Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pests

I need to kill one pest while protecting another.

mecran01 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:43:25 -0800

We have spiders and pill bugs in our basement. I want to spray for them, but I also have pet rats that I like to let wander around on occasion, and don't want them to get sick. Is there a natural bug spray that is rodent safe? (I know, our basement sounds like a fun place) My nine-year-old is sleeping on the couch until I take care of the bugs. I also need to figure out how all of the pill bugs are getting into our basement bathroom.

Is there a rat in my kitchen?

razzman — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:17:41 -0800

Something strange is going on in the kitchen...What has done this to the label on top of my recycle bin? Went to the recycle bin under the sink. in the picture you can see the lid with the label on it. Is it a mouse, a rat....something else? picture here No human in the house has done this!

I didn't know plants could shed!

EmpressCallipygos — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:52:09 -0800

I've got a couple cherry tomato plants on my windowsill that have been growing like gangbusters -- there's even one little tomato that's JUST starting to turn red. But -- they're also dropping stems off the main plants at an alarming rate. What's happening, and how can I stop it? Some of the stems that are dropping off look like they're drying up first, and some aren't -- it almost looks in a few cases like someone's come along and just broken the stems where they connect to the main plant, and then just left them there.

I checked online for common tomato diseases, and this description sounds closest to what is happening -- but still not quite accurate; that kind of wilt sounds like a more gradually-spreading thing, and with my plants, the stems are just breaking off spontaneously. I'm even seeing new growth in a couple places where old stems broke off. The fruits are also coming in fine, and don't seem to be affected.

I did see some bugs crawling around on the fruit a few days ago -- it looked like something had started spinning a web around it, and tiny flies were crawling around in the webbing, but I hit it all with a shot of some pyrethium-based pest spray and that killed 'em all. The fruit looks just fine, and went on its merry way turning red again. I didn't recognize the bugs - they were the same size and shape as whiteflies, but...they were black instead of white.

Might those bugs be the cause? Or might this be over- or under-watering? Too small a pot? (I have three plants in a biggish tub -- I re-used the tub from a 20-pound tub of kitty litter, so it's about 2 feet tall, and 18x10 in length and width -- but because there's three of them in there I'm wondering if they're a little crowded.) Is the fact that there's new growth and the tomatoes are fine a good sign, and maybe this was just a temporary thing? Is my cat maybe poking around in there and snapping things?

All advice welcome. Thanks.

foxy?

tylerfulltilt — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:50:48 -0800

What animal has made a den in my barn? In the last couple of days some kind of animal has made a rather large tunnel from the outside of my barn into the interior of it. I went in today to get our mower and heard what sounded like little pups in this giant hole in our barn.

Pictures of the den here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40246657@N05/

We're located in southern indiana. My wife seems to think it's a fox. For a week or so prior to this we've had a problem with animals getting into our garbage. I don't know if that's helpful or not.

What is this animal in my barn and should I be helping it?

Amazonian ants in the mail!

thebazilist — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:23:49 -0800

The book I just received from Amazon is covered in ants, which have now infested my mailbox (and my nightmares). What to do, whom to contact? I ordered a book from Amazon and then went away for a long weekend. When I checked my mailbox this morning, it was full of ants. We live in a woodsy area, and there have been ant infestations in the mailbox before, so I wasn't so surprised, especially with the God's-wrath amounts of rain we've been having in New York. But they were definitely concentrated on the Amazon package, so I figured maybe some kind of food had gotten onto it or something.

I went down to the mailbox this evening with a can of Raid and rubber gloves, sprayed all inside and around the mailbox, pulled out the Amazon package and sprayed it all over, too. I brought the package inside, put it in the kitchen sink, and snipped it open with scissors. Ants POURED out like I hope you can never imagine. I sprayed Raid all over the sink, books, and gloves, closed the kitchen door, and ran upstairs to hide.

WTF?? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Whom should I contact at Amazon to complain and possibly ask for another copy of the book, and how do I get in touch with them (I remember hearing that Amazon phone numbers are carefully guarded)? Should I ask for another book or am I being a huge baby? How do I make the book safe after having doused it with poison?

Garden bugs

backseatpilot — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:34:52 -0800

I have some questions about pest control in the garden, coupled with mysteriously disappearing plants. This is our first year attempting a real live vegetable garden - finally have a small back yard, so we built a raised bed, filled it with dirt, and planted some vegetables. We also set up a composter and put some plant boxes on the apartment balcony.

