In article fc.003d094101c55e873b9aca00f3e59f55.1c55e92@pmug. org,
(Glenna Rose) wrote:

writes:

Might be instinctive. :-)
Owl decoys work very well for pest birds, and pigeons!

Non-pest birds, also. LOL

A friend who loves her birds put a very realistic owl in her garden to
keep away pest birds. It was weeks before she realized why her song birds
weren't coming to the feeders. Shortly after she removed the owl, her
song birds returned to the feeders.

Glenna


Placement is important... :-)
I breed pigeons for meat, so I don't want to scare off my breeding
stock! G

Owl decoys just go into the garden area, not anywhere near the gourd
bird houses. I've been getting good occupation of those by house wrens,
and those are death on garden bugs!

K.

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writes:

Here the main spiders are black widow (both the passive and the leggy
aggressive types) and brown recluse. Our big worry is whether we can
get them all killed off before they take over, or eat us alive. My
tenant got bit by one in her bed yesterday. One reason I keep atropine
on hand is for spider bites. And if you're gone for 3 days, when you
come back the house will be chock full of black widow webs, to the
point that it looks like a movie spook house (no kidding). Hanging
dichlorvos no-pest strips helps esp. with the black widows. Doesn't
seem to bother the wolf spiders, either, tho we don't see many of
those anyway.

I wasn't aware there was more than one type of Black Widow spider. There
is another that looks very much like a BW but does not have that true
hourglass on the shiny black body. They are the ones that are more
commonly in buildings and are not poisonous (except the "normal" spider
venom that can cause blisters if they bite you). I've seen people
(including my own son) refuse to go in sheds, etc., thinking they were
BWs. BWs seem to prefer dark, moist places. Growing up in eastern
Washington, I had to deal with them whenever I went into the pump house,
scary stuff! However, that was the only place we ever saw them besides
dirt cellars. They weren't ever in the garden which I always worried
about when picking tomatoes (yes, fields full!) since that was dark and
moist in those vines.

Here in western Washington, BWs are not common but they are present. The
Brown Recluse is more common and that is the one that scares me! BWs are
not hiders but the BRs are, or so I understand it that way. I've not
knowingly seen one, but they are very much on my mind when I see a brown
spider I don't recognize. shiver

Glenna

writes:

Excellent! I really like the idea of a plant that comes down through a
family for multiple generations. A rose is much nicer than our family
plant (an apparently immortal philodendron that goes back at least to
the early 1960s).

I have two yellow rose bushes that I refer to as my grandma roses. When I
was a little girl, my paternal grandmother had one on each side of her
front steps. One summer, when my maternal grandmother was visiting her,
she got a start. After I was married, I got a start from my maternal
grandmother. Hence the name grandma roses, they came from both of my
grandmothers. I've moved the bushes twice now (when I moved). I have no
idea what kind they are. Though they don't last long, they are one of the
most fragrant roses ever.

They grow quite high though are not climbers and bloom mostly in clusters.
My other "family plant" is my lilacs. When my grandparents visited
Arkansas one year, they dug up a lilac bush from my grandfather's home
place. In 1976, I brought starts home to my house. Those also have been
moved twice with me. I call them my "Arkansas lilacs" because of where
they came from. They, too, are extremely fragrant.

It's cool that friends have asked for starts from both the roses and the
lilacs.

Many years ago, I had a Christmas Catus I took the start from from my
grandmother's plant (which I now have and is at least fifty years old).
For years, that little plant lived in water only, bloomed beautifully
twice a year, plant a very healthy green. Then during one of my
grandmother's visits, she noticed it wasn't in soil. She told me I better
plant it because it can't live in water (though it had for over ten years,
first in an apartment and then two houses!). Yup, you guessed it, the
plant died. No kidding, within two months, it was unquestionably dead. I
always said she killed it. It was happy in its ignorance that it needed
soil and flourished in the water.

Glenna
who moved her outdoor plants as well
as her furniture when she moved
(of course working for a utilities
contractor and having access to
backhoes helped a lot!)

