Pest Control: Dale Gribble Was Right

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Pest Control: Dale Gribble Was Right

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Had a crew in to prune trees the house�s previous owners had let go for probably decades and found a relatively large maple is a hollow fuckin carpenter ant colony.

It�ll come down later this year as it�s now a safety hazard but for now I put about a 2 foot barrier of lambda-cyhalothrin spray around the trunk of it and the other trees in the yard�does that sound reasonable as a mitigation method?

It seems like carpenter ants don�t have huge colonies compared to other species so I�m hoping this will thin them out.

The house had no sign of wood destroying pests when we bought it but we�ll hafta budget to get a pro to do a barrier treatment just in case as there is a lot of old dry wood in there�I could probably manage but as you mentioned, for the sake of documentation and all.

the yeti fucked around with this message at 13:48 on Jun 10, 2021

# ¿ Jun 10, 2021 13:43

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 08:08

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Ahh thanks for the tip I did shake to start but not so much during.

Here�s the ant condo, it�s not dead but it had a ton of dead wood on it, hence the wonky look now.

If I can find an ingress hole at ground level I might just try to widen it and get a good spray in there.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2021 15:28

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

Oh now that's just a drat shame.

Yeah, see if you can do up any ingress holes and re-apply as often as possible per the label to the trunk areas where you can see them. You and your neighbors will be blissfully unaware of the bullet you dodged by identifying and treating this before they ran out of wood in that tree and/or splintered the colony from growth.

I haven't really seen any crawling around from casual pokes around the yard since application. I'm sure some are still in there and/or have a sneaky ingress/egress, but they seem substantively bottled up for now.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2021 01:19

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Lmao, was cleaning up a debris pile that came with the house and uncovered some scrap lumber and another carpenter ant colony, where's that sprayer :black101:

Motronic, while I'm thinking about it -- do you have any thoughts on systemic (i.e., injected or root-applied) tree treatments? I'm kinda leery because it seems like it could kill a wide swath of local insect ecology... but also carpenter ants and other wood destroying pests can get hosed.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2021 15:51

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

The only systemic tree product I'm familiar with is Boxer, which is used for (among other things) Emerald Ash Borer. It's an injectable and you need the $400+ Arbor Systems injector to use it.

There aren't any approved systemic treatments for things like, say, spotted lanterfly because the pesticides used are so broad spectrum that they would also kill pollinators. I think that may be the same thing you'd run into when trying to systemically treat a tree for WDI.

I typically use Talstar P or Bifen I/T applied with a sprayer to as much of the tree as I can reasonable reach in situations like yours. I'm hearing that for some applications an IGR like Tekko can help, but those need to be applied at JUST the right time to be effective (so you need to know your target pest(s) lifecycle). IGR are also typically real expensive.

That injector looks hardcore and I've gone down the rabbit hole of looking at all the injectables Arbor sells just to kill time, I had no idea there were nutrient and vitality injectables for trees

Next time I go to Home Depot I'll try to remember to check what the active was in the "granules absorbed into roots" product I'm thinking of (or if I misunderstood how it's used)

I have a hefty bottle of that lambda-cyhalothrin preparation-- I reckon I may as well go through but after that I'll check out those bifenthrin ones.

Doing a little reading it seems like carpenter ants don't travel all that far from their colony, seems like if that's the case then if i can get all the (god damned, clown shoes rear end previous owner left it there) gross wet wood and lumber off the lot and get rid of this one hosed up tree then I should be in pretty good shape even without regular chemical application

# ¿ Jul 9, 2021 19:09

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Any of y�all know anything about �less toxic� rodenticides? Seems like most of them either involve salt or indigestible plant matter?

# ¿ Oct 30, 2021 15:12

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

SpartanIvy posted:

I'd still try other non-poisonous methods first just in case.

Yeah I�m def not interested in poisoning rodents indoors at least.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2021 16:25

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Nothin quite like that week old dead rat in the wall in august smell to make a house feel like a home.

Tbh as a lifelong snake keeper a whiff of grody rodent is more familiar than I wish it was.

# ¿ Oct 30, 2021 17:05

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

The biggest thing that helped me was getting some gel bait for traps; i dunno what�s in it but it worked way better than peanut butter. I caught about 15 towards the end of fall, one every day or three.

Think some of them were deer mice but I still don�t want them inside even if they�re ostensibly just foraging.

If you feel like you gotta use glue traps imo you should be prepared to check them regularly and dispatch anything you find alive. And please don�t use them in the garage or anywhere else open to outside.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2022 11:59

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

SpartanIvy posted:

perimeter

Yeah a perimeter will be critical to block ingress.

OP not wanting to insult your intelligence do you have a photo so we can verify that they�re recluses?

# ¿ Apr 29, 2022 21:57

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Mirthless posted:

It's cool, I understand they are just about the most misidentified spider in the US and most people are generally mistaken when they think they see one.

I linked a picture in the earlier post, it's a little blurry but she was a large enough lady that you should be able to see her fiddle pretty clearly:

https://i.imgur.com/XJH59tm.jpg

I'm absolutely sure they're brown recluses, unfortunately. I am smack dab in the center of the traditional range for the recluse and know what all of our local spiders look like pretty well.

I mean I was hoping I could say hey no worries that's Kukulcania hibernalis or a sac spider or something...but no that's deffo a recluse :shobon:

# ¿ May 3, 2022 14:20

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

um excuse me posted:

Huh, I've been exploring corners of SA for relevant interests lately since I need a distraction from *gestures vaguely to entire world*. I've been dealing with pests for years. I regularly kill moles, mice, shrews, squirrels, chipmunks, and find fun ways to deter birds, racoons, and bears since I legally cant kill those. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for trapping ideas as well as offering goons advice on how to dispatch pests where I feel like my experience is relevant.

