Large Scale Central

Pest control

General Discussion
#1

I am an animal lover . No , not like that , you filthy minded swine .

So it was with some reluctance that I thought I would have to do something to keep the local cats out of my garden and its welcoming gravel poo spots .

So I bought an electronic visual and audio small animal scarer .

The results are quite astonishing .

The first regular visitor slunk in under the gate and as he got near the infra-red sensor , off went the flash and (presumably) the audio (it’s pitched too high for the human ear) .

He promptly executed an astounding vertical take-off combined with a 180degree turn and shot out under gate with a yowl .

I did not sit around for this spectator sport , but have caught the same events by chance , and it can be comical to watch , especially if one slinks in and gets to the gravel , because the frantic jump/turn/scream is accompanied by a shower of gravel shot out from scrabbling paws .

It does have its disadvantages . I no longer have birds in the garden , they cottoned on pretty quick ; the nesting wood pigeons even did a runner . Squirrels give the area a wide berth .

So , if any of you are troubled by small animals invading and doing nasty things to your layout give one a try . I don’t believe it actually harms them , though the heart stopping leap of the cats seems to indicate near blunt force trauma .

By the way , I have noticed a distinct lack of large spiders . I have a similar spider scarer in my bathroom and it works very well , no spiders at all .

Mike Brit

#2

Does it work on deer?

I have a pair of yearlings that lost their mama last year and were able to make it through last winter, apparently with the aid of some well meaning humans, infesting my garden and layout, even coming up to the house, looking for a handout. These two seem to have lost all fear (never learned it from mama?) of humans, because they are hard to drive off, and keep coming back. I suspect that when hunting season starts, they will be the first to go.

Still…

#3

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#4

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#5

The thing is I have a dog, so many of those devices I cannot use. I used to have another pet, and I am sure it would have traumatized her. I don’t mind the birds, its actually quite comical; to watch them line up to bathe in my pond, and then, as a group, they chirp out the one that takes too long to bathe. I would just like to evict the cats and tree rats (squirrels), before they cause any more harm.

Fred, I hope that I am not of whom you speak.

#6

David , rest assured that you are not the virus , but that sort of error on thinking who it is happens when people are scared to name the culprit . Anyway , names cannot hurt you and you have a good record on here . Don’t worry , sober thought may bring forth an explanation .

With regards to the domestic animals , your dog can presumably be persuaded to go out elsewhere , and that may only be necessary for a short time----the visitors learn quickly , and cats are a creature of habit (nasty ones on layouts) and the squirrels definitely do not like the device .

Give it a try; put your dog in the house and let him watch the cats make fools of themselves .

Mike

#7

Very interesting! I may have to try using those things to keep raccoons, squirrels, possums and neighborhood cats out of my tunnels.

#8

I still think that arming my figures is more effective!

#9

That’s great, what have you got for black ANTS…?

We’ve been overrun by the little buggers, tried everything in my arsenal, from diatimatious earth to bait traps, they go away for a week but then come back, then come back with a vengeance.

#10

Vic , the Spider scarer scares ants as well , so it is claimed . I can’t vouch for it because we do not have any .

Hey , I wonder if word got round the insect population ?

Nah , they don’t make i-phones small enough .

Anyway , Vic , obviously my devices were bought in the UK , so I can’t recommend a particular model , but I am sure if you look at some of your internet shopping places , you’ll find the sort you want .

Best of luck with them , waiting by the ants’ exit hole with a club is mind destroying .

Mike Brit

#11

Bob Hyman said:

I still think that arming my figures is more effective!

So are they armed with bazookas against foxes ? Or grenades ?

A very well posed picture , if I may say so .

Mike Brit

#12

Vic Smith said:

That’s great, what have you got for black ANTS…?

We’ve been overrun by the little buggers, tried everything in my arsenal, from diatimatious earth to bait traps, they go away for a week but then come back, then come back with a vengeance.

Borax mixed with sugar. The ants eat the borax with the sugar, then go back to the nest to tell their buddies about the bonanza. While there, the borax starts to make gas. Since they can’t burp, their bellies explode, killing them. Then their buddies eat them, eating the unused borax, and the carnage continues in the nest.

The only downside is listening to the popping sounds all night. On the other hand, to paraphrase a line from “Apocalypse, Now,” “I love the sound of popping in the evening, it sounds like Victory!”

#13

Hey , Steve , what happens if they all explode simulnats er smimultaou er slimintaneouserli , oh dammit , at the same time ?

1/22.5 volcano ?

Mike Brit

#14

Big Bang Theory? :slight_smile:

#15

#16

#17

I found that if I spray the area where the ants are, that I don’t want them to be, with Simple Green, they go away. But I like the idea of exploding the little vermin. I may have to go get some Borax.

#18

So which one did you get?

#19

Steve Featherkile said:

Vic Smith said:

That’s great, what have you got for black ANTS…?

We’ve been overrun by the little buggers, tried everything in my arsenal, from diatimatious earth to bait traps, they go away for a week but then come back, then come back with a vengeance.

Borax mixed with sugar. The ants eat the borax with the sugar, then go back to the nest to tell their buddies about the bonanza. While there, the borax starts to make gas. Since they can’t burp, their bellies explode, killing them. Then their buddies eat them, eating the unused borax, and the carnage continues in the nest.

The only downside is listening to the popping sounds all night. On the other hand, to paraphrase a line from “Apocalypse, Now,” “I love the sound of popping in the evening, it sounds like Victory!”

Are you serious? You can actually hear that? My son had ants in his loft roof. He claimed he could hear them chewing away all night. Wow, what hearing!!

#20

Dan said

"Are you serious? You can actually hear that? My son had ants in his loft roof. He claimed he could hear them chewing away all night. Wow, what hearing!! "

I think that what blinds us to hearing teeny noises is the general background noise caused by traffic and so on .

Go into a quiet forest and be amazed by the sound of a wood ants’ nest .

Stay overnight in some Olde English Manor Houses and hear the Death Watch Beetles hoovering up the timbers .

Lie quietly in bed , terrified , in your service accommodation in the Pacific listening to the sound of a large spider’s feet .

The sounds are there . Listen .

Mwahhahahaha!

Mike Brit