Official BYC Poll: Do You Feed Your Chickens Cicadas?

[Ascholten]

I'm not sure I've ever seen cicadas where I live

You are not missing much, loud obnoxious, much like a politician, will mess up a windshield and give a free big meal to whatever catches it. Great, just what America needs, MORE stuff to fatten it's population !

Aaron

 

[Eggstatic ChickyDoo]

If you can figure out how to remove a paper wasp nest right in the middle of my organic marjoram, I'm all ears. I needed to cut it back, but noticed the nest before I did.

We have one hen who loves to snap wasps out of the air as they fly. I keep thinking that one day she'll learn her lesson, but she's too quick for them so far!

 

[AccidentalOrpingtons]

We are in NJ and my property is COVERED! Our girls love them and have become quite the little raptors haha.

 

[Ascholten]

Mine are becoming a bit of a pain, I noticed today my tote of potatos has a large smash zone in the middle of the tote where the little $%^$@#t landed in the middle of my greens and rooted around AFTER bending them down and smooshing them into the ground. This one seriously is about one more 'act' from the stew pot im tired of her antics. Eggs are NOT worth 100's of dollars of dollars damage to food crops, none of the other chickens do this on their own, they WILL follow her when she gets into crap, but not on their own. She won't take a hint either, sound devices, rat traps, nope she still keeps getting up in them, yah I see a nice roaster on my weekend menu. Time to find a good youtube video to show me how to clean them quickly and properly.

To the subject, mine wont really go after stuff flying or running, it might be because I make sure they are well fed. I may have to cut back on their food a bit, don't make it so easy to get to and so, available. But that's the conundrum there, i was hoping, well if I made the food easy to get, they'd stay out of my other stuff, because they didn't HAVE to search to eat, nope, not this one. so.. might be time to throttle back on the offered food, make them find other natural food. Ill have to chicken wire the totes or something to try to keep them out I really don't want to use electricity if i can help it...

Aaron

 

[Ascholten]

On the paper wasp nest. if you can get out there at night, harbor freight makes these little grabbie fingery things for picking up trash. Go out at night and snag the nest down. They WILL be pissed obviously, but catching them when they are sleeping might help.

Another way, although geeky and probably not for most people. I have an adjustable 10 watt laser. I will aim at a nest and burn them to the ground, and stomp on them. You can kind of pick them off one at a time that way. Natural, no chemicals and if you don't absolutely smoosh them, you can use tongs mentioned above throw them in a dish and feed them to the birds after you killed them off.

Another way, if you MUST be chemical free, one of these extension reacher grabby things, they make pressure sprayer 'arms' that will extend 15 feet or so with the hose to douche the side of your house or whatever, zip tie a vaccuum hose to that and vac them up. Then deal with what you got in the vac. (this is VERY dangerous, which is why I will NEVER recommend this route until you have been thouroughly TRAINED in the whole 'wasp thing'.) You can get rid of them that way.

if you got an arm, steel is strong, paper nests are not, prop the arm up next to the wasp nest with an M-80 or other similar 'thing' in it, use the laser to light it,'s fuse, kaboom, nest gone, steel arm and holder, unharmed.

There are many ways but for safety reasons if you do not want to use, touch and die method of chemicals.

I just re read your posting. Ok this is on plants...
Get a clean mayonaise or something else jar, go out at night, might want to use two people, one to hold a flash light the other the tool. Take a mayonaise or similar jar, something STURDY, slowly work your way to the nest, jar on one end, lid on the other, quickly bring them together, pinching the nest IN the jar, between lid and jar, close lid tightly on jar and PULL, this way the lid / jar is grabbing the nest which is inside, and when you pull back it's stem breaks off and it falls INTO the jar, with the wasps, you already have it pretty much closed, just finish aligning the lid, twist it close, then leave nest and all in the sun for a day closed up. Lack of O2 and heat should kill off already alive wasps, heat nukes the nest. Shake it VERY hard to flap and bang that nest around inside that jar, to percussion injure / kill anything that might be left, and then when you dont see stuff moving around, open dump in toilet and flush.

id say feed to chickens but they are stupid animals and that would be the ONE time they run AWAY from you when offering food, leaving you in a bad spot

Aaron

Edit: if its light enough out and they find you while raping their nest, you are in a bit of a problem, but otherwise, wearing long sleeves, gloves , even a pull down ski mask / hoodie, depending on your situation might help a bit too, if they are taking flight, all that might give you enough time to mash one before it lands or does it's drive by and stings you but BEWARE if you Do kill one by smashing it, it will release phenomes which pretty much WILL signal to the rest to attack this thing and kill it..... that thing is you,... if you mash one, it is probably in your best interests at that point to retreat quickly and remove item of clothing you mashed it into.

