Being invaded

[Redoverfarm]

One draw back to living close to the woods.  The insects.  At the first of the week something hatched out.  There are thousands of them.  They were so bad that they swormed at the lights to the point you could barely tell they were on.  They are about 3/8th of an inch long and similar to an inmature house flie but are brown in color and slenderer.  They must have a short life cycle as they disappeared by Wednesday & Thursday.  But they are back again tonight with  the second hatch I guess.  So bad I had to turn off the motion light breaker to keep it from being on all night.  They are just prone to the wooded areas in this end of the county.  I have talked to people in town and the other end of the county and they have none. But the toads are living like kings. The evidence is on the walks.  Looks like we have had a flock of geese staying around the house. The locust hords were not this bad in 97.

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

If you had chickens, they'd be having a field day too, i bet.

[Redoverfarm]

HT they are more or less nocturnal.  They are not usually out in the daylight that much.  Usually after the sun goes down and the lights come on.  I huess they are attracted to the light.  By that time the chickens would probably be roosting.

[StinkerBell]

  Maybe a Vampire Chicken!

[Redoverfarm]

They are still here.  Just as bad as they have been.  Went for a little R&R today and got home at dark. Mad Dash to get inside.  Didn't beat them all.  Raid took care of the ones that made it inside.

[ScottA]

We are on a lake so get invaded with bugs of all kinds this time of year. I know what you're dealing with. No fun. 

[muldoon]

This is outside my field fore sure, but one of my friends brought up a can of "bug spray" when we moved the barn in.  He swore by it from having a shed in the woods for a decade with his dad and uncles as a deer camp.  He brought up a pressure sprayer ($20 bucks at ace or other) with triazicide.  Hit the lower edge, window seams, door frame and upper eaves.  When we packed up to leave that weekend we hit the inside bottoms and tops as well. 

Its been 6 weeks, and I've yet to see a single bug inside.  This is a Texas summer, where normally I would be bit by a few a night if were to tent it.  (which I have done a few times.)   I'm not trying to sound like a  commercial but you might try some bug juice in a sprayer to see if you can get them a little farther away.   

[benevolance]

Back home the bugs are bad especially in the spring...We built a smoker...

Cut a 45 gallon barrel in half... drive a couple of holes in the face of it 2 inches from the bottom...

Use it as a burner... when the bugs are bad build a small fire in the barrel... and then dump on old leaves wet bark even grass...

It will smoke like crazy... but it works great on the bugs

[Homegrown Tomatoes]

When we lived in WI, the mosquitoes were terrible... one evening last summer I went out to pick a few tomatoes before it got dark and I swatted when I felt bites on my ankle.  In one swat, I killed ten mosquitoes feasting on my leg!  My husband made the statement that the mosquitoes were so bad there that it was the first time in his life that he thought he was going to be devoured by wild animals, yet they're only the size of a gnat.

[Redoverfarm]

HT arn't mosquitoes the state bird in WI ?

[StinkerBell]

No Redocerfarm, they are the Alaskan State Bird.

[Redoverfarm]

Just to give you a idea of what I have been talking about.  This is just a portion of what I have had all week when it gets dark.



Thank goodness they are on the outside of the window.

[benevolance]

Mosquitos are the state bird of Maine guys

[apaknad]

hey red,

that looks alot like the fishfly hatch from lake st. clair in detroit. i hope those aren't misquitos

[peternap]

John, make a mixture of 10% malathion and 90% kerosene...and make a drip system (the local hospital will usually donate an IV bag for an easy system)

Use a hot plate or something, with an old pan to catch the drips and create a smoke cloud. You can also drill a hole in your lawn mower muffler and drip through a section of copper tube to nuke them while you mow.

As thick as they are, you should be able to clean them out in one night.

The mosquito control districts used to recommend this before they had to become PC.

[Redoverfarm]

apaknad the closest lake is 10-12 air miles.  These are out of the woods.  I have been making hay and there are none in the grass or fields.  They do not bite but are just a real PIA .  Have to walk outdoors at night in the dark.  Any light and they swarm you. 

Peter I am hoping this is a short term thing.  The last bunch only lived for a few days and disappeared.  Then a new hatch. 

We have learned to get everything done outside before it gets dark and just watch them from closed doors after that.

[Redoverfarm]

Well what ever they were they are gone now.  Short life cycle.  Two weeks from onset to the end.  Now to clean up.  You don't realize how many spider webs are around the house until they are full of insects.  I guess the toads will be going on a diet now also.

[ScottA]

Not so lucky here. We still have the usual summer assult of moskitos and noseeums.

[Redoverfarm]

Don't get me wrong Scott we still have the regular pest but I have learned to live with them.

[Mad Dog]

Mosquitos are the state bird of Maine guys

I disagree, the Alaskan mosquito has been known to carry off small animals at times.

[sparks]

The last time I was in Alyeska, could have sworn those skeeters worked for the Red Cross....one pint at a time!! 

[desdawg]

One of the benefits of living in the desert is we don't have much for skeeters. Apparently the ones that are around are bereeding in the vacant swimming pools in suburbia and breeding the West Nile Virus at the same time. Out here a mesquito is a rare sighting.

[Redoverfarm]

It's started again. This one I was expecting.  Every fall when the leaves start to die this little pest leaves the woods and heads somewhere to hibernate.  What are they?  Well they are an Asian bug similar to the domestic "lady bug" but they are not quite like them.  They bite, they stink and they will leave stains on everything.  Someone said they were imported to eat a harmful bug or larve. Yeah right and these aren't.  People swear that the goverment drops them out of aircraft and some swear they have seen them do it.  I am not sure about that but there are thousands of them now.

[StinkerBell]

Mosquitos are the state bird of Maine guys

I disagree, the Alaskan mosquito has been known to carry off small animals at times.

Aint that the truth!

[glenn kangiser]

It's started again. This one I was expecting.  Every fall when the leaves start to die this little pest leaves the woods and heads somewhere to hibernate.  What are they?  Well they are an Asian bug similar to the domestic "lady bug" but they are not quite like them.  They bite, they stink and they will leave stains on everything.  Someone said they were imported to eat a harmful bug or larve. Yeah right and these aren't.  People swear that the goverment drops them out of aircraft and some swear they have seen them do it.  I am not sure about that but there are thousands of them now.

I understand that they are imported by the Marijuana growers to kill pests on the pot farms -- they need to keep it organic - no sprays.