Humane Bug Removal

reply to post by CoherentlyConfused
Well I haven't always been so brave. I grew up around lake Michigan and we really didn't have all the nasty bugs I now have here in the southwest. I had a choice to either live in constant fear or adapt to my surroundings. It took some getting used to but now I find the little guys pretty interesting and amazing.

reply to post by Morningglory


Thanks for this tip. I feel the same way about not killing anything no matter how small it is. What i will kill however are Asian Hornets as they can be deadly and i am getting pretty sick of waking up to them building a nest next to my bed!

I think it would just piss them off spraying them with icy water unless you have any tips specificaly geared towards getting rid of them? lol

Just remeber the next time you get an infection not to let it go away...

Those poor bacteria need a home to. Why dont you care about them?

reply to post by InternetGremlin
You poor thing someone should have taught you a little better about the BB gun. When our boys got their first BB guns and later a .22 rifle the rule in our house was you kill it you eat it.

Kept them from recklessly killing things. They decided shooting at targets was the way to go.

Three comments, the first two are in reference to the common misconception that a clean home will deter ALL insects.

1. Bed bugs - you can have the most spotless home in the world; but, when a visitor (usually one who travels and sleeps in hotels/motels etc.) sits on your prisitine couch ... you have opened the door to a possible bedbug visitor.

2. Roaches. - Much earlier in my life I went through a neurotically over-clean phase as in military inspection clean and more. Roaches loved my apartment. I couldn't figure what they were eating until I grabbed an old book to read and all the red textbook die was gone. White spots where the dye had been eaten were proof. I researched the roaches and found that there is one type of roach that ONLY eats certain dyes from old textbook bindings! I also found there were others who ONLY consumed electronics, as in electrical wiring. There were other "specialty" roaches included. So, if your place is neurotically clean and you have roaches, find their food source - it's not always what you'd expect.

3. Ants - love the catfood. Blow ants away (if you don't want to just smush the little critters *ebil gwin*) and moisten a rag or paper towel with 100% house cleaning ammonia. Rub the area they are attracted to with ammonia. They HATE the smell and it disrupts their ability to re-follow the trails they leave to the food source.

Ammonia also works with other critters.

reply to post by Isabelx
I've never used diatomaceous earth but I've heard good things about it. I've read it's a bit rough for insects to crawl on so they don't like it. It's suppose to be good for slugs in the garden too but I'm not bothered with them. I might try it for the red centipedes though. Thanks for the tip.

reply to post by NightFlight
Insects/animals that carry disease need to be taken very seriously.

Here in southern Colorado we have bubonic plague, west nile and hantavirus to name a few. I have no standing water around my house, the cedar trees seem to keep the fleas in check. Deer mice can give you hantavirus through their bites/waste. Prairie dogs often carry fleas responsible for plague. Lucky for me it's too rocky here for them to dig their dens. They seem to prefer the eastern prairie.

I keep cats to deter rodents, snakes/owls/coyotes are helpful too. I haven't seen deer mice in my neck of the woods I think they prefer higher altitudes. I mostly get field mice or pack rats, nasty things. Pack rats typically build their nests by trees. They pile up sticks/cactus/rocks into huge piles. I've seen some nests with some pretty big rocks, would hate to meet that pack rat.

reply to post by iksose7
Well our black wasps are pretty big and aggressive the ice water worked fine for them but you're dealing with a nest. I'd suit up before I tried anything!

You need to find out why they like nesting there so much. Maybe try blocking the area or somehow make it less desirable/accessible. Watch them and see how they're getting in. Good luck.

reply to post by Trexter Ziam
Wow it sounds like you've done your research in the battle against roaches good for you. Who would've thought dyes could be a food source?

I've heard of people using toothpaste for ants. I mostly get little black ants around the cat food moving it away from the house seems to work. I get red fire ants but they stay out in the yard, hard to deter though. Floods will wash their mounds away but they usually come back. As long as they don't get in my house I leave them alone.

reply to post by Ophiuchus 13


LOL! Good idea..that is the kind of thing I do. Rather than trying to combat them and their homies, I just give them a little to take away and they are perfectly happy working on that, and leave eveything else alone. Here is a great childhood book where I thought of the idea:

Two Bad Ants

Peppermint oil works for bugs.
Ants hate it that's for sure.
They avoid it.

www.gardenguides.com...

