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LissyPrepper

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Mar 5, 2013
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Location
New York
I've searched the thread and can't find this topic. When the SHTF, mowing the lawn will stop, that could cause unwanted pest problems (mosquitos, mice, rats, snakes, bugs of all kinds that carry diseases). Does anyone have any prep ideas about pest control?
 
You can use a hand scythe to mow or you can get goats, chicken and other poultry kept in 'chicken tractors' are good for keeping down bugs and mice, pigs are hell on snakes, cats are good for pests. The good thing about using these methods is that they also provide you with food.
 
I'd love to keep livestock, but town ordinances won't allow it. We have ordered hens. they will be in next month; We've converted an old shed in the back into a coupe with a doggie door they can use to get out and free range. We've got fencing up outside the shed and fencing over the top of it to keep the turkey hawks out when they are out. I'll check into a hand skythe. Thanks for the tip.
 
Well after the SHTF, will the town's rules really apply?

You might also consider one of the old fashioned rotary push mowers.
 
good point, but I have no where to hide the goats until then :) If I had decent neighbors, I'd feel more comfortable.
 
I have an abandoned house next to me. With that the high weeds in the yard I got rats in my house. I did get rid of them. I cut my grass with a electrical lawn mower and a 1500 watt dc to ac inverter connected to a 12 Volt battery. Keeping the weeds down helps. Also I spray the back yard with Listerine & Dawn dish washing liquid & water. It helps with bacteria and keeps bugs away. The yard smells nice LOL. I use Revolution on my dogs (pricey stuff) for flea control. I also have a LOT of Red Wasps in my back yard which I do not disturb. A lot of people say they are mean, but they don't bother me or my wife and they eat little bugs. They walk on me all the time but I've never been bitten. Ants & roaches (field roaches) we use the traps. We also spray with Pyrethrin. That helps too.
 
You can buy the Listerine in a dollar store, as well as the dish washing liquid. Same stuff.
 
For mice and rats, I'll mix dry cake mix and dry quick set cement half and half, put it in a shallow dish and then set a dish. of water nearby. Works pretty good.

If I could, I would treat our yard, but we bring up the horses and goats to graze and I don't know if anything like that would affect them or not. They do keep the grass pretty short and the chickens and ducks keep the bugs down pretty well. Just have to move the chicken tractor for them every so often.

I'll be honest, I have a straight up phobia of stinging bugs. I'm allergic to them and I came close to totally my car once when a bee smacked me and fell down into my bra. Hit the brakes, threw it into park and was out of the car stripping in front of God and everyone to get it away from me. It was only the grace of God that kept me alive that time; on a normally busy highway, it was nearly deserted. I can laugh about it now, but I was scared to death when it happened.
 
For mice and rats, I'll mix dry cake mix and dry quick set cement half and half, put it in a shallow dish and then set a dish. of water nearby. Works pretty good.

If I could, I would treat our yard, but we bring up the horses and goats to graze and I don't know if anything like that would affect them or not. They do keep the grass pretty short and the chickens and ducks keep the bugs down pretty well. Just have to move the chicken tractor for them every so often.

I'll be honest, I have a straight up phobia of stinging bugs. I'm allergic to them and I came close to totally my car once when a bee smacked me and fell down into my bra. Hit the brakes, threw it into park and was out of the car stripping in front of God and everyone to get it away from me. It was only the grace of God that kept me alive that time; on a normally busy highway, it was nearly deserted. I can laugh about it now, but I was scared to death when it happened.

Oh my goodness !
 
old_anorak: Hope you have prepped a large supply of epi-pens. I can totally relate to the bug phobia thing. I have to say I cracked up a little at the visual of you stripping down in daytime traffic. Been there done that with a spider :) Would not have been so funny if it had got ya though. Thanks for the tip with the cake mix and cement. Never heard of that. I've done a little research and they say lime, onions and garlic work as a natural deterrent against bugs.
 
II do want to prep some items mentioned here. Besides the "gross factor", I do worry about diseases contracted from mosquitos, etc... I think it would be a good preventative prep to stock up on natural pest control that could double for something else prep- like food storage or trade.
 
yea, it's a good idea! I live in mosquito country(near water) so I have lots of bug spray. I've heard that if you dry out "cat tails" (not real one's) and light them on fire it repels bugs but it stinks
 
cat tails? I have some near me. I'll try it out this summer just to see. Thanks for the tip. My cousin got lyme disease from 1 little tick. It ruined her health. She never bounced back completely.
 
yea that stuff is bad!


Cat tails!

images
 
With the pond, lagoon, stock tanks and whatnot, mosquitos can be a problem here as well. We do our best to dump any standing water that isn't needed for something. For the pond and lagoon we've got turtles, frogs, as well as fish in the pond. The stock tanks made me think a little and the solution is gold fish. We keep a couple dozen gold fish in each tank except for the one in the pen where my daughter's horse is kept. He eats them.

I do have my epi-pens and I keep hoping that I won't have a horrible reaction the next time I get stung, but I don't want to find out. Know what I mean? Lissy, it was pretty funny. Let me tell you, for a chubby chick, I can shuck clothes pretty fast!

I remember reading somewhere that in China, in the big grain warehouses they employ people to catch rats. They sew their butts shut and then turn them loose. The resulting pain and poisoning of the rat's system causes them to go back to their nests and kill the other rats.

I've also been told setting fresh soda pop out in a shallow dish will kill mice and rats. They can burp and the carbonation does nasty things to their innards.
 
Old_anorak: holy crap! sew their butts? Ok, that's definitely on my list of weird I've never heard of before. :) As far as bees are concerned, I hear that if you use smoke, it will calm the bees, they won't sting you and you can remove the nest (or their honey) without incident. You just need one of those puffer things (I need to look up the name) to apply a constant stream of smoke. It makes the bees docile. With your allergy, I'd have someone else remove a nest using this method just to be safe. I've seen it done and it actually works.
 
Yeah, I normally don't mess with the nests. My hubs is great about making sure to clear out under the eaves and the deck as well as the barn for wasp nests. Over the past couple of years I've only had a few problems; hornets decided to burrow in and make a nest under the siding by the front door, we normally go in and out of the back door. Found those delightful denizens of Hell when going out of the front door for some reason and the closing of the door caused them to come pouring out.

The only other problem I've had was while I was riding and we went over a nest of ground nested bees. I didn't get stung, but the horse caught a few on his belly and the ride was a little wild for awhile.
 
Hmmm... was thinking about this, if the SHTF and everyone's lawn is tall and raggedly looking, and your lawn looks pristine, makes for a tempting target, and or it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Japanese proverb, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
 

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