treeguy64
Hari Om, y'all!
- Location
- Austin, TX.
OK, if you live in Texas, and I know some of you do, then you, most likely, are involved in ongoing warfare with various insect pests. You can seal up your house tight as a drum (and that's really not great for you, or your house), but some of those little sons of guns will still find a way to, occasionally, parade across your field of vision and, I would guess, flip you off with their little insect whatevers!
I went on the warpath, a few years ago, against roaches. We never had a big problem, but we did, on occasion, get the lone roach (Hiyo Silverbug, away! ????) showing up in our hallway, some mornings. Max, our Chiweenie, is a natural born roacher: He can hear roaches singing (yep, they do that) from thirty feet away, and he'll corner the erstwhile Carusos until I move what they may be hiding behind/under. The hall roaches were usually dead or dying, so Max never had to chase them down, with his lightning speed, as he does with the singers. I told myself that it was time for serious action: I bought some 1/8" plywood, caulk, and small nails, along with aluminum screening, and sealed every crack I could find, every gap, everywhere. Bingo! We only find a roach, these days, about once every 2-3 months. Max will dart from the couch, stand wherever the singer may be concealed, and then catch the invader, biting it to death in a few chomps, after I flush it out from its hiding place. He then leaves me to deliver the deceased to the sanctity of the outside trash bin.
Now, lets talk about ants. They are a whole other deal: The eenie beenie ones we have, drove me to a near hair-pulling frenzy: No mater where I caulked, grouted, sealed, etc., they still managed to show up on the dividing strip between my double kitchen sink! I was at the end of my rope (and for a tree climbing, Certified Arborist, that's a very bad place to be!) until I decided to methodically approach the problem. I turned down the lights, and used a red flashlight to illuminate the kitchen. I waited, patiently. No ants were observed walking on the counter, and yet - - - - - NOOOOO! There was a new ant walking along that dividing strip! What the hell?????
This called for thinking out of the box. I turned the lights back on, got rid of the strip walker (Psst! Hey buddy, want a date??), and waited, again. In about ten minutes - - - PRESTO! Exactly like those movies where they stop the film, insert an object, and then run the film, again, this ant magically appeared on the dividing strip. AH-HA! The only way this could happen was if this ant had dropped down, from above! That was exactly what his other fallen (pun?) comrades in arms had been doing, the whole time. Directly above the strip, about five feet above it, was a recessed lighting can. These ants were dropping down from the inside of the can, when the light was off. I watched the can, with my red light on, and I saw volunteer after volunteer take the plunge. What to do? I went out and bought a lensed LED light, a retrofit for recessed cans. It fit like a glove, and I carefully caulked around it. No more ants - - - -until - - - - ??????? (It has been my experience that once you find a new way the pests are getting in, and seal it, they find yet another way in. And so it goes - -- -)
Note: I am a former Texas Registered Pesticide Applicator. I used to inject Oaks, as a prophylaxis against Oak Wilt. I know, full well, that poisons are extremely dangerous, the most effective being the most dangerous. As I see it, those poisons have no business being in my home, or yours, no matter what your friendly exterminator may tell you. Yes, I know about Boric Acid and other natural treatments. Thing is, as I have found, over the years, the absolute best way to prevent pest invasions, in clean homes, is the barrier method: Seal up the ways pests access your house. It's tough, as evidenced by my experiences, above, but I'd rather keep trying to put up barriers than spray/apply poisons inside my house.
I went on the warpath, a few years ago, against roaches. We never had a big problem, but we did, on occasion, get the lone roach (Hiyo Silverbug, away! ????) showing up in our hallway, some mornings. Max, our Chiweenie, is a natural born roacher: He can hear roaches singing (yep, they do that) from thirty feet away, and he'll corner the erstwhile Carusos until I move what they may be hiding behind/under. The hall roaches were usually dead or dying, so Max never had to chase them down, with his lightning speed, as he does with the singers. I told myself that it was time for serious action: I bought some 1/8" plywood, caulk, and small nails, along with aluminum screening, and sealed every crack I could find, every gap, everywhere. Bingo! We only find a roach, these days, about once every 2-3 months. Max will dart from the couch, stand wherever the singer may be concealed, and then catch the invader, biting it to death in a few chomps, after I flush it out from its hiding place. He then leaves me to deliver the deceased to the sanctity of the outside trash bin.
Now, lets talk about ants. They are a whole other deal: The eenie beenie ones we have, drove me to a near hair-pulling frenzy: No mater where I caulked, grouted, sealed, etc., they still managed to show up on the dividing strip between my double kitchen sink! I was at the end of my rope (and for a tree climbing, Certified Arborist, that's a very bad place to be!) until I decided to methodically approach the problem. I turned down the lights, and used a red flashlight to illuminate the kitchen. I waited, patiently. No ants were observed walking on the counter, and yet - - - - - NOOOOO! There was a new ant walking along that dividing strip! What the hell?????
This called for thinking out of the box. I turned the lights back on, got rid of the strip walker (Psst! Hey buddy, want a date??), and waited, again. In about ten minutes - - - PRESTO! Exactly like those movies where they stop the film, insert an object, and then run the film, again, this ant magically appeared on the dividing strip. AH-HA! The only way this could happen was if this ant had dropped down, from above! That was exactly what his other fallen (pun?) comrades in arms had been doing, the whole time. Directly above the strip, about five feet above it, was a recessed lighting can. These ants were dropping down from the inside of the can, when the light was off. I watched the can, with my red light on, and I saw volunteer after volunteer take the plunge. What to do? I went out and bought a lensed LED light, a retrofit for recessed cans. It fit like a glove, and I carefully caulked around it. No more ants - - - -until - - - - ??????? (It has been my experience that once you find a new way the pests are getting in, and seal it, they find yet another way in. And so it goes - -- -)
Note: I am a former Texas Registered Pesticide Applicator. I used to inject Oaks, as a prophylaxis against Oak Wilt. I know, full well, that poisons are extremely dangerous, the most effective being the most dangerous. As I see it, those poisons have no business being in my home, or yours, no matter what your friendly exterminator may tell you. Yes, I know about Boric Acid and other natural treatments. Thing is, as I have found, over the years, the absolute best way to prevent pest invasions, in clean homes, is the barrier method: Seal up the ways pests access your house. It's tough, as evidenced by my experiences, above, but I'd rather keep trying to put up barriers than spray/apply poisons inside my house.
layful:
