Yesterday morning I awoke with my whole new attitude. I’m a winner and the bugs aren’t going to get the best of me. Shortly after breakfast I went to take the trash out and stopped to brush a few grasshoppers off the mint.
They are everywhere! Even walking along, they fly into your clothes and your face and . . your mouth if it’s open! Everyone in town is talking about them and they say they’ve never seen them like this before and I hope we never see them like this again.
As I opened the trash can’s lid, this little guy greeted me.
Most of the day was spent working towards critter control.
Vince edged around the house. He got real close and cut every weed that looked like a hiding spot for bugs.
Then he sprayed with Round Up. We need to get the soaker hoses back down and keep the weeds from growing up around them.
Then he sprayed with some heavy duty bug spray.
Then he took down all the “cages” from around the fruit trees.
Then he cut all the weeds around them, put down weed barrier and mulch and put the cages back up so the deer didn’t have fruit trees for a midnight snack.
Even though my real snake boots aren’t here yet, I dug out a short pair of thick boots that were in the house in the closet. I shook them out and Vince shook them out and we both went out into the garden and picked 2 huge boxes of tomatoes, peas, squash and okra.
There’s just no place to put my boots and that’s why they end up on the back porch where spiders crawl into them . . and wait to get me. I’m not bringing muddy boots into the house. There’s no room around either door inside to stick a box in which to put muddy boots. The shop has spiders too so putting them out there isn’t going to accomplish much.
Then I thought . . the Honda! It sits there and hardly gets used. It should be relatively spider proof. I’ll stick a Rubbermaid type tote in there and put my boots in there and . . . perfect spot for now!
We’ll never be completely bug and snake free in this part of Texas but I’m feeling better about our efforts.
Laura says
There is a 300 year old house on my FIL’s farm. They wanted to put in central heating and AC for the renters, but the when HVAC guy when under the house, he came back out and said he wouldn’t work in the crawl space until they got rid of all the snakes under the house. ( This is VA, not Texas, so they were probably just black snakes.)
Linda in NE says
If i knew there were snakes under my house I think I’d just move!!
Libby says
Love the Honda solution! Brilliant!
Helen Koenig1 says
Judy – word of advice – don’t trust that any car will be spider free. This is voice of experience – from one who usually has one drop down on a web while I’m driving in heavy traffic (and yes, that loud scream on the highway is probably me!)
Just keep smackin’ them, shaking out boots, etc. and consider if there is some sort of anti-bug and espec anti-spider plant that you can hang or drape inside your boots at night.
Regardless – PLEASE don’t wear flip-flops in the garden again!!!!
Erin says
What a day you had! Proud of you! Take it one day at a time.
Judy D in WA says
Your own personal critter gitter! That is a lot of work! The look on his face while spraying the house–Really woman! Put that camera away!!! LOL
I think the pic of the grasshopper would make a great color palette picture. He is obnoxious but gorgeous. I’m glad I don’t have to live with him.
Debbie W says
Can’t say I particularly like our frigid winters but at least we don’t have bugs like you do. I really hate the cold but hate the bugs worse. Good for you for having a “can do” attitude.
Bev says
Good for you! Even critter control has a learning curve.
Laura says
I didn’t have to deal with snakes, but I can certainly relate to that critter you found in the trash can. It is scorpion season in Phoenix too, and with the excessive heat lately, I have no doubt that there are plenty taking shelter in the house. Thankfully I am not there! My first scorpion free summer in 15 years lol. You are doing all the right things so just continue to be diligent.
Liz says
I’m playing with a new tablet and getting used to the touch screen and scrolling. My finger stayed a bit too long on one picture and it come up as a full screen option – yikes- I really didn’t like seeing that large scorpion 🙂
Are you having any problems with territorial wasps? They are the very large wasps that come from the ground an
d catch the cicadas. I hope you both have a couple of epipens for emergencies.
Doe in Mi says
Happy now that I live in Michigan~!!!!
pdudgeon says
what about putting your boots in a clear zip lock bag when you take them off? then it wouldn’t matter where you store the boots or whether they were muddy or not. just grab the bag, walk out onto the porch and put the boots on.
Diana in TX says
Weed control and spraying should help a lot. Galen sprays our foundation several times a year as well as inside at the windows, doors etc. Every little bit helps. Every place as it’s pests; but then they probably think we are invading their territory!
kelly says
maybe you could keep your new snake boots in the freezer when they arrive! that way you know there won’t be anything hiding in them when you go to put them on… and your feet will stay cool for a few minutes 🙂
Barbara says
Trouble in paradise?
Lori in South Dakota says
I’m with Pam–the heavy duty ziplock baggie! I have the huge ones–brand name is EZ Stor–I use them for all sorts of things–mostly to keep my projects together with all their fabric and pattern/magazine. Sturdy with built in handles. And the premise spray–I use it in the spring on both my house and my camper–no bugs seen yet! I spray around all the foundation, doors, windows,–anywhere I think they might creep in. My husband goes around the inside of the basement and sprays up where the foundation is.
I have used cattle insecticide eartags for this also. I put them in open ziplock sandwich baggies (so I didn’t touch them or have them touch anything else. I would lay them underneath my sinks, in cupboards, closets–anywhere I thought I might get a bug–especially ants. You can’t have them near children or pets–but inside the backs of the cupboards I was pretty safe. Since I learned this trick from my local vet–I think it was an “extra label use” thing! Throw one in the bag with your boots.
Kate says
You know your chickens would make short work of all those grass hoppers, let them out for a while and then lure them back in the coop at dusk with treats. Eating bugs is one reason God made ckickens!
Ranch Wife says
I know that those grasshoppers are a nuisance, but your chickens will be fat and sassy after dining on them. Alas, your going to have to increase your feathered family by a lot to make a dent in a grasshopper plague. Hoping they don’t hang around for too long. You and Vince are taking some good precautions. That’s all anyone can do when faced with critters in the country.
Linda in NE says
Guineas might be good at bug control too. I don’t know about grasshoppers but they really like ticks. And guineas are usually smart enough and fast enough to avoid being eaten by critters. My grandma always had some and my son swears he’s getting some once he gets his acreage organized because they want to avoid using chemical sprays as much as they can.
Linda in NE says
So far, so good here in Nebr. insect wise. I haven’t seen a lot of big grasshoppers yet and not a single mosquito, which is fairly unusual. I enjoy being able to go outside without getting all bit up but the swallows are having a hard time finding enough bugs to feed their babies. The wasps in the garage are an annual thing and we’ve done one mass killing of them (might need another before the summer’s over). Just this past week those tiny little ants made an appearance in the kitchen. They usually do once it gets really hot and dry for a while. Did you know that Pledge furniture polish will kill them??? I didn’t either until I found them and couldn’t find any ant spray. Hair spray was my next choice. 🙂
Mel Meister says
Know what another name for the grasshoppers is? Locusts…. ring any bells?
Mary says
Can I borrow Vince? I was working on critter control over the weekend by weeding in between the rows of my vegetable garden. I pulled up a large clump of grass and found a brown racer looking at me, wondering what I was doing to his home. Fortunately he was more scared of me than I was of him. I don’t think snakes like screaming. When my husband got home from work, he went looking for the snake to move it out of my garden. Of course he didn’t find it.
Jo Anne says
Bugs! Yuck them….now with the warm summer months….the ants, centipedes and cockroaches are just crawling out! We use Talstar….(it can be found online)….we use it in the house too. My husband sprays around the entire house…including the lower portion of our walls….and the very next day…we find dead “critters” in our yard. Some of the insects crawl into the house…but they are dead or nearly dead!