There are lots of bugs, and I'm unsure which ones are ok to leave alone and which need to be taken care of. The composter has attracted LOTS of (mostly fruit) flies. There's a big swarm of flies every time I open the lid. Is this normal? Do I need to adjust our use of the composter in some way to get rid of them?

I've also noticed ants in the raised bed. I think there's a nest in or around the bed, but I don't see any mounds; I only noticed them when they were busy dismantling a dead earthworm. Are these an issue? They're small and black, and they don't seem to be bothering the plants. Other bugs I've noticed in the dirt are earthworms (I'm assuming these are ok) and some sort of larvae - they all seem to have disappeared over the past couple of weeks since they've probably all metamorphosed and flown off as whatever they were.

Coupled with the bugs, some plants have gone missing. They're all still pretty small, and about three or four have simply disappeared. The MO is the same each time - a small divot where the plant was, and a couple of instances I found the plant, neatly cut at the base of the stem. Any ideas what could be destroying our plants in that way?

I have bats in my belfry! How can I inspire action from my condo association?

steeb2er — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:44:12 -0800

Bats are living (and excreting) in the attic of my condo unit. I first noticed them in Sept 08, and immediately contacted my property management company for removal and cleaning. Since then, I've called every 2-3 weeks and attended two HOA meetings to bring up the issue. I keep getting excuses or brushed off. How can I motivate them to ACTUALLY remove the bats, protect my unit from further infestation and clean the insulation? Long story: I bought my condo in Jan 08. During inspection (before buying), the inspector found evidence of bats in the attic. This became a negotiating point with the previous owner. The HOA / property managers trapped the bats, removed the insulation, cleaned the attic and installed new insulation. But it appears they did not properly prevent the bats from re-entering the attic.

In July 08, a bat was in my unit. He was removed by the local police without incident, and I thought nothing of it (in hindsight, he probably got into the unit from the attic via recessed lighting in the main room). In Sept 08, I put some things into storage in the attic and noticed a large amount of bat droppings. I contacted the property managers immediately. They investigated the original trapping work order and discovered what I already knew: Bats had been trapped, attic had not been sealed. I requested they do the work again, they told me they'd need new quotes and HOA approval. In March 09, the property managers sent one insulator out to my unit to provide a quote. In May 09, the property managers told me that they would need to wait until "mosquito season in late May" to properly trap and remove the bats. It's now late June and nothing has happened. My last three calls haven't been answered, nor my voicemails returned. At meetings, the HOA didn't seem particularly concerned. The HOA claims that bat droppings aren't a health concern, but articles online say they can transmit several diseases and parasites (I'm particularly concerned because my wife is 'of child-bearing age', though not currently pregnant and we have no kids).

No additional bats have been found inside the living space of my unit. No one has been bitten. Now that it's hot and humid, the kitchen and laundry room (directly under where the bats are living) stink with bat droppings. I need to get back into the attic to trade summer and winter clothes, but I'm nervous about it. I've been keeping "good" records of this whole process including who I've spoken to, when, what resulted, etc. and I've kept all my cell phone records as "evidence".

What can I do? Can I stop paying some or all of my association fees? (I've read articles online that HOA have foreclosed on homes or sold them at auction because of non-payment of dues, so I'm very skeptical) Should I write an mean letter? Do I need to call a lawyer? Could I go to small claims court?

Thanks MeFites!

the bunny will be reassigned to an undisclosed location

genmonster — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:37:27 -0800

how do I utilize my have-a-heart trap to get the bunnies out of my garden? Despite applications of rodent spray and hot sauce, the bunny in my yard is chowing down on my lettuce and peas. I have a trap, but so far when I've set it out the little stinker has totally ignored it. I tried celery leaves and carrot tops for bait. Has anyone successfully trapped one of these guys? any advice on trap placement and bait? I promise I won't hurt him/her, I'm just going to implement a Maoist-style relocation program.

yes, I've seen caddyshack.

changeling — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:32:05 -0800

I live on the edge of a huge canyon. Gophers are tearing up my yard. How can I keep them out, when an inexhaustible supply lives just outside my property? I've seen this old post, but it's kind of scattered, with no real concensus. And because I live on a huge canyon, any trapping or poisoning I do would only be temporary (and besides, I don't wanna). I just need to figure out a way too keep them out of my backyard and in the canyon, so my backyard doesn't end up sliding into the canyon itself.