Totally agree with you, OP.
I do everything I can to keep from harming our multi-legged friends. Spiders get trapped humanely. Beetles put outside. Ants get a little something for their trouble and to keep them away from the other food. Wasps and Hornets and such kind of scare me. I have only had bees in the house and they are easy to get out for the most part. I did have a wasp in the car once. He was bound and determined to get out of the back window despite all my efforts to show him the doors. I could not trap him no matter how hard I tried. I left the windows open but in he stayed. I felt bad but what could I do? The next day, I opened the car and expected to find his little curled up body in the back window. Hmm, no wasp.
Opened the trunk and there he was, still crawling around looking for an out! It was much easier to get him to fly out of the trunk and he went on his merry way!

Originally posted by Morningglory
reply to post by jiggerj

 

LOL you're not bugging me in the least. Was that your intent?

I treat humans who bug me the same as insects or animals, usually giving them a wide berth. You seem to be under the impression that protecting ones home is somehow unique to humans. Insects/animals are equally protective of their homes.

My point is that any animal, insect or human will defend its home from intruders. Don't quite understand your point by singling out bees. What would you expect them to do? They've worked as hard for their home as you.

Ha! My point was that bugs would have no problem killing humans (if they could) for violating their territory. So, I have no problem with myself or others just killing the pesky little intruders when they come into our territory. many like to argue that we are above nature, but I really think we are part of the checks and balances of population control. Bugs are necessary critters, but like anything else, too many is not good.

Originally posted by Morningglory
reply to post by Isabelx

 

I've never used diatomaceous earth but I've heard good things about it. I've read it's a bit rough for insects to crawl on so they don't like it. It's suppose to be good for slugs in the garden too but I'm not bothered with them. I might try it for the red centipedes though. Thanks for the tip.

We used it for a flea infestation in the garage! Took a few days but really worked! We spread it everywhere and then swept it up when the infestation was done.

Borax works well too.
3 mule borax.

reply to post by jiggerj
If I'm not mistaken insects were here before man. Predator insects/environment kept them in check without any help from man.

You're right too many bugs isn't a good thing. One has to wonder though when they do run amok what went wrong? What natural checks/balances failed? Imo man's intervention/manipulation is often responsible for throwing the natural order of things out of whack.

I see no harm in letting them go on to do their thing. If I started killing wasps like crazy they'll most likely find someplace else to live and wont eat my mites. Being at the top of the food chain it's your prerogative to do as you please with them. I simply find more good comes out of utilizing their beneficial natures.

I'm pretty happy when I see a normal house spider. I feel there's a good chance there's no black widows around. They'd eat them or the harmless spiders would clear out.

Even flies and maggots serve man. Bone collectors use them to clean off remaining flesh. Investigators use them for establishing timelines etc.

And yes bugs can kill you if they feel it's necessary but the few bugs I find in the house aren't really looking to kill me. They're usually looking for food, possibly other bugs, or a way out. I don't hate you for killing bugs I just think there's a more beneficial way.

reply to post by grey580
Thanks for the tip. I will be looking into borax. Sounds like an old timey remedy, I love them. That's how I found out about epsom salts.

I lived in an old house once and found containers of alum everywhere. I know it's used in pickling but have since found some other uses for it. One was pretty funny/embarrassing but I'll let you google it.

Originally posted by Morningglory

If I started killing wasps like crazy they'll most likely find someplace else to live and wont eat my mites.

I had planned on doing a search for what role wasps play in nature. I forgot, but now I don't have to. Thanks!

I have found a few good ways of detouring bugs from coming in or returning throughout my time here on Planet Earth.

Ants= By putting Baby powder on your door steps and windowsills you will never see an ant again. Apparently the chemical makeup of it messes with their frequencies and they stay clear. I had a major ant problem one year and put out the baby powder and was ant free by the next day. I never did find bodies either.

Roaches= I found that if you do not have an infestation the best way to get rid of them or prevent them is to mix a half and half of Tabasco and water into a spay bottle and spray your door and window frames, base boards and cabinets a few times a year. I lived in a very infested area at one time where everyone in the neighborhood had them except me using this trick.

Bed bugs= Sorry but gotta kill them. If you find them in your home and they have not gotten a hold on their infestation yet put straight rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle and spay everything. I say everything because they are not limited to cardboard, beds, wooden dressers and cabinets but also the springs of not only beds but couches and other furniture as well as baseboards and such. You may have to do this a couple of times a week for a couple of weeks but it dries them out and softens their shells. each time I would say kills 75% within a few min of contact with the alcohol so keep up and you can fairly cheaply get rid of them.

As for the rest= I too use ice cold water in a spay bottle. Spray bottles are your friends, LOL.

reply to post by Agarta


I forgot to add, another way to rid yourself of Bed bugs is to place dry ice in a thermos and set it into a pie pan of water. They are nocturnal and they seek out carbon dioxide which is what dry ice is. As the dry ice melts and sense it is heavier than air, they are attracted to the thermos and drown in the pan.