Larry of the Lawn Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 WHY, I say, oh, WHY did everyone ignore my oh-so excellent suggestion of guinea fowl for insect control? They will clean your property right up! Plus, they're cute too. Exhibit A ----> http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/raising-guinea-fowl-zmaz92aszshe.aspxGreat minds think alike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elder Sister Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 Great minds think alike! Yep - I thought about you when I read Tear's guinea suggestion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astromech Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Hate to rain on the guinea fowl parade, but what kind of predators do you have in your neck of the woods? As cute as they are, I wouldn't necessarily want to attract panthers, coyotes and such to my backyard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tears of Lys Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Hate to rain on the guinea fowl parade, but what kind of predators do you have in your neck of the woods? As cute as they are, I wouldn't necessarily want to attract panthers, coyotes and such to my backyard. Well, ES is going to have chickens on her property, which will attract predators anyway. Now all she'll need are GEESE - those creatures are truly bad tempered and aggressive. I don't think there are any panthers near her. :leaving: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueMetis Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Well, ES is going to have chickens on her property, which will attract predators anyway. Now all she'll need are GEESE - those creatures are truly bad tempered and aggressive. I don't think there are any panthers near her. :leaving: In North America panther can be another name for cougar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astromech Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Ha ha, sorry, I should have been more specific. Elder Sister's statement that she lived in a jungle made me think of the Southeastern U.S. and Florida in particular where Florida panthers are native. "Panthers" do usually bring to mind black panthers. Your statement just made me think of those, Tear. Sorry for any possible confusion. And if you're just laughing at me, no worries, carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tears of Lys Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 No, I'm not laughing at you! And yeah, cougars makes more sense. The guinea fowl I've known can fly short distances. They hang out in tall trees when they're not scarfing up insects. The chickens are probably in more danger from predators. But I think ES plans on having them in enclosed pens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astromech Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Yeah, at least the guinea fowl would have a chance to escape. Come to think of it, an aunt used to have rabbits penned in her yard in the country and never had any incidents with predation. She had more problems with the rabbits fighting and those could be quite ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemiNymph Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 How big of an area are we talking about? I put minced garlic, lightly buried less than 1cm, on my plants and it works well for keeping some pests away. Not sure if it's practical for you. And not sure if it's harmful to bees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elder Sister Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 We actually do have big cats here - panthers/cougars/eastern mountain lions, although they're extremely rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamSongs Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 We actually do have big cats here - panthers/cougars/eastern mountain lions, although they're extremely rare. Shhh...don't tell the officials that. According to them, the Eastern mountain lion is extinct. Any sighted MUST have been Western mountain lions loosed by irresponsible people illegally hauling them all over the East Coast. Personally, I think that eventually they are going to have to admit that there are small breeding populations throughout the southern wetlands. I saw one in S. Carolina back in 2003. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elder Sister Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Shhh...don't tell the officials that. According to them, the Eastern mountain lion is extinct. Any sighted MUST have been Western mountain lions loosed by irresponsible people illegally hauling them all over the East Coast. Personally, I think that eventually they are going to have to admit that there are small breeding populations throughout the southern wetlands. I saw one in S. Carolina back in 2003. Yeah, exactly. And if they admit their presence, they'll have to deal with them. We got into that where I live with alligators twenty to thirty years ago. The fish and game folks kept denying their presence here in my area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamSongs Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 ES, What about your local dragonfly population? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elder Sister Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 ES, What about your local dragonfly population? They seem to be just fine - I have a lot of bats, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueMetis Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Shhh...don't tell the officials that. According to them, the Eastern mountain lion is extinct. Any sighted MUST have been Western mountain lions loosed by irresponsible people illegally hauling them all over the East Coast. What practical difference does that make? Even if it is a western rather than eastern mountain lion wouldn't their response be the same? (whatever that response is) I mean these are subspecies, the distinction that marks a subspecies is geographic isolation. So western or eastern shouldn't matter. And really if the western populations are capable of migrating to where the eastern ones lived, that shoots down the subspecies argument anyway. Cause they are no longer geographically isolated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarl the climber Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I need some information. And y'all are the smartest people I know.I'm getting my beehives either this weekend or next weekend, depending on the weather. In the meantime, I have to get termite treatment (as a preventative) and am reading up on the possible issues it can have with bees. I 'think' I'm in the clear, because I don't have blooming plants right up next to my foundation.But what about other, natural bug repellent/killers? I live in a jungle, basically. What are my options other than an anteater and some praying mantises (which freak me out)?Besides my bees, I don't want to use anything that's going to hurt all of the lizards, frogs, turtles, etc. that live around my place. Other than spiders, I actually like creepy crawlies.When I get the chickens next year, that will definitely help. What do some of you crunchy nature types advise for now?I know nothing about beekeeping but I know a fellow who is an organic farmer, I dump my wood chips at his farm. He started doing bees this year. He actually was apprenticed to another farmer for a year before he actually did it because beekeeping can be dangerous. A lot of the bees out there are Russians Bees because they are more disease/pest resistant. On the other hand they are much more agressive than a lot of the other kinds. I'm not sure what your background is in this but if you could find some sort of apprentice program like my farmer friend was in, that might be a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyran64 Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 I use professional services of Pest control Port Macquarie company. And they use organic sprays for wasp and hornet nests. I think you should also get their services to keep these pests away from your home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elder Sister Posted June 29, 2015 Author Share Posted June 29, 2015 Unfortunately, you are a wee bit too far away from me to use that service, but thanks!I've been using cornmeal on my fire ants and it seems to be working. I'm not sure why it kills the mound, but it does. I'm still pondering what to do as far as termite treatment. I really don't want all of those chemicals pumped under my house. I am scared it will hurt my honeybees. I have tons of flowers right around my house and I know that some of this chemical is going to wind up in the flowers if I do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrum Aeternum Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Thread bump reminded me to provide updates on the products I'm trying: We used to get some brand of organic, mint-based, spray for wasp and hornet nests as well as all sorts of ants. Killed them ded. And I know mint plants are popular around foundations for ant repellent/deterrent. It may work on termites too. This stuff works. Holy crap, does it ever work. I had a surprise visit from some paper wasps a few weeks back (one group was even kind enough to build a nest right above my side door - I got a nice souvenir below my left eye from one while trying to take out the trash one night). So the next morning I went out there and sprayed that nest with the EcoSmart spray. Each and every wasp (five on that nest) fell straight down to the ground, wiggled for a few seconds and perished. I found another nest under the eaves on the other side of the house and cleaned it out similarly. Haven't seen another of the little buggers since! It even smells kinda nice. Great product. While looking around Amazon (building off Mance's suggestion above) I found this stuff which I'd never seen before, so I went ahead and ordered a bottle of that to try out. As to the mosquito repellant - it seems to do the job at least as well as Deep Woods OFF. I sprayed myself up pretty thoroughly with it the other night, sat outside for a couple of hours and only had one bite to show for it.Only negatives are the smell (different from the chemical repellants, but not that much more pleasant) and the oily consistency. I've found that I need to take a shower after coming back inside because the stuff is so greasy it'll rub off onto anything it comes in contact with (i.e. furniture). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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