 

[CreveChris]

On the paper wasp nest. if you can get out there at night, harbor freight makes these little grabbie fingery things for picking up trash. Go out at night and snag the nest down. They WILL be pissed obviously, but catching them when they are sleeping might help.

Another way, although geeky and probably not for most people. I have an adjustable 10 watt laser. I will aim at a nest and burn them to the ground, and stomp on them. You can kind of pick them off one at a time that way. Natural, no chemicals and if you don't absolutely smoosh them, you can use tongs mentioned above throw them in a dish and feed them to the birds after you killed them off.

Another way, if you MUST be chemical free, one of these extension reacher grabby things, they make pressure sprayer 'arms' that will extend 15 feet or so with the hose to douche the side of your house or whatever, zip tie a vaccuum hose to that and vac them up. Then deal with what you got in the vac. (this is VERY dangerous, which is why I will NEVER recommend this route until you have been thouroughly TRAINED in the whole 'wasp thing'.) You can get rid of them that way.

if you got an arm, steel is strong, paper nests are not, prop the arm up next to the wasp nest with an M-80 or other similar 'thing' in it, use the laser to light it,'s fuse, kaboom, nest gone, steel arm and holder, unharmed.

There are many ways but for safety reasons if you do not want to use, touch and die method of chemicals.

I just re read your posting. Ok this is on plants...
Get a clean mayonaise or something else jar, go out at night, might want to use two people, one to hold a flash light the other the tool. Take a mayonaise or similar jar, something STURDY, slowly work your way to the nest, jar on one end, lid on the other, quickly bring them together, pinching the nest IN the jar, between lid and jar, close lid tightly on jar and PULL, this way the lid / jar is grabbing the nest which is inside, and when you pull back it's stem breaks off and it falls INTO the jar, with the wasps, you already have it pretty much closed, just finish aligning the lid, twist it close, then leave nest and all in the sun for a day closed up. Lack of O2 and heat should kill off already alive wasps, heat nukes the nest. Shake it VERY hard to flap and bang that nest around inside that jar, to percussion injure / kill anything that might be left, and then when you dont see stuff moving around, open dump in toilet and flush.

id say feed to chickens but they are stupid animals and that would be the ONE time they run AWAY from you when offering food, leaving you in a bad spot

Aaron

Edit: if its light enough out and they find you while raping their nest, you are in a bit of a problem, but otherwise, wearing long sleeves, gloves , even a pull down ski mask / hoodie, depending on your situation might help a bit too, if they are taking flight, all that might give you enough time to mash one before it lands or does it's drive by and stings you but BEWARE if you Do kill one by smashing it, it will release phenomes which pretty much WILL signal to the rest to attack this thing and kill it..... that thing is you,... if you mash one, it is probably in your best interests at that point to retreat quickly and remove item of clothing you mashed it into.

Thanks for the time you took here, and creativity. The nest alert substance is what I'm worried sbout. But they are literally eating all of my Monarch snd Gulf Fritillary caterpillars. I'm rescuing the Monarchs per usual, as I raise them, but the others are usually prolific by now and all I see are paper wasps carrying them away from the Maypop (passionvine). I tried a squirt of neem oil and they abandoned that side of the nest. May keep spraying them and hope it doesn't contaminate nearby plants. It kills caterpillars, too.

 

[Ascholten]

Neem oil is organic, technically I think they Pyrethins / Permethins are too. Yes they WILL take off with the young, that's what wasps do!.

