Pest control

Discussion in 'Designing, building, making and powering your life' started by Ochu, Jan 9, 2013.

  1. Ochu

    Ochu Junior Member

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    So I'm going to start posting some projects I'm working on. This way I can keep my mind occupied in between projects and stay focused. Also, any feed back will be greatly appreciated.

    I stumbled upon insect hotels on the internet, got up to get some coffee, looked out my window, and saw that a big branch fell of my tree. I have some scrap wood in a pile so I decided to make a insect hotel.

    I collected the branch, thanked my tree, and cut it up into the appropriate lengths, the same length as the blocks I gathered. I was getting ready to drill the holes in my branches when the battery died for my drill. Waiting for it to charge now, then I will cut the blocks, drill my holes and put it all together.

    Hopefully some nice guests will move in, then dine on all the freeloaders I had last year. Any info on how to make natural paints would be great too. There is some info on the net but I can't seem to find step by step instructions on how to make natural paint.
     
  2. crownjohnsons

    crownjohnsons New Member

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    There are plenty of natural pest control methods and paints but I can't provide you complete information. You can make use of Google to get better details.
     
  3. crownjohnsons

    crownjohnsons New Member

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    Have you got some pest control techniques or still searching?
     
  4. Maxene

    Maxene New Member

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    Well, maybe might as well hire and get some help with the "pest control professionals". They can help you with some of your questions.
     
  5. Bryant RedHawk

    Bryant RedHawk Junior Member

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    Natural Paints come in two varieties; Oil base and milk or water base, oil base is the same as what Vincent and other canvas painters use only thinner for painting houses or other items. For this one you get your pigment (color) ground into a fine powder then mix it slowly into linseed or cottonseed oil.
    Milk paint is usually milk, a touch of corn starch and ground pigment. Both types should be mixed until smooth. Milk paints thicken through the use of the corn starch.

    Usually bug hotels are "death traps" deep, holes with lots of DE puffed into them to desiccate the unwanted critters. Unfortunately this is an indiscriminant method of insect control since good bugs will also end up desiccated.
     
  6. Spidermonkey

    Spidermonkey Junior Member

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    Hi guys,
    Its been a few years since my last post but I have to share this with you. I now have a rural property in northern NSW and all the recent rain has resulted in a plague of snails. For a while I considered them a pest and as soon as a ripe tomato developed the snails would destroy them. But as the farther of permaculture said the problem is the solution so I took to the internet and found that the common Australian garden brown snail is edible. This snail can be identified as it is the only one in the Australian garden that appears to have 4 eye stalks. You have to purge the snails for 7 to 10 days as not all the plants that the snails eat are edible.The snails and the container need the be cleaned daily during this time. then you complete the cleaning by soaking them in a solution of water salt and lemon juice. then they can be cooked off in garlic and butter. I'm on day two of the experiment and I'll let you know how it goes. If we dont like them I suppose they will make a good fish food for the aquaponics.
     

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  7. Spidermonkey

    Spidermonkey Junior Member

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  8. Spidermonkey

    Spidermonkey Junior Member

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    Hi Guys,
    So I have been washing my snails and their container daily and about day 5 I gave them a feed of oats to help complete their purge. This afternoon I cleaned and prepped them for cooking by putting in boiling salt water for 3 minutes, removing them from their shells with a tooth pick and then boiling them in a water and apple cider vinegar to complete the process of ensuring they were slime free. Then I cooked them off with butter, garlic, mushrooms and bacon with a splash of white wine and a pinch of dill. They were absolutely delicious. I now plan to build a snail box and feed them on grape leaves. Also after I do the oat purge I will try feeding them a variety of herbs to see if it makes them even better!
     

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