts for days. A variant found in Latin America can infect people with Chagas disease, which damages the heart, but ours don't, fortunately.  See: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/assassin-bugs/

Thanks! I knew someone on here would figure it out. I found it inside my house near the front door. Didn’t want to kill it but also didn’t want it to fly off in the house so I snatched it with my fingers and went to put it back out the door. Bad idea. Bite still hurts a little this morning but not bad. Makes sense it was around since there are a bunch of potted plants outside and there were a ton of aphids in one a few days ago. 

[MJO812]

My building pool finally opens next week. No outsiders allowed.  Temperature taken before going into the pool and have to wear a mask out of the water.

[stemwinder]

1 hour ago, MJO812 said:

My building pool finally opens next week. No outsiders allowed.  Temperature taken before going into the pool and have to wear a mask out of the water.

Wondering if the pool chlorine kills the virus.  I hate the stuff, but that's a plus, if true.

 

[Stormlover74]

6 minutes ago, stemwinder said:

Wondering if the pool chlorine kills the virus.  I hate the stuff, but that's a plus, if true.

 

Just don't ingest it

[stemwinder]

17 hours ago, tdp146 said:

Can anyone identify this guy who bit me and it hurt like hell?

Ouch.  Am guessing that it's an assassin bug.  Beneficial, they say.  A large group of insects, and some are downright nasty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduviidae has more info on the group of insects this belongs to.  

Nice picture.

OOPS - sorry I did not see the great reply posted above.

[Santa Claus]

If I had a choice where my taxes went I'd give 100% to the National Weather Service.

If I had Elon Musk bucks I'd be building all kinds of radars and satellites to make GOES-16 look like a Tinker Toy.  You'd be counting how many birds were trapped in Fay's circulation.  You'd be able to identify them by specie.

shit I wish I was rich.

[forkyfork]

14 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

The problem is my garden has become an obstacle course, I can't walk more than two feet out my door without either getting stung by something, bitten by something else, or caught in a web.  I was waiting for all the birds that come to my yard to eat them but they seem to be more interested in the berries or drinking the water from my pond lol.  This season has really seen a bug proliferation and a lot of them have also been coming inside my house and I'm trying to figure out how they're getting inside too. 

those sprays wind up killing birds 

[gravitylover]

15 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

Yet another thing to have to kill.  I have been spraying nonstop this season.

 

So you're part of the problem. All that insecticide spraying is killing all of the beneficials and pollinators. Stop it! 

[LibertyBell]

11 hours ago, forkyfork said:

those sprays wind up killing birds 

I'm only using them inside for the bugs that come into my house.  I know they're toxic because my throat was burning while I was spraying it lol.  I have a bunch of stuff I specifically planted for birds, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and dragonflies and an above ground "pond" where they come to drink water.  On second thought, maybe that "pond" is causing more insects to breed, but I dont care, the birds absolutely love it!

For the outside, I am using this UV lamp trapping container thing the exterminator recommended as a good nonchemical solution.  It traps lots of flying insects (no birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, etc.)....so far it's been trapping mosquitoes, gnats, black flies, deer flies, all sorts of detestable pests like that.

 

[LibertyBell]

11 hours ago, gravitylover said:

So you're part of the problem. All that insecticide spraying is killing all of the beneficials and pollinators. Stop it! 

I know about all those problems, I only spray them inside my house, so relax :-)

I plant stuff for butterflies and bees and hummingbirds to come, so of course I dont spray anything outside to kill them

I just want to know where all these new insects I've never seen before come from.  And more importantly, why are so many coming inside my house this year that I haven't seen inside ever before.  I think it's because of the mild winter we had.  I can't think of any other reason.

For the outside, I am using this UV lamp trapping container thing the exterminator recommended as a good nonchemical solution.  It traps lots of flying insects (no birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, etc.)....so far it's been trapping mosquitoes, gnats, black flies, deer flies, all sorts of detestable pests like that.

 

 

[LibertyBell]

On 7/10/2020 at 10:38 AM, etudiant said:

Well, the webs mean the spiders are really trying to thin the herd in your garden.

