M. C. A. Hogarth ([info]haikujaguar) wrote,
@ 2008-05-02 10:50:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Current mood:O_O
Entry tags:florida, humor, nature

Smells Like Cloves!
Raid makes an "Earth Options" wasp spray which is supposedly eco-friendly and not a biohazard.

Right. Not a biohazard. Not even to... well, wasps. In fact, I think it functions more like a friendly warning, the equivalent of shaking your head and saying, "Tsk, tsk, naughty wasps!" This is a product that's marketed to people more worried about how much bug sprays stink ("Fresh Clove Scent!") than whether it actually works. Because apparently these people don't live in Florida, which is human-habitable only because we poison everything meaner, more aggressive and more dangerous than us. Which is everything.

Anyway, I learned about this kinder, gentler, eco-friendly approach while trying to evict the wasps from their new nest on the mailbox.

[info]haikujaguar: Whoot, good-bye, wasps! *spray*

Wasps: LOL SMELLS LIKE CLOVES

[info]haikujaguar: Uh-oh.... *sprays more*

Wasps: HEY LOOK A HUMAN

[info]haikujaguar: *flees!*

So, yes. The wasps laughed off the clove-scented eco-friendly spray. I came back with the Raid Neurotoxin-in-a-can and took great pleasure in watching them drop-dead midflight when a single drop hit them.

You don't mess around with some things. -_-



Stardancer Home.


Page 1 of 2
<<[1] [2] >>

(Post a new comment)


[info]corwinok
2008-05-02 02:56 pm UTC (link)
Is it flammable? Maybe you were supposed to ignite the stream when spraying. No such thing as overkill when it comes to wasps.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]moonfire77, 2008-05-02 03:35 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]zhai, 2008-05-02 03:41 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]corwinok, 2008-05-02 03:56 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]zhai, 2008-05-02 03:57 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]haikujaguar, 2008-05-02 03:57 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]corwinok, 2008-05-02 03:59 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]zhai, 2008-05-02 04:00 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]corwinok, 2008-05-02 04:02 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]archangelbeth, 2008-05-02 06:53 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]zhai, 2008-05-02 08:30 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]dulcinbradbury
2008-05-02 02:57 pm UTC (link)
I *have* heard good, effective things about mint oil based wasp killers.
http://homeharvest.com/householdinsectcontrols.htm

That said... if it didn't work, I'd go back to Raid Neurotoxin-in-a-can too.

(Reply to this)

[info]aefenglommung
2008-05-02 03:05 pm UTC (link)
Wasps generate little sympathy from me. They're fine out in the woods, but I don't want them hanging around human habitations (including sheds).

Someone told me years ago -- during a discussion of house-painting -- that the best way to kill wasps was with a full paintbrush.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]haikujaguar, 2008-05-02 03:09 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]amarafox, 2008-05-02 04:26 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]zilvar, 2008-05-02 05:08 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]koogrr
2008-05-02 03:13 pm UTC (link)
You should see some of the stuff that isn't for sale to the public, that's used at remote utility sites.

I've opened up control panels and seen wasp nests, which had been hit previously, where the wasps died so quickly they were still in life-like poses. Died so fast they didn't even have time to twitch, let go, and fall off.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]moonfire77, 2008-05-02 03:36 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]yotogi, 2008-05-02 04:07 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]blither
2008-05-02 03:16 pm UTC (link)
Hate. Wasps.

(Reply to this)

[info]manycolored
2008-05-02 03:19 pm UTC (link)
According to my book on insects, wasps are comparatively tolerant of humans and reluctant to sting, and it's yellowjackets I should be afraid of.

Ok, so wasps are nasty stinging insects... that means yellowjackets must be DEMONS.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]haikujaguar, 2008-05-02 04:02 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]marykate_gift, 2008-05-02 05:18 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]foomf, 2008-05-02 09:36 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]moosl
2008-05-02 03:20 pm UTC (link)
Did you do the happy dance?

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]haikujaguar, 2008-05-02 04:00 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]kemono_art
2008-05-02 03:26 pm UTC (link)
You know what I use to kill bugs these days? Rubbing alcohol. I don't know if it would work on wasps, but it does work on roaches, ants, silverfish, etc. Not sure about spiders, but we don't kill the spiders in my house because they help keep the other bugs in check >.>; Living in a formerly swampy scrub area has its drawbacks.. At least the scorpions and centipedes are gone. Anyhow, the great thing about alcohol is that it evaporates and doesn't leave any poison behind. It also doesn't poison the bug to death (just chemo's it) so one does need to get the bug out or other bugs will come to claim its carcass.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]moosl, 2008-05-02 04:44 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]kemono_art, 2008-05-02 05:37 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]mauser, 2008-05-03 02:04 am UTC (Expand)

[info]e_scapism101
2008-05-02 03:35 pm UTC (link)
Heh. My general wasp-killing method is to send someone else to deal with it. However, if one gets in the house, I hit him with a stream of pre-mixed-for-the-purpose soapy water from a spray bottle, then pound him with a book while he's down. There's just something viscerally satisfying about that.

(Reply to this)

[info]zhai
2008-05-02 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Florida scares me.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]haikujaguar, 2008-05-02 03:58 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]talix18, 2008-05-02 03:58 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]talix18
2008-05-02 03:58 pm UTC (link)
I've used the ant version of the Raid clove spray - it's much more effective on them!

(Reply to this)

[info]janni
2008-05-02 04:15 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, there are things I feel that way about out here (Bermuda Grass, this means you).

