Controlling the bugs

[BobTex]

The bad spiders (black widow and brown recluse) generally hang in dark places under stuff like lumber. I do know a man who was bitten on the toe by a black widow in his boot. So shake your boots out ... I do! Here in East Texas there are a legion of spiders ... ground spiders, web spiders, little jumpers, great big brown mombo jambo wolf spiderrs (see them in my shop in cabinets and such, and giant banana spiders which have the worlds toughest and stickies webs and like to build webs across 4 wheeler trails.


Spiders may freak you out but they are hugely beneficial. Especially here where there are a gazillion bugs of a gazillion specie of bugs. Of course they are worse out in the country where I am. We DO NOT have black flies though (there is a God in Heaven). I have never had a spider bite or scorpion sting. Been stung by every specie of wasp in Texas dozens of times (and it pizzes me off)!

Been stung by yellow jackets hundreds of times (usually 10-20 stings at a time except the time I was walking on my board porch barefooted and one of the little bastages came up thru the boards and nailed me on the toe ... dayuuummmmm ... it hurt). Yellow jackets are more apt to sting in the fall when they are the most active foraging. Or they are most apt to sting too when you run over a nest in the ground with the lawn mower or tractor/bush hog). Me Me Me Me !!!!!!!!!! They hurt the worst and psychologically I am most damaged knowing they don't die when they sting!


Wasps hurt but I usually spit my dip on the site and it quits hurtin pretty quick. Of the wasps guinea wasps (the little bastages that always build underneath my porch swings) are the most aggressive and I think hurt more than even the big red wasps. A glass of water with a pretty high concentration of liquid dish detergent (like Dawn) thrown on the nest will kill the little hateful turds dead quick ... as well as any of the jet spray killers they say to use at 20 feet away. Since I am a nurse(with easy access to such) I use a big 60ml syringe with the soapy water to bomb wasp nests and spend that $4 I saved on wasp spray to add to my fishing fund!


Bees ... pffffft ... even bumble bees cause no fear to me! I feear yellow jackets the most and scorpions, but I've never been stung by one but they just look evil! I rarely get stung anymore as I am wiser in my old age (except them hateful yeller jackets ... ambushin' little bastages).



I'm done with my rant on Texas stingin' critters and my thoughts on them!!!!!

[minnesotan]

thanks all replys are helpful!

[dvcap79]

Originally Posted by GrannyPossm

and for flys and such...ya get yaself a gal sealed baggie..fill with water...hand outside in front of entrance.

Think of a fly's eye. When they look at the bag of water it looks like a waterfall to them and they won't go under it.

[extexanwannabe]

The biggest problem I have in McAllen is roaches and mosquitos. I use an indoor fogger for the roaches that I see inside (rarely any more) and spray the outside a couple times of year with some stuff called bug free backyard. I have burned pinion wood in our outdoor fire pit and it will keep mosquitos away during like a bbq or pool party.

[changeofpace]

We moved to Corpus from Minneapolis a year ago and have never seen a scorpion or snake inside or outside (and we walk around in our new development everyday for an hour or so) and have not had a spider, roach or bug in the house as of yet. Had several wasp nests on the fence and under the eaves b but removed them as soon as we saw then and they never reappeared.

[changeofpace]

Clarification however, we did have tick problems with our dogs in our yard so we had the yard sprayed twice last summer and we did have the foundation treated for termites when we moved in the house so perhaps the lack of bugs is a result of the outside spraying.