Am surprised that you're getting zapped repeatedly though, as most insects try to pick only on stuff they can manage. Of course, for mosquitoes, deer flies and such, you are the main course. Wasps and hornets will be a problem if you're close to their nest, not always easy to see as many wasps nest underground. Just be careful about ticks, they are a real hazard, made worse because their bite is rarely noticed and the damage can be life long.

Stuff coming into the house is a real pain and one only realizes how many cracks and gaps are in a house when one wants to seal them. Diatomaceous earth is probably the most helpful product here, it is basically barbed wire for bugs, 

 

why are insects so bold (less afraid) compared to birds?  You'd think the smaller the creature the more afraid it should be of human beings.  I've always wondered about that.

Would diatomaceous earth help with mice too?  I've gotten rid of most of them, but I'm not sure they're all gone and I want to be completely rid of them before the cold season comes.  The last contractor who worked on my house left a few holes that I've been busy covering up.

For the outside, I am using this UV lamp trapping container thing the exterminator recommended as a good nonchemical solution.  It traps lots of flying insects (no birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, etc.)....so far it's been trapping mosquitoes, gnats, black flies, deer flies, all sorts of detestable pests like that.

 

[LibertyBell]

On 7/10/2020 at 10:40 AM, tdp146 said:

Thanks! I knew someone on here would figure it out. I found it inside my house near the front door. Didn’t want to kill it but also didn’t want it to fly off in the house so I snatched it with my fingers and went to put it back out the door. Bad idea. Bite still hurts a little this morning but not bad. Makes sense it was around since there are a bunch of potted plants outside and there were a ton of aphids in one a few days ago. 

wear gloves and handle gently!  Thats what I did when a bumble bee came inside my house and it didn't sting me!

 

[LibertyBell]

19 hours ago, MJO812 said:

My building pool finally opens next week. No outsiders allowed.  Temperature taken before going into the pool and have to wear a mask out of the water.

I saw a reservoir around here is using a solar powered cleaning system (chemical free) that cleans 100,000 gallons of water a minute, 24/7.  No dangerous chemicals needed!

 

[HailMan06]

I have to say thank you @wdrag for your contributions here. So far your topics have been delivering the goods so keep it up!

[etudiant]

19 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

why are insects so bold (less afraid) compared to birds?  You'd think the smaller the creature the more afraid it should be of human beings.  I've always wondered about that.

Would diatomaceous earth help with mice too?  I've gotten rid of most of them, but I'm not sure they're all gone and I want to be completely rid of them before the cold season comes.  The last contractor who worked on my house left a few holes that I've been busy covering up.

For the outside, I am using this UV lamp trapping container thing the exterminator recommended as a good nonchemical solution.  It traps lots of flying insects (no birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, etc.)....so far it's been trapping mosquitoes, gnats, black flies, deer flies, all sorts of detestable pests like that.

 

The problem is most insects see us as landscape, not as creatures, so they don't try to avoid us. The ones who do recognize us as animate usually see us as the lunch counter.

Diatomaceous earth will not help with mice unfortunately, although it may irritate their lungs. Copper wire steel wool pads are pretty good for plugging gaps around pipes and there are a variety of expanding foams that help seal cracks. It's an uphill struggle, mice can squeeze under most doors and a little corner gap the size of a quarter is a highway for them. It is trench warfare when in the country, they don't quit and there is no lasting victory.

[LibertyBell]

18 hours ago, etudiant said:

The problem is most insects see us as landscape, not as creatures, so they don't try to avoid us. The ones who do recognize us as animate usually see us as the lunch counter.

Diatomaceous earth will not help with mice unfortunately, although it may irritate their lungs. Copper wire steel wool pads are pretty good for plugging gaps around pipes and there are a variety of expanding foams that help seal cracks. It's an uphill struggle, mice can squeeze under most doors and a little corner gap the size of a quarter is a highway for them. It is trench warfare when in the country, they don't quit and there is no lasting victory.

