Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Peep_Show]

Here in Las Vegas we often refer to the cockroaches as "water bugs" as that seems to be where they end up. To get rid of them without poisons you take a wide mouth Mason jar, put some used coffee grounds in the bottom of it, fill it with an inch or two of water and then set the jar upright next to a wall (wedged into wall corners are even better). In the morning the jar is usually rife with *dead* roaches. Yay! Dump the contents into the chicken run or flush.

Another reminder is that cockroaches LOVE bbq grease and it will draw them to your location. So if you have a gas grill, make sure you clean the grease trap often. A roach can live for a month on a drop of grease.

 

[Rathbone]

Hey Peep_Show - we are neighbors. I am going to try your roach trap tonight. I have mason jars, I have old coffee grounds...I have roaches just waiting to be caught!
One question. Chickens are not supposed to eat coffee grounds I think I read somewhere? so I would need to dispose of the roaches and not feed them to the chickens? Anyone want to field this one?

 

[Aimless Farmer]

I love it!!

The ultimate in recycling...TURNING COCKROACHES INTO DELICIOUS EGGS!!

Chickens turn a whole lot of otherwise inedible stuff into the perfect food for us...eggs. Kitchen left-overs, garden waste, bugs. No cockroaches up here above the Arctic Circle in Central MA, but I get simple yet great joy in flinging earthworms and various grubs over the fence to my flock when I'm working in my veggie garden. I would certainly get my gardening done a whole lot FASTER if I would just leave the worms where I find them, but it does my heart good to see them happy, and I know it's good for my eggs

Good luck with the roaches!!!

 

[Peep_Show]

I cannot answer that inquiry about the coffee grounds without research.... They've always gone out in the compost heap and the chickens have always scratched about, but I've never given any directly to my birds. How would you recognize a hyper caffeinated chicken? Do the eggs come out any earlier???

Do the roosters go on a rampage or something? Hmmmmm.......

 

[Acre of Blessings]

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Oh, lol, with these questions, I wish you all could see what was going through my mind

 

[GreenGables]

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AGREE!

I have a rough time with a food budget. Any advice? There are only 2 of us now, my DH and myself. We're all set on eggs thanks to our city chics.

 

[Peep_Show]

re: Food budget

I gave up on supermarket chains about a year ago and now shop at the Hispanic market. The produce is fresher and cheaper, albeit it doesn't look like art on display. As a result of the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies, husband and I have dropped our cholesterol considerably and actually have more to eat. It is not unheard of to come out of there with 20+ pounds of groceries for a whopping $12. Check it out.....

 

[Circe]

Re: food budget

Coupons and Sales: I save about 1/4 of my grocery budget each trip using these two methods. There are 5 of us. I have a binder I keep my coupons in where they are arranged alphabetically. I make a list based on the sale items and then pair that with my coupons. A lot of people shop several stores to really save, but I don't have the time, nor gas money for that.

We also freeze and can in the summer, so we don't buy as many veggies in the winter.

 

[GreenGables]

Thank you Circe and Peep-Show, I think we have an Hispanic market right down the street. I never thought of shopping there probably because I thought of the language barrier. I will give it a try. Also, I have to rethink coupons. Thank you again.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

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This is so true! And to top it off most of the produce in our fancy grocery stores are from Mexico and beyond and for some reason our Mexican grocery carries a ton of USA grown produce for a lot cheaper. I shop there often, for example they had granny smith apples 4 lbs for a dollar, 2 pounds of peaches for a dollar, 4 green bell peppers for a dollar, etc when I was there a few weeks ago. Spices are excellent prices as well.