Tell us more how you harass wildlife :allears:

# ¿ Jun 12, 2022 20:37

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Gel bait is magic poo poo for traps, too. I was getting one every other day when I had them last fall.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2022 13:54

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Yeah, I�d almost certainly say that�s a springtail. Definitely not a silverfish in any case.

Are there plants nearby? Springtails like the kind of environment damp potting soil and organics provide.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2023 14:19

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Double post cause I came in here with a question:

I�m interested in a pesticide I can spot-apply on a big grape vine I have to put a dent in the huge lantern fly population it�s sheltering.

I�d prefer not to treat the whole thing since lots of other insects use it, so in my head that means I want a preparation that rapidly degrades in open air or under sunlight, or is only effective wet or something, but I�ve no idea if such a thing exists.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2023 14:24

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

If that existed we probably wouldn't have an SLF infestation anymore. Talstar the poo poo out of those things while they're still there.

Word, thanks

# ¿ Jul 19, 2023 14:56

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

If that existed we probably wouldn't have an SLF infestation anymore. Talstar the poo poo out of those things while they're still there.

While i'm looking at Domyown to get talstar, would you recommend it also for barrier treatment around e.g., doorways for what i think are odorous house ants

# ¿ Jul 21, 2023 15:57

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

Yeah, that will work great. But make VERY sure you don't have any cats around it until it's completely dry. One of the active ingredients can not be metabolized by cats so it builds up in their bodies and makes them sick. It's safe for them once dry.

Typically you'd use talstar granules for a perimeter treatment, but I only have liquid (talstar P) since that's what I typically need. When I'm doing a perimeter treatment I spray a foot or two of soil around the building as well as 4-6 inches of the bottom of the building as it meets the ground.

it's in the same family as permethrin right? When I deploy permethrin on outdoor gear I just do that in the basement and keep the cat out of there until the next day and that's been fine so far, so reckon just keeping all the doors and windows closed while I'm working and changing clothes before coming inside would suffice?

That kind of treatment is approximately what I had in mind, doing a band around the foundation, the porch and deck piers, bottom of the doorways, and so on.

# ¿ Jul 21, 2023 16:19

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

You probably want to class your sprayers as to what they are for/what they do. It can vary based on your specific needs.

For example, I do not put wide action herbicides in anything other than dedicated sprayers, because potential residuals could cause issues. I wouldn't mix anything non-organic-certified in a sprayer that would ever service an organic area. Or non-crop-certified pesticides or herbicides in a spray that may spray fruit and vegetables. (I don't do these things except when I do: it's not like I own multiple tow behind spray carts, so you do what you have to do and clean things very well)

In the end, you should be cleaning your spraying equipment well enough that none of this matters. But mistakes happen, and convenience is a thing, so plan accordingly.

As far as what to do with leftover mixed product, you should look at the label. Worst case you are supposed to apply it where you can until it's gone. Some things can be saved in a container and labeled as to what they are. Rinsate from containers and sprayers needs to be handled per the label, but that's again usually applying it to a new area that can be treated or the already treated area.

In reality you're dealing with small amounts and small concentrations. Rinsing and dumping in various places that are safe to the plants/animals/would already be treated around your yard is going to be just fine. Tripe rinse your sprayers (you are supposed to do this with product bottles before you throw them away also), including spraying a good amount of that last "clean" rinaste though them should be plenty to make any sprayer good for anything else.

Assuming these compounds are generally beyond the realm of something like changing the pH of the rinsate to denature it into something less active?

# ¿ Jul 21, 2023 18:23

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

This same conversation just happened like 3 days ago. My answer would be Stryker 54 or similar. It's not only the right pesticides but it's in the optimal packaging for this job.

Anything in dust application makes no sense. I've only used that for ground wasps. With anything above ground soak the entrance and whatever else you can hit from 10 feet away with a can of stryker. Do it in the evening when they're not as active. It may take multiple applications, but it's going to work relative quickly.

Meanwhile my local Home Depot has a yellow jacket nest by the entrance that a store manager treated once and a pro supposedly treated a few weeks later and that goddamn thing is still going strong.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2023 14:04

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

Talstar the poo poo out of those things while they're still there.

Finally got around to this and my walkway is carpeted with dead SLFs, good riddance.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2023 14:19

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Chest freezer for a couple days will actually work if you have one big enough, then you have a clean hornet nest to give to a ms frizzle type teacher

# ¿ Sep 4, 2023 23:52

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Thought I conquered my pantry moth problem a year ago.

Have pantry moths again in the same cabinet

I had to put out traps and leave them out way longer than I thought to get the stragglers.

If you�re in the northern hemisphere winter will most likely slow them down a bit too.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2023 01:59

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

Motronic posted:

We went to storing EVERYTHING in hard plastic containers to limit the blast radius. We've been reinfected once since then - it's the basmati rice from BJs.

Yeah, this too. "Slowing them down" includes slowing down the reproductive cycle. Eggs that you can't find on the sides of shelves, etc can stick around for a maddeningly long time. I may even have some still, but when there's nothing for them to eat they hatch and die pretty quickly.

When I worked in a brewing supply joint we froze grain sacks for a week when we had bug issues, any idea if that will get pantry moth eggs?

# ¿ Sep 5, 2023 13:45

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# ¿ May 22, 2024 08:08

the yeti: Mar 29, 2008; memento disco

God drat that is durable.

Edit- the bit about silk reminds me of finding a poorly sealed jar of sesame seeds in the back of the pantry that looked like a spider had webbed it up, ugh.

Thinking back I�m pretty sure my infestation came from bird seed or bird peanuts.

the yeti fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Sep 5, 2023

# ¿ Sep 5, 2023 14:24

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Pest Control: Dale Gribble Was Right