The maggot part doesn't bother me a bit--its a lot cheaper than buying mealworms. But what exactly is in the chicken/cat bucket? What is a chicken/cat bucket?
I'm not squeamish--actually I've been wondering if you can tell how long an animal hit by the road has been dead by when it deflates after fillilng up with gases? Okay--I think I've been watching too many Forensic Files.
Anyone else having problems with bug swarms?
cat, i bet DH could tell you that LOL.
i hve a few special dishes where everyone puts their scraps. used to be just for the chickens, but the cats started picking through it, so now we add meat scraps aws well. leftover milk or forumla, extra water in glasses, it all goes in! banana peels, orange peels, apple cores, ends of veggies from chopping for meals.... pretty much like a compost bucket, only i dont' compost, i dump it in the garden, and they scratch in what they don't eat. oh, yeah, coffee grounds with non-bleached filters too...
headed now to take them their treat. gonna give it to the black chickens who are penned up to keep them in the shade...
Oh. Thats not so bad. Those would be nice maggots!
well, maybe the flies were biting me the other night for another reason. the canister was overstuffed, and i guess they couldn't get inside to lay their eggs. i dumped it all into a five gallon bucket and set by the back door. that should keep the flies in that area for a while.
can't believe i missed a whole harvest of maggots, dernit, well, i am new at this LOL
How did I miss this thread? Patchouli78, are your gnats gone for good? Hope you didn't lose any more chickens. Our vet said a friend of his lost 50 in one day by suffocation when they all huddled together to protect their faces from gnats.
We don't have nearly as many as we did but still a few hanging around. Now it's ticks, chiggers, and flies. Last summer we had a swarm of leaf hoppers to pass through one night. They were so thick I couldn't see out the window. What's up with this? Is global warming responsible for it? Are insects becoming immune to pesticides?
Friendly reminder: watch those tick bites! I had a mild case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever 3 years ago (didn't even know we could get it here). Thought I had the flu at the time but blood tests later confirmed RMSF.
fleurs those darn black flies (aka buffalo gnats) are still here in full force. They've got me covered in bites. Today they were especially nasty.
MollyD
They tend to like to bite behind my ears. When they do, that ear will be 2x the size of the other ear and very red and ITCHY. (attractive)
Did you see the link on my gnat thread to the company with the netting hats? Other than being hot when it's 90 degrees and 90% humidity here, my new hat works well.
Debra
Thanks fleurs, no I didn't lose anymore chickens, and for the most part the real nasty gnats are nearly gone. The rising temps and lessening rain helped kill most of them off. TF, I'm not squeamish about anything EXCEPT maggots, lol! They're like my kriptonite (SP?). Besides, when someone says don't read if squeamish, it's kind of like a train wreck, you don't want to look but can't help it, LOL!
well, you can't say i didn't warn you though!
had to start over. got a five gallong bucket now, and adding plenty of liquids to it. hope to harvest again soon...
fleurs, funny, someitmes people start the same thread and never BUMP into each other. kinda like in the lost and found ads, when you read it and want to call and tell the person who lost the dog that if they read the paper they would see the ad from the person who found it in the very same column!
ya'll gotta go to her bug thread and check out those hats!!!
tf
Here's a direct link to the bug hat site: http://www.concealmentindustries.com/
If your bugs are so bad a hat isn't enough, check this out! http://www.websoft-solutions.net/Mosquito_Jacket_bug_Jacket_p/bjacket1.htm
; )
oh, my did the chickens love that bucket of stuff with the added protein! my mom had a box of bran flakes she said wouldn't stay crispy in milk, so those were on top along with peanut shells. i waited till i saw movment in the shells, then out it went.
now, DH is trying to put a kink in my plans. the bukcet is perfect, nice and big for the kids to scrape their paltes into, by the back door which is near enough to the kitchen. but DH uses that door and doesn't like the sigth/smell of it! and he claims i hatched them in the house is why we have so many [nothing to do with doors and windows constantly open and this terrible heat???!]
the bukcet is still there, he will be hard pressed to come up with a compromise. he wanted me to hang the bucket outside, or else he is hanging fly strips inside...
OK, now back to your regularly schedule bug swarm complaining...
;-)
tf
tf, I normaly would probably agree with you, but in this instance, I'm going with the guy! Never though I'd say that. All I can say is EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! : 0
but see, with the larger bucket, the kids can't miss [LOL] and there is more surface area, and therefore more room for.... well, OK... maybe someone in the vermiposting forum can give me better insight and less girly screams.... i'll shut up about it, gee whizzers...
LMAO!!! No, go on...... I looove getting grossed out.
It's the "I saw movement in the shells" part that grosses me out. Bleeeeck!
I know, hahaha : )
oh, but you know how your chickens come running when they know you have a good treat? like the hens recoginize my green bucket is goat's milk, now they get UNREASONABLY EXCITED when they see this big white bucket headed their way!
They do learn fast. Our former rooster, Dewey, was hand fed bugs each morning that had collected around the exterior garage lights. He quickly learned to be at the garage door every morning waiting for his breakfast. Eventually, he came to think he must come running any time the garage door is opened. Do ya think he was spoiled???
They are cute when they come running!
you know, on my drive today, i was THINKING>...
too bad you didn't put out a bucket with raw cuts of meat in it to attract those buffalo gnats, get them to lay their eggs, and feed that to the chickens. if they continued to only lay and feed in the bucket,,,, you might eventually extinguish them...?
I dunno, the sites I read about them stated that they laid their eggs in damp soil. They may have laid in the bucket, but the larvae probably would have been too small for the chickens to eat. Besides, the biting gnats are gone now : )
They do like damp soil - I'll attest to that! Have you ever thought they were gone then dig in the soil and a swarm rises out of the ground to start all over again? Arrrrgh!
oh, how disgusting!
Yeah. When I was out in the chicken pen a few weeks ago I kicked over a bowl, and a small swarm flew out of the dirt inside.
funny, i can handle peanut shells moving [due to maggots underneath], but not anything SWARMING! don't like stuff around my face...
make sense now?
This message was edited Jun 9, 2008 12:18 AM
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