In article fc.003d094101c55e933b9aca00f3e59f55.1c55eb1@pmug. org,
(Glenna Rose) wrote:

writes:

Here the main spiders are black widow (both the passive and the leggy
aggressive types) and brown recluse. Our big worry is whether we can
get them all killed off before they take over, or eat us alive. My
tenant got bit by one in her bed yesterday. One reason I keep atropine
on hand is for spider bites. And if you're gone for 3 days, when you
come back the house will be chock full of black widow webs, to the
point that it looks like a movie spook house (no kidding). Hanging
dichlorvos no-pest strips helps esp. with the black widows. Doesn't
seem to bother the wolf spiders, either, tho we don't see many of
those anyway.

I wasn't aware there was more than one type of Black Widow spider. There
is another that looks very much like a BW but does not have that true
hourglass on the shiny black body. They are the ones that are more
commonly in buildings and are not poisonous (except the "normal" spider
venom that can cause blisters if they bite you). I've seen people
(including my own son) refuse to go in sheds, etc., thinking they were
BWs. BWs seem to prefer dark, moist places. Growing up in eastern
Washington, I had to deal with them whenever I went into the pump house,
scary stuff! However, that was the only place we ever saw them besides
dirt cellars. They weren't ever in the garden which I always worried
about when picking tomatoes (yes, fields full!) since that was dark and
moist in those vines.

Here in western Washington, BWs are not common but they are present. The
Brown Recluse is more common and that is the one that scares me! BWs are
not hiders but the BRs are, or so I understand it that way. I've not
knowingly seen one, but they are very much on my mind when I see a brown
spider I don't recognize. shiver

Glenna


They (brown recluse) are common around here... especially when I move
furniture to clean the floors properly. ;-)

They are milk chocolate brown, flat finish, not shiny, and with very
pointed toes. Look on the cephalothorax (upper back) for a violin shaped
marking. That is why they are also known as "violin spiders".

K. (from Central Texas)

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Hi Rez,

For many plants, especially trees (and roses really are a sort of
small tree) that's true. Sometimes we fuss over them TOO much and
perhaps get things out of balance, when leaving well enough alone
would be better.

I do believe helping a short term to give it time to develop the
*skill?* to survive are OK, but not long term protection from me. If
it does not cope with the environment for a given period, it's it
choice to go, so let it go. I better spend my time on something else.

Regards,
Wong

--
Latitude: 06.10N Longitude: 102.17E Altitude: 5m

In article ,
says...
I use coffee cans half buried around my tomatoes. Seems to stop
both hornworms and cutworms, and I suspect slugs as well. Also
handy for watering - just fill the can :-).


Doesn't the can constrain the roots ? They can't expand
horizontally until they get below the edge of the can.

Doesn't seem to be a problem. I bury the tomato plant, as
recommended, when transplanting it into the garden. So the
existing roots are near, if not below, the bottom of the can
from the beginning.

--
Where ARE those Iraqi WMDs?

il Wed, 12 May 2004 00:39:44 -0500, Katra ha scritto:

Hmmmm... I wonder if I can get PVC pipes big enough to slide rat traps
into? That would protect my birds.

Just remember to have enough room so the trap can flick it's arm (or
whatevver it's called)
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

il Wed, 12 May 2004 00:43:14 -0500, Katra ha scritto:


I agree...
The rats have made it difficult to transplant corn sprouts! :-P
I usually just toss the trap into a bucket of water and walk away for 10
minutes or so. If I don't have to watch, I can handle it.

When I catch rats by hand, I grab them by the tail and hit them hard
against the nearest cinder block or tree, and that kills them.

The other morning, I found two nests and managed to kill one adult
female and 16 young rats that way. I watch carefully for nesting sites
and clean them out about once every couple of weeks.

Gee where do you guys live? I have yet to *see* a rat. Let alone need
to kill one. yuck what a topic....
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

In article ,
"Loki" wrote:

il Wed, 12 May 2004 00:39:44 -0500, Katra ha scritto:

Hmmmm... I wonder if I can get PVC pipes big enough to slide rat traps
into? That would protect my birds.

Just remember to have enough room so the trap can flick it's arm (or
whatevver it's called)

I know what you mean. :-)

K.

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In article ,
"Loki" wrote:

il Wed, 12 May 2004 00:43:14 -0500, Katra ha scritto:


I agree...
The rats have made it difficult to transplant corn sprouts! :-P
I usually just toss the trap into a bucket of water and walk away for 10
minutes or so. If I don't have to watch, I can handle it.