Is there anything I can plant that would keep them away? Spray along the edge of the canyon? I can't get a cat because my husband's allergic. Those electro-stakes would be perfect -- but I've heard they don't work. Or do they? Also, any tips on protecting my garden without building an entire greenhouse or chicken wire fortress?

Bonus: Here's one of 'em.

Something is in my attic... Help me figure out what it is and how to get it out! (SLYT...)

cosmac — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:07:12 -0800

We've been hearing rustling overhead. There is a narrow crawlspace up there. I made an opening, stuck my camera up and recorded a video. You can't see any critters, but you can hear them. What do you think? Sounds like the gophers in Caddyshack to me...

Location is Colorado. Possibly squirrels? The space is too small to fit in, any suggestions for removal? I'd like to do it myself, but perhaps this is best left to the pros. If so, any recommendations in the Boulder area? TIA!

How do I get these mourning dove squatters off my air conditioner?

tastybrains — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:18:03 -0800

This weekend I learned that two mourning doves are building or have built a nest on top of my master bedroom air conditioner (the only air conditioner in the house). This is not a good situation, as we will need to run the a/c come summer, and I do not want the blood of baby doves on my hands. What can I do? I only noticed the doves this weekend, fluttering around the window, coo-ing, doing all that stuff that doves tend to do. It didn't occur to me that the scritching that kept waking me up all morning Saturday and Sunday was NOT my cats being mischievous, but rather doves building a nest on my air conditioner. I am a deep sleeper and I'm used to tuning out noises due to the aforementioned mischievous cats, so this could have been going on for awhile.

If they are just starting to build their nest, I think my best course of action is to destroy it and turn the a/c's fan on so that they are discouraged from rebuilding it in that location. However, I can't see the nest to determine whether they have built the nest yet or whether they have laid eggs yet. There's no way for me to get a good look, either.

What I can tell is that one dove flew away when I tapped on the inside of the a/c, while another nervously peeked out from on top. Does that mean they have already laid eggs?

Other info that may help:

This is in a woody area of southern New Hampshire.
The air conditioner is an in-wall room unit that wasn't covered over the winter.
Birds really like to make their home in my house. We had a woodpecker in the siding last year.

What should I do? How can I get rid of them? Short of letting my cats out, how can I let birds know "you can hang out in the yard & live in the trees, but please lay off the air conditioner, siding, and attic, please!"?

I would prefer not to have the blood of baby doves on my hands if at all possible.

Help me defeat a spider infestation!

zachawry — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:27:40 -0800

I live in a 15th floor condo. We get tons and tons of spiders on our balconies, windows, everything. Right now it's winter, so there are no spiders, only their little cocoons, which are everywhere. How can I get rid of these cocoons before they hatch, and hopefully disuade the spiders from coming back? I'd prefer not to use anything (overly) toxic, as I have small children.
I have to sweep the spiderwebs practically every day in the summer, or I can't use our balcony. And, right now there are so many little spider cocoons I'm afraid of what's going to happen when the weather gets warm and they hatch.

Is there something I can spray on the cocoons so they won't hatch? Will scraping them off with a stick or something do the job?

Even if I get rid of the cocoons, is there something I can spray on my windows and balconies that will help keep spiders off?

Planning victory for my victory garden

thecaddy — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:06:02 -0800

I am completely overwhelmed with all the information online about starting a vegetable garden. Looking for personal anecdotes about what works and what doesn't; bonus points if you started on extremely clay-based soil. I'm in Charlottesville, Va., which is somewhere on the border of zones 6 and 7 and has some soil with very high clay content (red bricks come from here!). I'm planning on building raised beds in a sunny spot in our backyard, probably four 4'x8'x18" beds.

Our backyard is on a slope, so I'm prepared to dig the beds level, as well as mixing in some compost into what I dig up before adding the soil and compost mix. After building the beds, I plan on adding another foot and a half or so of chicken wire to keep out the pests (we've got a decent number of deer here, though usually not so close to the city center as I am; but I'm more worried about squirrels).

Now the catch is that I'm completely inexperienced, born and raised in the city, and don't really know the first thing about gardening. Do these plans make sense? If I get started on this in the next two weeks, will I be ready to grow by spring?

Bonus points if anyone can point to me to a good "start a garden guide," especially if it's focused on the SE / Midatlantic.

