The bugs in the desert are pretty bad in the summer. It is better to say bugs are bad in the summer for everyone. This has to do with high temperatures that encourage insect eggs to hatch. Our problems insects are crickets, roaches, ants, and flies, pretty common stuff.
I have a Qualified Applicators Certificate from the State of California. This means I could get a job with ORKIN if I wanted, but I enjoy the free golf and lunch where I work too much to consider it. You would think I could handle killing my own bugs but I have an exterminator do it. He does a real good job with the crickets, roaches, and ants, but the flies are still a problem. With three dogs you can probably guess why.
Sherri and the exterminator (Ray) are real close. If she sees anything crawling around the house with more than four legs Ray gets a call. She asked Ray if there was anything he could do about the flies. Austin thinks Ray should do a better job keeping the dog dung picked up. Ray thinks Austin should pick it up twice a day instead of once. I agree with Ray, but when the dog takes a dump in his room he still has a hard time finding it and dealing with it, so I don’t think twice a day is going to “fly” (get it). Ray’s other suggestion was just as helpful, pay $75.00 a month for his special fly treatment.
Friday night Ray gives Sherri a call. What’s up with that? He tells her that he heard about a different, inexpensive way to kill flies in the yard. Spray your yard with Listerine. Something in the antiseptic kills the flies, and it is also safe to spray around pets and plants. Just put it in a hand sprayer and apply it full strength.
I think it sounds stupid, but Sherri hates flies more than decaf, so she is “all in”. Saturday morning she buys two gallons of Listerine, mint flavored, and sprays the yard herself. I won’t participate in such witchcraft I may lose my QAC.
I won’t say it was a total success, but I will say it did put a dent in the fly population. I think the results are going to be short lived. The sprinklers should wash off most of the mouthwash in a day or so. I will say if are you going to entertain in the yard and you have a fly problem it might be worth spraying the night before with some cheap .99 Store mouthwash. I don’t think flossing will help.
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8 comments:
I'd be wary of the alcohol on the plants and definitely do it late in the day. The plants weren't burned by the mouthwash?
I don't really want to do the home rat killing so to speak, like I am overqualified for that. ; ) However since I have a degree in that in all, I get stuck with it. What is with that? Do I make Ben do all the music related things?
I guess a tuba player wasn't the most handy of husband choices. Good thing he is cute.
No burns at all. Mostly turf was treated. It was almost 100 outside when she did it. I would have waited till it was cooler just because.
Check out www.fliesbegone.com. It's a protein poweder in water that you put in the sun. Stinks something awful in the near vacinity but it will attract flies from the entire neighbothood. Gets kinda nasty when its full of drowned flies and larva, so methinks this would be your duty.
I've used those before. They smell so bad they attract flies from New Mexico and Nebraska.
Do you get any crazy bugs in the desert, like really big spiders or scorpions? I'm generally not afraid of creepy crawlies, but those two things would probably freak me out.
Yes, they do smell atrocious, but they work! Hence is why I put mine in the far corner of the backyard behind the shed right next to the fence of the neighbors I don't like!
TJ- We do have scorpions. No big spiders, but we have these really big beetles. We call them Date Beetles because they like the Date trees, they are nasty.
I got an email about the Listerine bug repelant from my aunt. I haven't tried it yet. Does it kill lawns?
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