When I catch rats by hand, I grab them by the tail and hit them hard
against the nearest cinder block or tree, and that kills them.

The other morning, I found two nests and managed to kill one adult
female and 16 young rats that way. I watch carefully for nesting sites
and clean them out about once every couple of weeks.

Gee where do you guys live? I have yet to *see* a rat. Let alone need
to kill one. yuck what a topic....

Central Texas, suburbs...

I have chickens, they are attracted to the grain feed.
There is nothing I can do about that. I just have to find more efficient
ways to kill the little SOB's. They are very prolific.

K.

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il Thu, 13 May 2004 01:48:59 -0500, Katra ha scritto:


Central Texas, suburbs...

I have chickens, they are attracted to the grain feed.
There is nothing I can do about that. I just have to find more efficient
ways to kill the little SOB's. They are very prolific.

I wonder if they make the pill for rats. Biocontrol. :-)
--
Cheers,
Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]

In article , Katra wrote:
In article fc.003d094101c55e933b9aca00f3e59f55.1c55eb1@pmug. org,
(Glenna Rose) wrote:

writes:

Here the main spiders are black widow (both the passive and the leggy
aggressive types) and brown recluse. Our big worry is whether we can
I wasn't aware there was more than one type of Black Widow spider. There

I wasn't either, til I saw these. They are longer-legged, smaller
bodied, run like the wind, and will jump right at you if disturbed. If
it's the same species, wonder if it might be a variation induced by
climate? Because I never saw this type in Montana, only in SoCal.

is another that looks very much like a BW but does not have that true
hourglass on the shiny black body. They are the ones that are more
commonly in buildings and are not poisonous (except the "normal" spider

All of these that I've examined (after a suitable squishing have a
red or yellow hourglass on the belly.

venom that can cause blisters if they bite you). I've seen people
(including my own son) refuse to go in sheds, etc., thinking they were
BWs. BWs seem to prefer dark, moist places. Growing up in eastern
Washington, I had to deal with them whenever I went into the pump house,
scary stuff! However, that was the only place we ever saw them besides

Here they get into everything. They prefer the dark moist spots, and
being under furniture, eaves, etc. but will web up just about any
undisturbed spot in a matter of days, to the point of looking like a
spook house. Under beehives is their favourite place in the whole wide
world, as I can attest from several years working for a beekeeper

Here in western Washington, BWs are not common but they are present. The

They weren't common in Montana either -- you could count on finding
some in certain window wells, but hardly ever anywhere else. Here,
they're everywhere, and far less fussy about where they live!

Brown Recluse is more common and that is the one that scares me! BWs are
not hiders but the BRs are, or so I understand it that way. I've not
knowingly seen one, but they are very much on my mind when I see a brown
spider I don't recognize. shiver

http://dermatology.cdlib.org/DOJvol5...l/recluse.html
some good closeup photos.

What we have are definitely brown recluse.

We also get a lot of long-leggers that get into everything but are not
aggressive, and are mostly just a nuisance because they'd much rather
come in the house and eat each other than stay outdoors and eat bugs!

OTOH, I've never seen a proper daddy-long-legger here (the kind that
just run around and don't make webs, and shed their legs at a touch;
I'm not sure they're actually a spider per se). Our long-legged spider
is similar, but is not what I grew up calling a daddy-long-legger!

~REZ~

In article , Katra wrote:
Owl decoys work very well for pest birds, and pigeons!

We have two real live owls in residence, and they don't seem to
discourage the starlings much!

~REZ~

In article , Katra wrote:
Hmmmm... I wonder if I can get PVC pipes big enough to slide rat traps
into? That would protect my birds.

That sounds like a good idea. You might try the pinch traps for
gophers with a bait that take some work to get (to make sure the trap
is triggered), and put it inside a piece of 4" sewer pipe -- it's
cheap, durable, yet easy to cut (try a heavy old serrated knife, the
kind they advertise as being able to cut frozen stuff and tin cans).

~REZ~

In article , Katra wrote:
Just remember to have enough room so the trap can flick it's arm (or
whatevver it's called)
I know what you mean. :-)

That's why I mentioned the gopher traps, they don't need anywhere
near as much room.

~REZ~