(If it's impotant: I'm planning on growing several herbs, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini and/or summer squash, garlic, onions, bell peppers, and at least one kind of spicy pepper so I can make my own chili powder)

How do we get rid of nesting squirrel?

Kimberly — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:44:50 -0800

A squirrel is nesting in my friend's car and it keeps coming back. Does anyone have a (non-cruel, non-lethal) way to convince squirrels to find another warm spot? My friend took her (brand new) car in because of a broken headlight and it turns out a squirrel was nesting in her engine and chewing up her electrical system. Over $300 later, the auto guys told her to put mothballs in her car which not only did not repel the squirrel (she saw it climbing out of her car two days later), but apparently generates toxic fumes.

Has anyone had this problem and successfully evicted the squirrel? She lives in an apartment building and doesn't have an assigned spot so she can't set traps or anything like that. I found this stuff, but I have no idea if it works. Any advice based on experience would be much appreciated.

Ninja fleas can't be killed?

slactoid — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:45:17 -0800

Yet another flea question. I know it's been asked many times before, but nothing has worked. We've tried bombing, professionals, borax, buying a new vacuum, capstar, frontline, flea shampoo, but they keep coming back. How can we rid ourselves of these pests for good? We're going totally nuts. I say we just skip our lease and bulldoze the place, but the wife wants to "fix it" :). Here's some specifics:
* We have 2 dogs and 1 cat
* In their own room, we have a bunny and a chinchilla
* We have a 16 month old daughter, so I'm weary to introduce any more poison than we already have

We've been vacuuming non-stop for weeks, we even bought a canister vac with a bag (more suction and containment of the little buggers).

The professional (Western Pest) said they couldn't do much without knowing WHERE they were living. He ended up spraying around the house both inside and out, but wasn't too hopeful.

Please, any ideas, we're listening.

How can I stop whatever is chewing my basil plants?

teem — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:02:47 -0800

My outdoor basil plants are being chewed away by something that leaves behind tiny black grains. Who is the culprit, and how can I stop it? Whatever it is chews holes in the leaves of my basil plants, either straight through or leaving a thin clear membrane behind between the veins of the leaves. There are also tiny black dots on some of the leaves (as in, sitting on the leaves, they're not a part of the leaves or a discoloration). I have a feeling the two are connected.

Bonus points if the solution doesn't involve heavy-duty pesticides.

They take a lickin' and keep on tickin (unfortunately)

Esther Festers — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 20:08:42 -0800

How long did it take for Terro to exterminate the ant population in your apartment/house? I started using Terro's liquid-filled ant baits on Wednesday, September 17. Now, four days later I am still seeing ants trickle in - not as many as before, but enough to make me grit my teeth, and wonder if they're just waiting for the next set of eggs to hatch before they come in droves again. How fast did Terro work for you? Did it take you a few days, a week, etc?

Mice don't pay rent, so they can't live here any more.

brina — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:44:34 -0800

How do I choose an exterminator who will make this episode of Tom and Jerry end once and for all? The brownstone I live in is infested with mice, and our exterminator up to this point has been unhelpful. They spray and leave bait (the kind in those plastic packets), and the mice run around our home like it is a playground.

My landlady has given me free rein in choosing a new pest control company, and I'm wondering what questions I should ask regarding the strategies and chemicals the companies use.

Note: No one in this house owns a pet or has small children. At this point, all the tenants are at their wits' end and would be happy to cooperate with a good pest control expert, even if he asked us to stand on our heads for three days straight -- as long as we knew it would put an end to the reign of the mice.

Another note: We're not into glue traps or other slow torture devices. In fact, we're all of us pretty squeamish.

buzzzzzzzzzz

timsteil — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:50:16 -0800

How to get rid of Cicada Wasps? My wife came in freaking out that we had a cicada wasp in the front lawn. I went out and checked, and found a big mound of dirt with about an inch round hole in the middle, sprayed a boatload of Raid into it, waited, and said "See....nothing there.", and of course the next second this HUGE ass wasp looking thing came crawling out. I sprayed it again, and it just would not frickin die. I finally had to introduce it to Dr. Boot to kill the thing.

From what she says, they are just about impossible to kill/get rid of, lay tons of eggs, and will burrow up your entire lawn if they go unchecked. Some folks resort to dumping gasoline into the nest and lighting it to kill them.

I have used my google-fu and found out every Latin name for them, that the males can't sting, the females can but rarely do, but nothing about how to douse the bastards.

