Bug screens

Have you made changes to your coach? Improvements? Remodel? New technology? Tell the story and show some pictures here.
1Lotosrggp
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Oct 27, 2019 6:08 pm

Re: Bug screens

Post by 1Lotosrggp »

Tom,
I've got a friend about 12 miles away that had a prairie dog problem. He brought in someone that pumped CO2 down the holes with a compressor. End of problem. Not near as much fun as a Rodenator though. I've shared your link with him.
Tom
97 Sahara 3550
3126 CAT 300hp
chuckster
Posts: 286
Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2020 4:53 pm

Re: Bug screens

Post by chuckster »

astrnmrtom wrote: Sat Dec 12, 2020 11:47 am More Ground Dwelling Yellow Jacket Fun Facts:

In the PNW, it's common for these nests to be built in the ground below a shrub root ball. A common landscaping plant on our grounds at work was a string plant. What fascinating is, not only to the Yellow Jackets to a marvelous job excavating the underground chamber, they also cut a path through the shrub itself to easily fly to and from the nest. They make an open "door" in the side of the plant. In the summer time we'd do a lot of shrub trimming and person stomping around the shrub with a gas powered trimmer was unwelcomed by the nest. Before starting, I'd walk past the shrubs watching for anything flying in and out. Another clue was a very neat "hole" in the side of the shrub. One large nest had cut a perfect square hole in the side of the bush. I carried a package of flea foggers, a roll of duct tape, and a long pole. I had two ways of destroying the nest. If it was early in the am and they weren't active, I'd just jam the handle of a shovel into the nest and scramble it. If they were active, I'd tape the fogger to the end of the pole, activate it and place it as close to the nest's ground entry as possible. Conventional wasp sprays can't reach the nest, but the fogger will, and will kill the nest dead. If you can get it spraying into the opening, it blocks the little stinkers from exiting to come after you. Otherwise, time to schedule another night-op. Oh, and as our license recert instructors used to say to us over and over again: READ AND FOLLOW LABEL INSTRUCTIONS!

One important trick I learned to use in my many years dealing with stinging insects that made nests in outside equipment was to always do a visual of an area for a couple minutes before opening any hatches or service covers - especially in the summer when they are most active. An active nest will have workers coming and going constantly and watching for them saved me from opening a cover only to get attacked and stung. Even if there wasn't activity, I'd still open the cover and take a couple steps back or tap on the door or cover first, then step back before opening it.

Once I learned what to look for, I never got stung again, and I was the guy called if anyone found a nest. Between working in the cold/cool hours, and being aware, I was able to destroy nests without pesticides and without getting nailed. I went from using a lot of wasp spray to almost none just by using a long extension pole to knock down the nest when it was cool and the "bees" sleepy, or a shovel handle to "scramble" the in ground nest when it was asleep. The other safety trick was to know when nest building had begin, and deal with them down while small, rinse and repeat. Even then, a few of them could try for me. Please be careful though if you want to try one of my methods. I was the pest guy at work for 16 years so I had a lot of practice. I learned how to evaluate the activity level, and knew when to, and when NOT TO go after a nest. A large nest can contain 10,000 workers, even smaller ones 100s, so going head to head is risky.

I had one close call when going after a large nest of Bald Faced Hornets. They make the enclosed ball, or cone shaped paper nest under eaves or hanging from tree branches. I'd been called to a middle school that a basketball sized nest hanging from the eave in the corner of a building. It was still fairly early but there was some activity but I decided to try to knock down the nest anyway. I grabbed my pole and gave a swing - and missed! - instead banging the building. Well, you can guess what kind of reaction that caused, and the chase was on. I could almost hear the little buzzing voices scream: "Let's get him girls!" I dropped the pole, and "bee-lined" it back to the truck, wasps in hot pursuit/ Got inside, slammed the door behind me, and watched the wasps look for me through the glass. That's when I noticed the kids in several nearby classrooms with outward facing windows laughing and pointing at me. I'd been great entertainment for a bunch of tweens that day. I did regroup, re-evaluate, change tactics and get me revenge - on the wasps, not the kids.

I had a similar nest, but larger, in the eaves at the peak of my garage many years before. This was in my pre-pest control days, and the wasps were bothering anyone so I let it be. It was large enough people driving through the neighborhood would stop their cars, look and point. After the nest was abandoned I knocked it down.

Thank goodness I retired from this fun in 2016. I lived and worked quite close to the area where the Giant Asian "Murder" Hornets were found this year. Now that's one beast I wouldn't want to stumble upon or get called to exterminate. The PNW was also too cold for Africanized Bees so I consider myself lucky.
Fun story!
Chuck & Mitzi
'01 Safari Zanzibar 3646 (side entry)
Cat 3126B / Allison MD3060
Magnum M-Series "Blue Max" chassis
2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland toad
Post Reply