(Reply to this)

[info]eric_hinkle
2008-05-02 04:21 pm UTC (link)
OT, but for some reason I'm reminded of what a friend of mine had to say in response to a question that, "Do wasps lose their stingers when they stign you?"

His response? "No. They sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and sting and..."

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]koogrr, 2008-05-02 04:23 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]foomf, 2008-05-02 09:37 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]sartorias
2008-05-02 04:23 pm UTC (link)
They are mean critters, and if you wait around, they establish colonies all over your living space.

Blurgh.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]archangelbeth, 2008-05-02 06:56 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]amarafox
2008-05-02 04:25 pm UTC (link)
LOL CLOVES

I learned that sometimes you just need to spray poison on stuff D:

(Reply to this)

[info]ruggels
2008-05-02 04:36 pm UTC (link)
My Dad got realy mad at me for not reporting a was's nest in Grandpa's shed. Grandpa wasn't of the best of health, so after chewing me out, Dad got a can o f"The spray" which had a 20-30 foot stream and sprayed the nest, and danced out of the way when they swarmed out, but they all died fairly quickly.

I hear they have REALLY good pesticides in Hawaii that then cnnot sell in the continental U.S.

Scott

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]christoff, 2008-05-02 04:47 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]eric_hinkle, 2008-05-03 04:07 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]christoff
2008-05-02 04:39 pm UTC (link)
In Hawaii we had a godawful wasp problem out at our stables. There were nests *everywhere* and it was a full time job keeping them in check.

The horse owner next to me once had a HUGE nest right next to the door of his tack shed. One day I just happened to look up when he clapped a bucket over the nest. He then had a bucket full of angry wasps pinned against the side of a shed with only his hand.

I wisely retreated to the other side of the stables with my horse.

(Reply to this)

[info]shdragon
2008-05-02 05:40 pm UTC (link)
Oddly, this is just something I was thinking about a couple weeks ago!

Bug spray is one of the few things in life which should ABSOLUTELY NOT smell nice. It should smell like DEATH and EVIL and >:[ and all manner of nasty evil things.. You're holding a can of liquid death in your hands, it shouldn't invoke the response "*spray* *spray* Hey, that smells nice. *sniff* Ahh."

(Also, smelling like liquid death has the practical side of helping make sure you're not overusing the stuff.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]zhai, 2008-05-02 08:33 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]shdragon, 2008-05-02 10:01 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]rhfay
2008-05-02 06:03 pm UTC (link)
Somewhere I found out that diluted dish soap will kill wasps, hornets, and yellow-jackets. We had a serious yellow-jacket problem in our former home. They had built a huge nest in the space between the inside and outside walls and were getting in through small holes in the back of an upstairs closet. I was killing dozens a day with my water and dish soap spray.

It doesn't kill them instantly, but it does kill them. And they don't tend to get as angry as they do with conventional wasp sprays.

Having develop a sensitivity to chemicals, dish soap was a people-friendly alternative to commercial pesticides.

I got one of those large garden sprayers, put about a quarter cup or so of dish soap in it, and filled it up with water. The suds kill the little buggers.

I used to use the spray on nests outside, too. I would drench the nests with the spray.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]londonbard, 2008-05-02 08:49 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]mauser, 2008-05-03 02:09 am UTC (Expand)

[info]artfulruin
2008-05-02 06:23 pm UTC (link)
I use hairspray on wasps. The super-duper, turns-your-hair-into-a-helmet stuff. It freezes their wings and they can't fly. Then I crush them. It's a little less poisonous.

(Reply to this)

[info]sdn
2008-05-02 06:23 pm UTC (link)
of course it didn't work! it's eco-friendly, which means that it is friendly to the wasps!

(Reply to this)

[info]siadea
2008-05-02 07:03 pm UTC (link)
Sometimes, all you can do is flee and get the Neurotoxin-in-a-Can. This is referred to as 'strategic retreat, and then coming back with reinforcements.'

(True joy is when you live in a log cabin and the nests are embedded into the logs on your porch. Summers = hazardous to step outside.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]siadea, 2008-05-02 07:04 pm UTC (Expand)

[info]the_vulture
2008-05-02 09:23 pm UTC (link)
Use insect psychology to your advantage! One way to discourage the presence of yellowjackets, hornets, and wasps is to simply inflate a small brown paper bag, twist the top shut, and hang it in an easy to see location. To simple waspish eyes, the bag bears a remarkable resemblance to a wasp nest, an ENEMY wasp nest, thus encouraging them to stay away.

(Reply to this)

[info]eoswildcat
2008-05-02 09:52 pm UTC (link)
I've had wonderful luck with another eco friendly spray, Victor Poison- Free Flying Insect Killer-
Flies, Mosquitos, Yellow Jackets, Moths, and crawling insects.
there is an ant version as well.
WE use it mainly for Yellow Jackets in summer.

(Reply to this)

[info]miintikwa
2008-05-02 10:46 pm UTC (link)
Wasps, I will have you know, are the only animal other than human beings that will kill for fun.

We hates them, precious.

Yes. I will not kill insects, as a rule, except for mosquitoes (create more lawyers!) and wasps. Ugh.

(Reply to this)(Thread)(Expand)
(no subject) - [info]bluedressdevil, 2008-05-02 11:49 pm UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]miintikwa, 2008-05-03 01:30 am UTC (Expand)
(no subject) - [info]bluedressdevil, 2008-05-03 01:40 am UTC (Expand)

Page 1 of 2
<<[1] [2] >>

Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…