Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me

Living on a small farm comes with perks, and pests. Poo, like rabbit and chicken poo will work wonders for your garden, but it sure does draw the pests. House flies love it. They can find it from miles around (I am sure).  What can we do about it? Trap them!

Sure, eliminating the poo would be ideal, but not possible. Besides, my worms would not appreciate it and my plants would not be as green. 

Making a fly trap is easy! 

You will need:
A plastic 2 liter soda bottle
Sturdy tape, such as duct tape or packaging tape
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Syrup - maple, pancake syrup, or dark corn syrup
1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
Water
Drop of Dish Soap

Easy Directions
Cut the top off the soda bottle at the "shoulders" so it will invert and fit down inside the bottom part of the bottle. Kitchen shears work great. 

Mix the sugar, syrup, and apple cider vinegar in the bottom part of the bottle. Stir well until all ingredients are dissolved.

Add a drop of liquid dish soap.
Invert the top of the bottle and place on the lower portion, lining up the cut areas. 

Use tape to secure all the way around. Do not leave any gaps. Carefully add water to bring the liquid level up to about 1 1/2 inches below the opening of the bottle.

Place your trap in areas you have fly problems. 

When full, or just extremely gross, toss/recycle and make another. 

Some of the liquid will evaporate, as you can see in the picture. But, how gross is that?

Don't get ticked off... Get the ticks off!

It is a silly title for a not so silly topic. Ticks are not just gross, they can also be dangerous to our pets, as well as us. We have outdoor dogs and no matter what prevention or remedy we try, they still get ticks. I cannot touch them! That is why I got married. Having a handsome, manly man around to do that job is the way to go!  However, my manly man works, so it isn't always possible to have him do it.  I can't stand to leave them attached and alive.

Today, I noticed a very big, blood sucking, disgusting tick inside my dog's ear.  It was one of those that got bigger with each gulp of blood.  Like a balloon from a horror movie. What to do?? I had to take matters into my own hands.

I remembered something about cutting a "v" into the end of a plastic spoon and scoop the tick into the slot to make it come out. I tried that and it worked, but not as well on all the ticks.

I also remember, as a teenager, arriving at the home of the boy I used to babysit just to discover his mom holding a pair of pliers with blood droplets all over them and the front of her shirt.  Do not try to remove these balloon ticks with pliers! They explode!

I opted for my own reinvention.  Grabbing a plain, disposable plastic fork and my kitchen shears, I went to work. I turned this...

Into this...

I suppose I could have left the tines long, but the tick was inside the ear and I couldn't get it into the end of the "v" of the tines. Now, all you have to do is catch the little blood sucker between what is left of the tines and keep pushing it toward the bottom, or the "v" of the tines... Continue on until the tick pops out. It worked great!

I purposely cut them at an angle. It gave me different slot sizes to choose from.

I couldn't get it to work on the flat ticks, but those are okay to grab with the tweezers, before they get engorged.  Just be sure to grab them in the head and not the body. If you squeeze the body, you can make them expell bacteria back into the dogs skin and cause infection.

So, what do you do with the ticks you remove?  If my dad has visited and he pulls it, he tosses it to a chicken.  Problem solved. If removing several, I may get a little cup of bleach and drop them in as I remove them. If it is one big one, I have been known to flush it (picture a huge sewer tick coming back for revenge).  When the ticks are flat and I just remove one, I pinch it between tape and toss it in the trash. This method works well with fleas too.

The Pesky Little Fruit Fly

Warm weather is here, and with it comes those tiny little fruit flies that buzz your head and end up in your perfect cup of morning coffee.

Even though they don't live long, they reproduce at an alarming rate.

They key is to trap them fast. There are many different ways to trap them. You can use fruit in a jar with holes in the top or you can use yeast, water, and sugar. Since they are attracted to fruit and the fermentation process, beer works great. I used the Bud Light Margarita. I was surprised at how fast they started coming to it.

Here's what to do:

Just wash out an old jar. I used a salsa jar since the flies are attracted to yellow and orange. I poked some small holes in the top using a screw (because I couldn't find a nail) and a hammer. Then I filled it half way full with the margarita and three drops of dish soap.

The dish soap breaks the surface tension and causes them to drown so they don't reproduce in your trap, which is another problem with using only fruit.

I hope this works for you.

Alternatives to place in the trap with dish soap are apple cider vinegar or wine. You may have to experiment to see what is the beverage of choice for your fruit flies. I usually set out a few with different liquids in them. I figured they liked menu options :)