Any suggestions? FWIW I don't care about eco-friendly etc, just a good solution. If it makes any difference, we live in Chicago. I'm not that concerned about the lawn or afraid of them, but the wife and kids are.

Plus, every night I hear cicadas singing and I just wonder if I am going to have a feeding frenzy on my front lawn and have to make a run for the car every morning

Identify my plant and its pest

condour75 — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:05:25 -0800

What is this plant? And what is eating it? We moved here last September, and the plant was in similar shape then. I just assumed it was a goner, but this year it sprouted leaves, which were summarily eaten again. Its tenacity has inspired me to save it. Swarms of above-pictured bug are flying around it all day, so I'm assuming that's the culprit but I'm not sure. More pictures of the devastation here. Any tips to organically eradicate the pest would be appreciated, but I figure once I know what I'm up against, my google-fu will be sufficient. We're in Aberdeen, NJ, which is zone 7, if that helps. Thanks!

There are rats in the kitchen, what am I gonna do?

mygothlaundry — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:53:12 -0800

Several questions about rat infestations, including this one: If I use poison on the giant rats who are suddenly infesting my house, what are the chances of a poisoned rat deciding to die where my dogs can get it and then, if they do get it, will they die too? I have a sudden and horrible rat infestation in my house. I've read all the other AskMe rat threads and, based on their advice, I purchased and used a RatZapper. So far I have killed three giant, huge, enormous rats in my kitchen - we're talking like 8" to 10" long here and that's not counting the tails. I got two with a black plastic snap trap and one with the Zapper. I don't know where they're coming from although I suspect from somewhere under the refrigerator. It's been two or three days since the last rat died and I haven't seen any evidence of more rats in the kitchen since.

Question 1: Is it possible the rats are gone?
Question 2: How can I tell?
Question 3: How can I figure out where they're coming from?
Question 4: Any other trap recommendations?

I called my landlord, who said he was going out of town and, "yeah, whatever, I'll leave a package of rat poison in your mailbox, you had better put it in the basement crawl space, that's the thing to do." I have two dogs, a Springer Spaniel and a collie mix, both about 50 pounds and I've been afraid to use poison for fear that they would get into it. (They are big friendly floppy worthless wusses who are apparently afraid of the rats and they have been absolutely no help whatsoever in the continuing rodent crisis, by the way.) The dogs can't get into the basement BUT the locked door to the basement is located in the fenced part of my yard where they have free all day access.

Question 4: If I put rat poison in the basement, where will the rats go to die? Out in the yard?
Question 5: What if my dogs find and play with (I doubt they would eat it) a poisoned rat?

Any and all further information on getting rid of rats is very welcome. I don't know where they came from and I don't know why they suddenly appeared - I've lived in this house for over a year and never had a problem before.

SHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

Solomon — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:15:42 -0800

Have you every used an electronic cat deterrent? If you did, did you find it actually made any difference? Any particular brands or features I should look out for when purchasing? Any tips on placement or anything like that?

I've tried lots of other things, but nothing seems to work.

Recommend me an effective Austin company that will get rid of attic squirrels.

23skidoo — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:27:49 -0800

I think I have squirrels in my attic. They make scratching noises, fighting noises, and noises that sound like something is galloping around up there. If you have had a similar experience, can you recommend a good pest control company? I am in Austin, TX. Nice techniques are not important to me. I don't care about catch and release or anything like that. I care about mostly about effectiveness, and I care some about cost.

Insect brownian motion

randomstriker — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:19:35 -0800

Why do these flies zig zag around the middle of my room in the afternoons if I leave the window open, and how do I get rid of them?

How to treat soft scales infested conservatory plants?

koahiatamadl — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:50:28 -0800

Strelitzia reginae and other conservatory plants seem to suffer with soft scales...more inside I have a strelitzia reginea and a couple of ficus benjaminum on my hands which appear to suffer with soft scales.

These aren't my plants - I was asked to water a conservatory full of plants for about six months whilst the owners are off in their motorhome...Being somewhat ignorant about plants I googled the problem and soft scales seems to fit all the symptoms I have noticed.

A lot of the products recommended seem to kill things like aphids, too. In the past I have successfully treated aphid infestations with a light solution of washing up liquid and cold whater which I sprayed on the infested plant.

Would that work for soft scales, too, or should I get the specialist stuff?

The plants are quite large and buying the specialist stuff would work out very expensive to treat all three! Thanks.