Household Tips: 101

[SeaCat]

Pet sprayed by a PoleCat? Try washing the family pet, (outside of course) with Douch. It works wonders.

Cat

 

[TheEarl]

Weevils are boring.

Warning! Arachnophobes (especially Earl) should not click on the link.

A web casting spider would be really cool, though.

Thank you so much for the warning Rob. Very thoughtful.

I actually had hypnotherapy for my arachnophobia a time back and absolutely fine with them now after just two sessions (recommend hypnotherapy to anyone and everyone!), so I clicked on the link cause now I like looking at them and revelling in how not scared I am.

The Earl

 

[dr_mabeuse]

If it's any consolation we are still battling pantry months - they come in as larvae in almonds, sultanas and the like and friggen well set up a colony, they will attach themselves to paper towel for krist's sake and eat the cellulose, so even when you think they are under control one or two lurk on to metamorphisise into flying beasties...oh the horror!

We've been plagued by little tiny moths for over a year now, and nothing helps. We've thrown away all open containers of dry food (flour, sugar, rice, dog food, pasta), scoured the cabinets with soap and bleach, bombed them with insecticide, even pulled out all of the shelves and brackets in the pantry and soaked it with bug spray till it dripped from the walls, and we've still got them.

Not only can they bore through cardboard, but they can eat through cellophane and plastic too and even mylar. They get into unopened packages of ramein and bags of egg noodles. The larva also seem to be able to live in the glue that holds boxes of food shut, like roaches. While we're sterilizing the pantry they just seem to move under the sink or God knows where. We can't keep any boxed or bagged food for more than a week, and before we cook anything now we dump it into water to see what might come floating to the top.

I think the only thing that's going to help will be to bomb the house like they do in Florida, where they cover the whole place in plastic and set off a nuclear device inside while you move into a motel for a week.

We've tried all the herb tricks too, and nothing fazes them--cinnamon, clove, oil of bay, even pyrethrum. Now I just pray for spiders.

 

[entitled]

Herbal moth balls are available through Carolina Homespun. They're basically sachets of dried pennyroyal, lavender and something else... forgot what. Pennyroyal's the herb that actually deters teh critters. The others more or less make it smell really pretty.

 

[sophia jane]

I need ant help. Woke up this morning and evidently there was an overnight procession in through the kitchen window and now there's ants in my kitchen. Already killed bunches so now I need a preventative kill them/stop them at the window kind of thing.

 

[cloudy]

I need ant help. Woke up this morning and evidently there was an overnight procession in through the kitchen window and now there's ants in my kitchen. Already killed bunches so now I need a preventative kill them/stop them at the window kind of thing.

sevin dust...spread it LIBERALLY around the foundation of your house. Not only will it stop them from coming in, but it'll dry anything that tries into a crispy critter.

 

[Lisa Denton]

sevin dust...spread it LIBERALLY around the foundation of your house. Not only will it stop them from coming in, but it'll dry anything that tries into a crispy critter.

TIP FOR A TIP

Make the sevin dust a LINE all the way around your foundation. The lil buggers will find if you missed a spot. Even go around porch areas and stuff, a COMPLETE UNBROKEN LINE.

The sevin dust is supposed to be toxic for like 7 billion years or sumpthin, but that must be lots less in bug years. I think 7 billion years in human comes out to 7 weeks in bug years. If you do it every 2 months your house will be bug free and stay bug free.

You will see your neighbors setting off bug bombs and stuff, its ok, that means your line is working and the bugs are re-locating.


EXTRA TIP

Take a wet rag, pour on lots and lots (that means gobs) of Soft Scrub With Bleach and smear it on your appliances like washers and dryers and refrigerator, and especially that stove where you spilt spagetti sauce down the side. Add a little water to your rag occasionally to keep it real wet. Do it in the morning, that night simply wipe it off with another wet rag, everthing looks new.

 

[SeaCat]

Hint for Fire Ants.

Next time you do a bug boil. (Lobsters, Crabs, Crawdads etc,) keep the boil water nice and hot. Pour this slowly over the ants nest and they'll be gone the next day. (Of course the bug boil includes lots of Garlic and Peppers. I have found though that it is much more effective if after you finish the bugs and are ready to dump the water you first pour it into a metal bucket and add about half a cup of Diazanon. )

Cat

 

[SlickTony]

I, too have found that putting a few bay leaves in your flour will keep out the weevils.

I feel for anyone who has pantry moths, which are also called Indian meal moths. They tend to come in rice and other grains--it's the only downside to getting rice in bulk at ethnic food stores. I'm not sure how I managed to get rid of them, but I did. I think it was a combination of bait and sprays for other bugs, plus putting stuff in the fridge or in airtight jars right after I got it.

I didn't know what they were at first. My own name for them was Those Fucking Food Moths. Then I was in another forum and someone posted a picture of one, and sure enough, that's what I had. The little bastards.

Baking soda is good for cleaning practically everything.

 

[matriarch]

Nothing to do with weevils or mint, but coca cola is superb at cleaning burnt saucepans, cooker tops and toilets. Leave it soak for a few minutes and you'll be surprised.

I was also told by a car mechanic buddy of mine, that its great for cleaning up engines....

I'm trying hard not to imagine what it does to stomach linings and intestines.

Thank god I don't drink much of it now. I stick to organic apple juice.

 

[matriarch]

...........

You will see your neighbors setting off bug bombs and stuff, its ok, that means your line is working and the bugs are re-locating.

*snigger*

EXTRA TIP

Take a wet rag, pour on lots and lots (that means gobs) of Soft Scrub With Bleach and smear it on your appliances like washers and dryers and refrigerator, and especially that stove where you spilt spagetti sauce down the side. Add a little water to your rag occasionally to keep it real wet. Do it in the morning, that night simply wipe it off with another wet rag, everthing looks new.

Thank you for this. My apartment has a brushed-stainless steel cooker and hob, and I bought a matching microwave, kettle, toaster and fridge freezer. Even the lightshade is made of brushed steel. The problem is you can't use anything abrasive on this material to clean up, (it leaves unsightly scratches) especially on the cooker burners - so getting off the likes of burned-on pasta sauce etc is really hard.

 

[wishfulthinking]

The peppermint gum (the strips kind) worked. Slowly, but the weevils died one by one. Then I just brushed them up, cleaned out the cupboards, and yay!!

I've occassionally had ants, so will go try that sevin stuff.

 

[cantdog]

Kill!

 

[SlickTony]

Anybody tried that super-Dawn stuff? It's supposed to get anything to come off, and it's not abrasive.