Replies

1. 
   Mackwood | Oct 08, 2004 09:38am | #1

   Forestgirl,

   Had an interesting run in with "springtails" at our place in Oak Harbor shortly after the house was built.  Took a mess of them in a glass jar for a trip to the UW extension in Coupeville.  Knowledgable fellow told me they were quite harmless and to flush them from wherever I didn't want them with a garden hose and not to try to mass murder them (I think the guy liked bugs!).  After a couple weeks, they vanished; never to return (where I could see them anyway).

   I would suggest a similar "road trip" for your little friends just to be sure.

   Regards,

   Mack 

   "WISH IN ONE HAND, #### IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"

1. 
   forestgirl | Oct 08, 2004 06:22pm | #2

   Hi Mack, thanks for the reasurrance.  These aren't in the house, thank heavens.  They're out around my fire wood and the outside bin where I keep construction scraps for burning.

   I found something last night on the 'net that indicated they're associated with mold and damp conditions.  Some of the firewood still had the bark on it, and it had mold, so that might be the triggering factor.  As long as they're not wood eaters! 

   Cute little things, actually.  Real over-achievers with that jumping thing they do, LOL.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   Mackwood | Oct 08, 2004 07:17pm | #3

   Forest Girl,

   They are bizarre little creatures!  I first noticed them as a distinct blue tint on the concrete at both doors to our garage (I understand they come in different colors).  I thought it was some sort of residue from construction materials.  I bent down and scooped some up (felt like the crumbs from an eraser) and realized it was a living mass!  I was ready for all out chemical warfare!

   After consultation with the guy at the extension, I flushed them off the concrete with a hose two or three times.  Each time they would come back but noticably less numerous.  Eventually they just felt unwanted and left!

   Regards,

   Mack"WISH IN ONE HAND, #### IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"

1. 
   forestgirl | Oct 08, 2004 08:03pm | #4

   "Eventually they just felt unwanted and left!"  LOL!  I used that same technique years ago on a pair of pidgeons who were trying to nest in the rafters of my horse barn.  Took some persistence on my part, but they finally went elsewhere to make their babies.

   Didn't realize they come in blue.  Pretty cool.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   Mackwood | Oct 09, 2004 02:36am | #5

   Forest Girl,

   I have an open shed next to my shop that was very attractive to those little "mud swallows" that descend on us every spring.  Every weekend I'd go up to Oak Harbor and have to knock down a nest or two.  Got kinda' depressing as there were sometimes eggs in the nests.  I've been told that their mud nests are bringers of bugs and rot in the rafters of a shed, plus they crap all over everything so I really didn't want them in there.

   An old friend of mine told me of a powerful deterent.  I shot one of the little jaspers with .22 bird shot and hung it on a string in plain view at one of the bay openings.  They still fly around but they go nowhere near that shed.  I felt bad about it but I reasoned that killing one adult was better than crashing nests every week.  

   Regards,

   Mack "WISH IN ONE HAND, #### IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH FILLS UP FIRST"

2. 
   forestgirl | Oct 10, 2004 12:24am | #7

   That "dead bird" warning is supposed to work with crows too, maybe it works with all birds?  One year, the crows had a standing 7am meeting in the big trees in back of our house.  I spent all summer hoping to find a dead crow on the road that I could use as a warning.

   Fortunately, they've moved their meetings elsewhere.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   fredsmart48 | Oct 09, 2004 10:52am | #6

   If you you have flea beetles they help get control of leafy spurge.  As far as i know flea beetles the only thing they eat is leafy spurge.   Herbicides such as (roundup) has a very hard time controlling leafy spurge doing it.