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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
Hi all, my wife and I have lived in an apartment since we have been
married. We bought a nice home 3 months ago and love it. I never thought I would enjoy yard work but I just cant get enough of it... We live out of the city and have a pretty large backyard. It is now summertime and we are coming to notice lots and lots of BUGS! When we lived in the city, they sprayed almost nightly for mosquitos... this helps them not be so bothersome to us but now they seem to be a noticable pest...among other bugs... Here are a few issues I would hope that some yard/garden experts could help me out with: Mosquito Hawks (those big looking mosquitos)... I am not sure if this is thier actual name, but from what I understand, they eat mosquitos and are not interested in my blood... my exterminator guy tells me he can spray my bushes to kill most of the M. hawks... but will killing them INCREASE my regular mosquito populations? Red ants... I hear that they come with rain and I have found it to be true... in alabama ants are EVERYWHERE for some reason, so when we got into our home I bought some Amdro and within a week all of our ant hills were barren waste lands. And they were all black ants... never saw a red one. then a few weeks ago we had some rain and (pop pop pop) up come red ant hills... and I have noticed they are TOTALLY different from black ants... the black ants will seem to travel 10 to 20 yards to get the AMDRO.... yet the red ants look to be picking up the AMDRO, walking AWAY from thier mound, dropping it and going back to the mound... and the package actuially SPECIFIES that it is for red ants... are these ants just super smart? Unfortunately it has raind for 3 days straight since my last application so I am afraid they are going to explode all over my yard once it dries up... so I guess my question here is... how does one get rid of red and black ants successfully? is it an ongoing battle? June Bugs (i think)... at night while my wife and I watch tv, we here a gentle "knock...knock...knock" on our back door... turns out, these fat bugs are hitting the doors and windows and dying on the spot... I guess they like the light, but aside from putting out those ugly trtaps in my yard, is there any other deterant? They arent bothersome, just gross having to sweep thier dead bodies off my porch every day. I hope my questions arent dumb sounding... I am really looking forward to many enjoyable years in my home, but just hate the thought of playing some backyard football and diving for a catch only to land face first in an ant-bed, get bit by mosquitos while running into the house for ointment, and end up slipping on dead june bug bodies and hitting my head... lol Thansk in advace all! Jazz Mann |
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
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#3
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
"jameson" wrote in message om... Hi all, my wife and I have lived in an apartment since we have been married. We bought a nice home 3 months ago and love it. I never thought I would enjoy yard work but I just cant get enough of it... We live out of the city and have a pretty large backyard. It is now summertime and we are coming to notice lots and lots of BUGS! When we lived in the city, they sprayed almost nightly for mosquitos... this helps them not be so bothersome to us but now they seem to be a noticable pest...among other bugs... Here are a few issues I would hope that some yard/garden experts could help me out with: Mosquito Hawks (those big looking mosquitos)... I am not sure if this is thier actual name, but from what I understand, they eat mosquitos and are not interested in my blood... my exterminator guy tells me he can spray my bushes to kill most of the M. hawks... but will killing them INCREASE my regular mosquito populations? Red ants... I hear that they come with rain and I have found it to be true... in alabama ants are EVERYWHERE for some reason, so when we got into our home I bought some Amdro and within a week all of our ant hills were barren waste lands. And they were all black ants... never saw a red one. then a few weeks ago we had some rain and (pop pop pop) up come red ant hills... and I have noticed they are TOTALLY different from black ants... the black ants will seem to travel 10 to 20 yards to get the AMDRO.... yet the red ants look to be picking up the AMDRO, walking AWAY from thier mound, dropping it and going back to the mound... and the package actuially SPECIFIES that it is for red ants... are these ants just super smart? Unfortunately it has raind for 3 days straight since my last application so I am afraid they are going to explode all over my yard once it dries up... so I guess my question here is... how does one get rid of red and black ants successfully? is it an ongoing battle? June Bugs (i think)... at night while my wife and I watch tv, we here a gentle "knock...knock...knock" on our back door... turns out, these fat bugs are hitting the doors and windows and dying on the spot... I guess they like the light, but aside from putting out those ugly trtaps in my yard, is there any other deterant? They arent bothersome, just gross having to sweep thier dead bodies off my porch every day. I hope my questions arent dumb sounding... I am really looking forward to many enjoyable years in my home, but just hate the thought of playing some backyard football and diving for a catch only to land