You might try dusting with powdered sulfur or ground up dried orange peel

"Liz" wrote in message
...
On 12 Jul 2003 02:59:55 -0700, (zebrin) wrote:

Poke some holes in the plastic and you wont have to remove it.

That's what I'm planning, thanks. Just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be
a
waste of time.

Step on spider with large boot.

I'll remember to dress my kids and pets in large boots.

Just don't go where you know chiggers are.

That'll be a problem, it's on the way to half of my house. Any idea what
they're attracted to/repelled by so maybe I can alter what's over there to
make
them go away?

Zebrin



Liz wrote in message
. ..
Hi all, I 've got brown recluse spiders loitering in my shed, they show
up from
time to time in the area and one once bit a friend of mine (he's still
got a
nasty mark on his leg after a year). I'm not looking forward to that
ever
happening again.

My yard also has swarms of what look like gnats but bite. Whatever they
are,
more than one person has complained of bites when they walk past one
area that
has ivy and an Azalea under a pine tree.

I'm not a pesticide fan, other than the brown recluses I don't go out
of my way
to kill anything in the yard, but I've got kids to watch out for and
I'm
starting to think about trying the Bayer Advanced hose-on spray.

I have a few concerns about it however. We've got a cat and a dog and
they both
like to graze, and I'm not sure if the grass, once treated, would make
them
sick. I know the label says it is safe once dried, but I'm a skeptic.

Also if anyone knows of a better (safer, natural) way to keep the
swarms of
biting things and the brown recluses away, I'd be glad to hear them.

I've also got a question about landscaping plastic used under gravel
next to the
shed. During the Winter we had about an inch of ice covering the gravel
and as
it thawed the shed had some water seep in, that never happened before
the
plastic went down and I have the feeling I blocked some much needed
drainage by
putting the plastic under the gravel. Am I right? I'm not looking
forward to
lifting the plastic but I will do what I'm told.

Thanks and sorry for the ramble.