Another issue with poison I learned the hard way, is that if they get into ones crawl space the poison makes them thirsty and they start gnawing water pipes. A friend spent a ton of money repairing all the pipes as the rats had gotten into the wall space.

@JackPedigo That is actually great info, which could persuade someone to reconsider! You know, last year another neighbor thought their dishwasher had failed, with a massive leak. When the installer arrived with a new machine, he told them the water tube had been chewed by a rodent. I wonder . . ?

@tinkercreek I have PEX for plumbing in my crawl space. One night I heard some chewing and crawled underneath and found an area a female was trying to make a nest. I set out lots of snap traps but she was too smart. I learned about poison so didn't try that and even set out some water. Then I red the vitamin D is toxic, even to humans (in large doses) and went to put some in the water. The battle had been going on for a couple weeks and I found her dead apparently from starvation.

@JackPedigo tell one tell all 1 cup raw oatmeal, and one cup plaster of paris , mix well and put in bait cups where cats/dogs /CHILDREN can't access. Works well. dead rodents.

@praytothemilkjug I've been told the same of dry instant mashed potato flakes, irreversible bowel obstruction.

@tinkercreek I have done this (oatmeal with plaster of paris) and it worked well. IMP will flow quite nicely. I also made traps with boric acid (in home) works nicely. I can not imagine Instant mashed potatoes killing rats/mice/voles etc. BUT i I could be wrong.

For Skeeters try using as many ovi traps that you can make and get all the neighbors to do same, plans all over the net.

Here is one site with instructions, there are many. One explained how the military uses them and they like them. They are not 100% but they will drop the population by enough to be worth it. You can use 100% reused materials. Skeets do not like chlorinated water so you let drinking water sit in sun for a few hours, or use rain water, or...yeckk, use water from a puddle complete with organic muck, feel free to drop in a piece of chicken or any dead animal bits, not a lot, skeeters love it. And it is ok if they get rained on as there are overflow holes. With enough dead skeeters they rot, and add to the yummy stench mama skeeters so enjoy.

Around horses/some livestock you can take a box fan cover it on input side with fine screen, not, no -see'um screens, they will clog fast. Shoot them across door opening in barns or where flies seem to come in from. They get smashed into the screen on input side can not escape. clean as needed.

In my yard we turn fans on at parties outside. Skeeters can't fly in wake of a box fan, the screens catch them and we leave them on till the next day. If you have chickens just dump them in the feed. If you think they could be bad for the chickens , dump in the trash.

If you have wasps/yellow jacketswho take a chunk outta you, try this. take a plastic bin maybe 12 inches or 18 inches deep fill 80% with plain water take a piece of raw chicken gizzard leg, fatty skin , don't matter, staple it to a piece of plank that will span the container, turn the plank so the meat is under the wood, place place it on the bin, leave in place you feel is close to source. the critters will come in for a nosh , but they fly down, before up and will hit the water, they can not swim.

You tube has a few videos for that as well as ova-traps and rat / mouse traps/snake traps.

here is 1 link for an ova ovi trap

[instructables.com]

I hope it is helpful.

@praytothemilkjug Thanks, and I haven't had a skeeter bite in about 6 yrs, after I read about Vitamin B1 deterring them. 100 mg daily during their active months, and I've watched them light on my arm, sniff around, and leave without biting!

@tinkercreek I have heard noises about B1 but am no longer sure about trying it. I will need to look into it. This year I am making the ovi traps and putting them all over the place. I can get 1 neighbor to do it as well. US troops use them and report they work really well. They do not kill every one of them, they mearly reduce the population, by a good amount. Encouraging toads, and martins (purple martins?) and of course BATS, is a huge plus. Any plant with enough citrus stink is great and there are others.

It is believed by some researchers, catnip is repellent to them, (and other biting insects), cats may get high a bit, but it is a bug repellent as well. So cats will roll in it. It is unknown what a cat/dog/bunny thinks so we will never know if they realize cause and effect here.

Mint is also not liked by most insects, so use of mint/lemon scented generic liquid dish soap plus cheap mouth wash in an over sprayer set on 2 tablespoons per gallon on a lawn the day b4 a party (or just weekly) will give many bugs the boot, but not bees. Putting out fans the day of is a big boost as well.

Find copies of Jerry Bakers book if you can, he has some great tips. I had two, lotsa great tips and recipes for various magic elixers for the garden/lawn.

ciao

I agree. At our Seattle home I was able to turn both the front and back yard into gardens with different plants and fruit trees/plants. I had one tiny strip of grass we could lay on. I even bought a push mower as it was all I needed for this strip. Now, I have 1 + acre with 30% being grass. We managed to convert much of it into a garden (which takes even more work that the lawn) but still I find myself mowing some 5 times a year. The grass here is dormant during the summer but active during the rest of the year and it will get long.

Thank you.

It wouldn't have occurred to me not to use herbicides on weeds, so I appreciate being onformed. I don't use herbicides these days away. I like most of the weeds in my yard and can pull out most that I don't like. I have even tried to get some low growing annuals to grow in my yard. I like the little flowers i've seen in other lawns in my neighborhood.

HOAs are evil. I would be tempted to challenge those bastards on this point. Do some native plant society research, work at getting habitat-certified, then shame them in the press for being fascists destroying the planet.

I just refuse to live under one.

Even though I don't use commercial pesticides I learned something as well from this.