The steel wool pads are what I'm using to plug up the holes, also thinking of getting FlexSeal which is supposed to be airtight and waterproof, because that can help me for multiple reasons.  Why on earth do mice want to come inside anyway, they are pretty afraid of humans and I never actually see them until they're dead.

The UV lamp container thing seems to be helping a lot with gnats and mosquitoes and other biting insects, I've seen a huge population reduction of them since I started trapping them in that container.  I just have to empty it out once a week because the damn thing fills up quickly.  One of these containers is supposed to cover a half acre, I got two of them and I'm getting another one for the inside.  Little flying pests fly into the container and never come back out.  I wish there was something like this for mice too.

I blame most of these pests on humans- mice, cockroaches, mosquitoes, etc., have proliferated ever since humans started creating all this trash and standing water, etc.

Have you heard about the swarms of locusts in South America and India?  Seems like it's the worst swarm in many decades, a real plague going on in those regions.  It's being blamed on excessive rainfall causing a population boom.  

 

[uncle W]

3 minutes ago, LibertyBell said:

The steel wool pads are what I'm using to plug up the holes, also thinking of getting FlexSeal which is supposed to be airtight and waterproof, because that can help me for multiple reasons.  Why on earth do mice want to come inside anyway, they are pretty afraid of humans and I never actually see them until they're dead.

The UV lamp container thing seems to be helping a lot with gnats and mosquitoes and other biting insects, I've seen a huge population reduction of them since I started trapping them in that container.  I just have to empty it out once a week because the damn thing fills up quickly.  One of these containers is supposed to cover a half acre, I got two of them and I'm getting another one for the inside.  Little flying pests fly into the container and never come back out.  I wish there was something like this for mice too.

I blame most of these pests on humans- mice, cockroaches, mosquitoes, etc., have proliferated ever since humans started creating all this trash and standing water, etc.

 

those dam humans...wait...cockroaches are older than humans...what...

[LibertyBell]

26 minutes ago, uncle W said:

those dam humans...wait...cockroaches are older than humans...what...

of course they are, as are rats, but they weren't as common before humans started dirtying things up.  Actually, I dont believe north america had any rats, cats or dogs before they were brought here by boat.

 

[forkyfork]

2 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

of course they are, as are rats, but they weren't as common before humans started dirtying things up.  Actually, I dont believe north america had any rats, cats or dogs before they were brought here by boat.

 

feral cats are a massive problem. don't get me started on the ineffectiveness of TNR

[uncle W]

2 hours ago, LibertyBell said:

of course they are, as are rats, but they weren't as common before humans started dirtying things up.  Actually, I dont believe north america had any rats, cats or dogs before they were brought here by boat.

 

what about the time when it was one huge continent?...I forget the name?...

[LibertyBell]

9 minutes ago, forkyfork said:

feral cats are a massive problem. don't get me started on the ineffectiveness of TNR

tell me about it, we have dozens of them here.  They aren't so good for the bird population either.

[LibertyBell]

5 minutes ago, uncle W said:

what about the time when it was one huge continent?...I forget the name?...

Pangaea....that was millions upon millions of years ago though.

 

[rclab]

3 hours ago, uncle W said:

those dam humans...wait...cockroaches are older than humans...what...

Unc a quick look shows their family predating us by over 300 million years. When the meek or who/what ever inheirits the earth they will still be here to keep the legatees company. Considering their resistance to radiation, they may be the sole beneficiary. As always ....

[Cfa]

Speaking of bugs, I was stunned to see so many bees flocking to my potted Southern Magnolia, which bloomed for the first time last week. Apparently they LOVE this species (according to the internet). I rarely see bees here so it was a nice sight, furry bees and non-furry bees alike, many of them looked very young too. Tropical Storm Fay blew those flowers off the tree but there’s more on the way, hopefully the bees come back.

Magnolias are living fossils, they’re very ancient and predate most trees and also bees and other common insects. Southern Magnolia flowers smell divine btw, one of my favorite trees, glad they can grow here.