Pinchybobs!

[drtbile]

You need a couple of staffies,they yum spiders up at every opportunity,moths also and as i havnt seen an earwig in the last 6yrs id guess they like them too

[carlt]

Bloody hell where you live !!!??

 

And from wikipedia:

 

The name earwig is derived from the old English 'earwicga' which means 'ear beetle'. It was once commonly believed that earwigs would burrow into people's ears at night and lay eggs in their brains. In fact the story still circulates as an urban myth. Earwigs are not parasitic and would rather lay their eggs under a stone. The human ear, though about the right size for an earwig, is not an ideal resting place. So if one were to crawl into someone's ear it would not be typical behaviour but the actions of one very confused and lost earwig.

Wikipedia is notoriously inaccurate....

 

THEY EAT YOUR BRAINS!!!!!

 

 

[AMModels]

carl, but please

 

Edited September 17, 2008 by AMModels

[tidal]

Bloody hell where you live !!!??

 

Currently Andalucia in Spain and normally the nearest water is a dried up river bed in the valley below and it's used as a road

 

Well unless we get 3 hours of rain that is.....like last week

 

then it goes from this

 

to this

 

 

I WILL get back to a boating life though and soon.........ish

Edited September 17, 2008 by tidal

[tillergirl]

Wikipedia is notoriously inaccurate....

 

THEY EAT YOUR BRAINS!!!!!

 

 

 

 

That in the picture is of course the Giant Brain Eating Earwig not the type you find in yer sleeping bag crushed to death in the morning

 

As for Wiki being inaccurate - I prefer their version - it makes for less paranoia.

 

MOTHS - I hate moths - all that dusty stuff and all that flapping

Edited September 18, 2008 by tillergirl

[tidal]

MOTHS - I hate moths - all that dusty stuff and all that flapping

 

We get them passing through in swarms....flocks......hordes(?) on moonlit nights in the summer. Very pretty

 

[carlt]

Again, the Brain Eating Moth is spreading, especially in waterside habitats:

[Amduck]

You're all sick. Enough already.

 

Mind you, the snake gives me an idea...I don't mind reptiles....what's the best insect eater out there??

[tidal]

what's the best insect eater out there??

 

 

[Amduck]

No, sorry, don't like the look of that either

[NBMike]

You're all sick. Enough already.

 

Mind you, the snake gives me an idea...I don't mind reptiles....what's the best insect eater out there??

 

Hugh Fearnley-Whittington?

[carlt]

Of course, some earwigs are barely noticeable:

[magnetman]

Seriously though, if you find a tarantula in the boat whats the best thing to do?

 

edited to remove a bit which wasn't needed there.

Edited September 19, 2008 by magnetman

[carlt]

Seriously though, if you find a tarantula in the boat whats the best thing to do?

I'd ring the local strange pets group and stroke it, until someone comes to pick it up but, for the more squeamish, pop it in a tupperware box (with air holes added) and ring the RSPCA.

 

Squashing a full grown tarantula would prove messy.

[Clivo]

If spiders weren't bad enough, and daddylonglegs season is well under way, I'm currently being traumatised by earwigs on the boat.

 

We've had none at all in the last year (despite Kev warning me that you get earwigs on boats) but in the last couple of weeks I've seen five or six. Mostly in the galley.

 

I'm not overly enamoured with the blighters to undertstate the obvious - how can I disuade them from being alive (preferably without spraying poison all over our home) and then how can I prevent future earwig immigrants from coming in?

 

This may sound like a 'Carpet Bombing' solution but it will be cheap and effective.

 

Publicans use CO2 gas, and these cylinders can be had for around £10-£12, if you shop around.

 

Close all doors and windows (bar one) and seal with low tack masking tape from the outside, having made sure everything is turned off. Just in so crack open the cylinder and place inside, close door and seal.

 

Now go for a nice long walk.

 

By the time you return the co2 will have flooded your NB and as it is heavier than air will have pushed all the air out through the roof vents.

 

Carefully open front and rear doors and now allow the co2 be blown out of the area, best done on a breezy day. Check area with a CO2 monitor and only enter when all clear. Get out the vacuum cleaner to remove any ex-bugs.

 

Now head to the pub for a nice meal and a couple of sherberts. Don't forget to return the cylinder and get your deposit back.

 

You can now sleep tight knowing the bed bugs won't bight.

 

Toodle Pip

 

Clivo

[Kez]

I tend use a citronella-mix spray to deter them, works well with spiders and daddy long legs too.

 

1/2 teaspoon citronella essential oil

1/2 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil

1/2 teaspoon lavender essential oil

4 ounces distilled witch hazel/vodka

 

 

Mix ingredients in a 4-ounce spray bottle. Shake well. Spray onto furniture, curtains or wherever the blighters tend to be. it sometimes helps to spray yourself too

[Amduck]

I tend use a citronella-mix spray to deter them, works well with spiders and daddy long legs too.

 

1/2 teaspoon citronella essential oil

1/2 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil

1/2 teaspoon lavender essential oil

4 ounces distilled witch hazel/vodka

 

 

Mix ingredients in a 4-ounce spray bottle. Shake well. Spray onto furniture, curtains or wherever the blighters tend to be. it sometimes helps to spray yourself too

 

 

Now that I like. Sounds like it probably smells nice too. Think I'll stick to witch hazel though, I prefer to drink my vodka Is there any type of surface it might damage?

[tidal]

No, sorry, don't like the look of that either

 

 

 

 

???

[Amduck]

That'll definitely get a spray!

[Kez]

Now that I like. Sounds like it probably smells nice too. Think I'll stick to witch hazel though, I prefer to drink my vodka Is there any type of surface it might damage?

theres no damage if you use the witch hazel; although with varnish work i spray onto a cloth and rub it on, just to be on the safe side. its a good anti-fly spray too...

[US Marines]

This topic should be linked to the topic "keeping black powder guns on boats".

 

 

We, of course, use our Magnum 44's to keep the little varmints down...

 

 

 

You do need to keep your tin hat on though, the ricochets can be quite worrisome in a narrowboat....

 

 

(and more than once we've had to employ the 'little dutch boy' trick......well, it is the most powerful handgun in the world, after all !)

Edited September 20, 2008 by US Marines

[Amduck]

I think a Magnum might be a tad overkill for a few spiders, much as I detest the little blighters.

 

On the other hand, if you're talking about the ice-cream, surely it would just attract them

[US Marines]

I think a Magnum might be a tad overkill for a few spiders, much as I detest the little blighters.

 

On the other hand, if you're talking about the ice-cream, surely it would just attract them

 

Not a few spiders - infestation of earwigs ma'am - whole diffrnt kettle of fish - now with yr spider, you just coaxes him out see...but with yr earwigs you just gotta get nasty - only thing he understands - you see him, you shoot him - only way...

 

Or...I spose, if you really wanted, you could try that witch hazel thing....

 

PS// Spiders eat ice cream ?

Edited September 20, 2008 by US Marines

[US Marines]

MOTHS - I hate moths - all that dusty stuff and all that flapping

 

This is what the cat dragged in to us a while back - it was HUGE !!!

 

 

Apparently, its a Privet Hawk Moth - the biggest moth the UK gets - they get 90 to 120mm wingspan, which seems about right for this one....felt a bit weird on my hand on rescuing it from Daisy's jaws before it flapped away rather drunkenly whence it came into the night....

Edited September 28, 2008 by US Marines