Re: Many questions before resorting to extreme measures

Jul 12, 2003 2 Replies

Poke some holes in the plastic and you wont have to remove it. Step on spider with large boot. Just don't go where you know chiggers are.



Zebrin


Hi all, I 've got brown recluse spiders loitering in my shed, they show up from
> time to time in the area and one once bit a friend of mine (he's still got a
> nasty mark on his leg after a year). I'm not looking forward to that ever
> happening again.
>
> My yard also has swarms of what look like gnats but bite. Whatever they are,
> more than one person has complained of bites when they walk past one area that
> has ivy and an Azalea under a pine tree.
>
> I'm not a pesticide fan, other than the brown recluses I don't go out of my way
> to kill anything in the yard, but I've got kids to watch out for and I'm
> starting to think about trying the Bayer Advanced hose-on spray. >
> I have a few concerns about it however. We've got a cat and a dog and they both
> like to graze, and I'm not sure if the grass, once treated, would make them
> sick. I know the label says it is safe once dried, but I'm a skeptic. >
> Also if anyone knows of a better (safer, natural) way to keep the swarms of
> biting things and the brown recluses away, I'd be glad to hear them. >
>
> I've also got a question about landscaping plastic used under gravel next to the
> shed. During the Winter we had about an inch of ice covering the gravel and as
> it thawed the shed had some water seep in, that never happened before the
> plastic went down and I have the feeling I blocked some much needed drainage by
> putting the plastic under the gravel. Am I right? I'm not looking forward to
> lifting the plastic but I will do what I'm told. :)
>
> Thanks and sorry for the ramble.

That's what I'm planning, thanks. Just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be a waste of time.

I'll remember to dress my kids and pets in large boots. ;)

That'll be a problem, it's on the way to half of my house. Any idea what they're attracted to/repelled by so maybe I can alter what's over there to make them go away?

So far I've been hosing the foliage and dark corners of the yard and house daily on full blast, I'm seeing less ordinary webs around (hope that isn't making room for everything else to move in) and I guess I'm going to have to go into the shed and move things around more often. Thanks!

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