face first in an ant-bed, get bit by mosquitos while running into the house for ointment, and end up slipping on dead june bug bodies and hitting my head... lol Thansk in advace all! Jazz Mann First of all, congratulations on buying your first home Now to answer your questions The mosquito hawks do eat lots of skeeters, so don't kill them...they are essential (at least they are to me). These "red ant's"..are they fire ants? More than likely they are, and those critters are a pain in the butt!! If you see them carrying the AMDRO granules, that's a good thing They will carry it to their queen...it will kill her, then within days, the whole colony will die. It may take a little longer if it's a huge mound. I remember a time (when I was a kid) that nobody had even heard of fire ants. Those were the days, LOL! The June bugs are something you pretty much just have to learn to live in harmony with They do tend to hang around light though, so if you keep the porch light off and maybe put a curtain on the window so they can't see the light inside at night, that might discourage them a little. Hope my answers help you out some Good Luck! Angie |
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
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#6
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
I like the bat idea, havent noticed any in this new part of town I
live in... but if they help I want them! where does one buy a "bat house"? Id feel really dumb if I went to my local nursery and asked for one and they had no idea what I was talking about. Jazz Mann |
#7
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
On Thu, 10 Apr 2003 05:48:03 -0700, Tsu Dho Nimh
wrote: Mosquito control by spraying YOUR yard is useless - they can fly for 1/2 mile of more. Make sure you have no breeding spots for them, make sure the screens fit well, and consider screening in your porch. Get to know bug repellent sprays. Off works, but stinks, imo. I like Skintastic, i think it is. Works, AND smells good. Weather permitting, i am out every night for hours. I usually only have OFF! but it does work. |
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
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#9
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
Thanks for your reply Tsu...
but you claim that I should not bother ant hills unless that are in my "livingroom"... so how do people enjoy backyard football or volleyball when they have to look down every 6 steps to avoid stepping in or fallin gin a 2 foot wide anthill? I have become for the first time enthrawled with ants now.. I just keep catching myself on the internet learning more and more about thier behaviors, but I havent found out who thier "enemies" are.. I would think off hand birds, but if that were the case, my backyard would be full of birds having a feeding frenzy... who are ants natural enemies? |
#10
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
jameson wrote:
Thanks for your reply Tsu... but you claim that I should not bother ant hills unless that are in my "livingroom"... so how do people enjoy backyard football or volleyball when they have to look down every 6 steps to avoid stepping in or fallin gin a 2 foot wide anthill? I have become for the first time enthrawled with ants now.. I just keep catching myself on the internet learning more and more about thier behaviors, but I havent found out who thier "enemies" are.. I would think off hand birds, but if that were the case, my backyard would be full of birds having a feeding frenzy... who are ants natural enemies? Anteaters, ant bears, ant lions, echidnas, parasitic mites, but mostly each other. Humans and ants, both being highly evolved social animals, share much behavior, including waging war. Ants are members of the family formicidae, whose sting carries the irritating agent formic acid. They have few predators simply because they taste bad. |
#11
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
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#12
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questions from a first-time homeowner on bugs!
On Thu, 10 Apr 2003 23:55:14 -0700, "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A."
wrote: Anteaters, ant bears, ant lions, echidnas, parasitic mites, but mostly each other. Humans and ants, both being highly evolved social animals, share much behavior, including waging war. Ants are members of the family formicidae, whose sting carries the irritating agent formic acid. They have few predators simply because they taste bad. I never have two large hills in my yard, but i heard if you take a shovel of each and put onto each others' hills, they will kill each other off. It sounds too cruel for me anyway. I can't kill much. I did have several fire ants come out of no where and bite me today. Sucks! I immediately rub wit straight bleach, followed by a cold rinse. Cuts that itch time down to a couple/few minutes. True story: I moved here and never heard of the likes of fire ants. My neighbor was mowing and she ran over a hill and they swarmed her BIG TIME. She started screaming, GET THE BLEACH! GET THE BLEACH!, while she brushed them off on the way to the hose. Well silly me, I ran out there with the bleach like a fireman on a fire and turned the bottle upside down on the area of ants. She told me to bring HER the bleach and poured it over her feet. I had no idea. But having done it both ways, i stick with the bleach. I HATE that itch! |
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