Lawn Guy said:

Eggs Zachtly wrote:

Since I bag my grass when I cut it, I don't have a need to
de-thatch.

Do you even understand what thatch is?

Some say it's the remnants of cut grass and other organic debris.

Others say it's the stems and the crowns of dead grass just above the
soil.

Thatch is a layer of undecomposed or partially decomposed grass roots,
stems, crowns, runners and lower shoots that build up between the soil
surface and actively growing green turf. Grass clippings contain 80 to 85
percent water and decompose more quickly than other grass plant parts.

Research at MU and other universities indicates that grass clippings do not
contribute to thatch. However, it is important to understand that if a
thatch layer greater than 1/2 inch is already present, clippings can
further speed its formation.

Source: extension.missouri.edu


Regardless of what thatch is, if any of it is NOT rooted in the ground
then by bagging your grass every time you mow you are defacto reducing
the tendency for thatch buildup.

Wrong. You're only reducing one (very small) /potential/ contributor to
thatch buildup. Saying that because you bag, you don't need to de-thatch is
untrue.

I never bag, and my thatch layer is far less than 1/2". By not bagging, I
also don't remove nutrients vital to a lawn's health. I use far less
chemicals and fertilizers to replace what I would, in essense, be throwing
away.
--
Eggs

-Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist
change places.

Lawn Guy wrote:

I'm looking for an out-door, gasoline-powered vacuum cleaner that can
vacuum sand, gravel and small stones from paves surfaces, and then
(perhaps by changing a part or two) will dislodge and vaccum up anything
not nailed down on my lawn (leaving only grass) and then (perhaps by
changing a part or two) will vacuum up, pulverize and turn to dust
leaves in the fall.

Here's one:

http://www.vacuumtruck.net/graphics/al02lg.jpg

another:

http://www.rockanddirt.com/perl/sear...hod%3Dsear ch

Lawn Guy - you are a gentlemen and a scholar - very many thanks for a most excellent post.

It was even on the right subject.

May your thatch never thicken

Thanks

Paul (putting the napalm away till the spring ......)

Lawn Guy wrote:

Paul the Stump wrote:

can I assume that no one so far has any idea about
the point of the damn post??????

Get yourself 250 to 500 ml of any of the following. Go with Sevin,
Dursban, or anything containing Diazonon or Malathion as your first
choice.

Mix 10 to 20 ml of the chemical of your choice in 1 L of warm water.
Dump entire liter onto / into ant hill. Pour slowly so most of it
enters the colony and doesn't just run off laterally.

doing the proper drench is a critical step towards the total kill.


Do that to every ant hill and in 24 hours you won't have an ant problem
any more.

Don't spray any of this stuff - it kills bees and that's not good.

If you have one of those shop vac's - like this one:

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/12-Gallon-Vac/EN/index.htm

or smaller, use it to vacuum out the ants first and clean out their
colony before you pour the chemicals. Place the nozzle squarely over
their exit holes. This will help the pesticide reach further into the
colony, and the vacuuming will suck up some ants that you can kill (or
re-locate) later.

I've been fighting these damn fire ants all summer.


The vacuuming will help you remove the excess dirt and return the lawn
to the flat contour it had before, and might extricate some remnants of
living grass that was buried under the dirt. After a week, throw down
some grass seed, cover with top soil, and mix in some granular lawn
fertilizer and water liberally for a week or two.

good post, Eggs...


-------------------------------

Sevin (Carbaryl)
Product names include Carbamine, Denapon, Dicarbam, Hexavin, Karbaspray,
Nac, Ravyon, Septene, Sevin, Tercyl, Tricarnam, and Union Carbide 7744.

Merit (Imidacloprid) made by Bayer
Trade names include Merit, Admire, Provado, Gaucho

Temik (Aldicarb)
Only trade or product name I know of is Temik.

Dursban (Chlorpyrifos)
Trade names include Brodan, Detmol UA, Dowco 179, Dursban, Eradex,
Lorsban, Piridane, Stipend

Cygon (Dimethoate)
Trade names include Cekuthoate, Chimigor 40, Cygon 400, Daphene,
De-Fend, Demos NF, Devigon, Dimate 267, Dimet, Dimethoat Tech 95%,
Dimethopgen, Ferkethion, Fostion MM, Perfekthion, Rogodan, Rogodial,
Rogor, Roxion, Sevigor, Trimetion.

Bug-B-Gon (Diazinon)
Trade names include Basudin, Dazzel, Gardentox, Kayazol, Knox Out,
Nucidol, and Spectracide.

No common trade name - (Malathion)
Also known as carbophos, maldison and mercaptothion. Trade names for
products containing malathion include Celthion, Cythion, Dielathion, El
4049, Emmaton, Exathios, Fyfanon and Hilthion, Karbofos and Maltox.

I have the same problem before but I think the ants here in my place are not that as you described. Most of them just leave because of constant watering and disturbance on their habitats.

I've had similar problem with red ants, I seem to have tried out everything possiblea and at the end they seem to have left all by themselves!