Go out at night and nuke the nest, even if you have to spray them with brake CLEANER fluid, it's a high volatility VOC that will kill the sob's on contact, then evaporate about 20 seconds after you spray it. Get it at autozone etc etc. Kill the nest and eggs and you are good to go.

if this is just too much 'evil' against your tree huggy testicle molecules, then I would suggest soaking a rag in kerosene, then wrapping it around the nest at night and lighting it on fire. Run away, and do a ceremony to Raa Haa the Lib Tarhh Twathh or what ever god of insects is currenty the one in rave, thanking them for both the protein you are liberating into the earth, and the fertilizer the insects charred bodies provide in a garden

I would recommend a blow torch but seeing how you are flagellating at the mere fact of how mideval you need to get against wasps, we will leave more manly tactics out of itl

 

[Ascholten]

I have the Terminix guy coming out today, they do once a quarter to spray down the house and yard. he claims the stuff they use is organic and won't hurt the chickens etc etc. I'll have to ask him what it is. I still don't let them spray the bushes or the ground, because well, I can't stop the birds from digging no matter what I do and I don't want to trust he's telling me the truth on the it wont hurt the birds, but ill see if I can get a name of what they got and how it works and pass it on.

He specifically takes care o wasps around the house. They have some spray they use and some dust they spray too in the area that is supposedly some hormone or something that keeps them away and not wanting to build nests where it is? We'll see

Aaron

 

[Birdsonghill]

Just remember, most of the employees of pest control companies have just a little training and an easy certification test. Organic means things like Arsenic and some of the other worse toxins in the world, when talking about pesticides. The word organic is convenient cover for many very dangerous chemical compounds. The industry has realized they can charge more for "organic" even if it is a deadly organic and not very effective in some cases. I was a license holder in the pesticides industry (supervises and directs pesticide applications by certified applicators) in my state, before I abandoned the evil empire of pest control. I gave up a career because of the lies, distortions, and profit over safety mentality in the industry and the federal and state authorities who regulate and oversee the industry. They out spend all the people who might expose or complain about their practices. At a state sponsored seminar for recertification points, a pesticide "expert" from Monsanto told us he would drink a spoon full of roundup it was so safe(in the 1980's)!The applicators themselves are often victims, eventually, from constant exposure to products that make them susceptible to health issues. They are pressured to apply the chemicals even when it is too windy, too hot or too cold. (then when something happens they blame it on the applicator who was pressured by them)The revenue must flow into the company coffers! Immune disorders, palsy, dementia, cancer, lungs, lymphatic and liver diseases are what often follows a life of working in the industry as an applicator. If they are spraying something to control "pest" that is safe and organic, likely it is not very effective on a wide range of common pest, especially applied only four times per year, to home and lawn. Ask to see the material data sheets for every product in their spray mix, including adjuncts, like soaps, oils, defoamers, spreader/sticker agents, etc., for each visit, for every product they apply. I once had a lady tell me she only used "safe" organic products on her prized garden. She soon, killed her dog and nearly died, after getting the homemade tobacco (nicotine) bug spray on them both while spraying her flowers for Harlequin bugs. She was overcome so suddenly, she couldn't stand up to save herself, but a neighbor saw her distress and she was transported to the hospital and saved. The Chihuahua dog was found when the grandson arrived, later that day, dead, near the garden. Sorry for the rant. This is a subject that has deeply affected my life. Do not trust people to expertly know or understand what they are using! You have to be the judge of that, but at least get informed of what they are using specifically and research it yourself! They also can spray rose water with rosemary oil and charge you for an organic pesticide app. that will only kill or irritate a few bugs. Last, always wear full protective gear when applying the safest pesticides that will be effective on your targeted pest and do not enter the area until it is completely dried or been washed in/away by significant watering/rain.

 

[Ascholten]

Thank you for that. I was just trying to follow up on the earlier post about hornets on flowers in a thread. Was thinking, maybe it was something decent they were using that might be safe for her flowers and birds. Either way, I missed him, I was at the doctor and he came over when i was gone. I'll e mail them and ask them for the msds for all the stuff they sprayed here. Can they play the 'oh but this is propriatery' game or do they have to divulge all the bugaboos and gobbelty gook they splash around? If he did say hormone, then Id think its probably pretty specifically targeted.

I understand what you are saying about the organic, which is a catch phrase for most the time its $41t, don't work well and we will charge you double the price. Nicotine, yah that's a real bad one, I think it's one of the most deadliest poisons known if I remember right, don't take much at all to kill you. It does hit you fast too, think the wild buzz you git if you put a dip in, or take a huge puff first thing in the morning. yah, THAT fast it can kill you. I cant remember where but I think I remember seeing somewhere, probably some anti tobacco site, that one bag of red man has enough nicotine to kill 5 people or something like that.

why can't we just go back to good ole Arsenic and DDT? At least that way we know what we got screw the eagles !

aaron