Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Alaskan]

Have you tried making a grease line all around the barrel?

 

[ragdollcatlady]

DE usually works for ants here. A heavy dose all around to cover all active ants and lightly sprinkled every where they might spread. Safe to eat for everyone, just don't breath it in and dust, gently so as not to get it too fluffed up into the air. It is actually a flour and pretty heavy, so it drops fine if you don't shake too hard.

The fire ants here love to have hills in the grasses and near the weeds I seem to want to pull! They love to make themselves at home in the "goats head" weeds!

 

[ragdollcatlady]

P.S. I have found that a flour sifter actually works fantastic for dropping the DE where I want it, and spreads it better than when I try and drop it by hand. I recently sprinkled some over the top of chicken grain I had just dumped into the bin. The last few bags have attracted bugs (or maybe had some in them) but since the chickens like the bugs, I am not concerned. I just don't want them spreading to the goats grain.

 

[Latestarter]

I know commercial feeds, many have DE in them for just that reason, helps kill bugs. I hadn't really considered it since it's useless when wet and the dew we get here, you'd think it rained all night, every night. I don't really want to use grease or petro chem (mower or tractor) as it's in an area where the animal feed is and I don't think it would be beneficial to their diets and health long term. Perhaps I'll get a small bag of food grade DE and sift some into the feed barrel on top of the feed.

I have the big dirt hills here too... I try to run over them with the lawn tractor and squash them then blow them away with the blade deck. They become really visible and easy to spot right after a rain... It seems when the ground is wet, the ants love to push up new dirt to all time highs.

 

[Latestarter]

So the northern border of Harvey is moving north slowly & is just about up to Shreveport and appears to be approaching @Baymule so perhaps she'll start seeing rain by tomorrow some time. I've got a 30% for tomorrow but a 70-80% chance Wednesday and Thursday. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm basically right below the top of a hill. The run off from above me will cause some erosion in areas but I have no fear of flooding as the stream is a good 25-30 feet below me. Might be interesting to see it at flood stage again and out of its banks. I have pictures of it just below the top of the banks. I know it has been out at least once since I moved in here, but I never saw it. I believe it happened in the middle of the night. That was when I lost all those fence posts I had to recover.

No danger of that anymore, but I'd really like to actually see where the flood flow is, rather than trying to determine by piles of flood debris; direction and force as well as depth so I can plan my fencing better. I've been thinking I might use cattle panels in those areas vice the woven goat fencing. Maybe I'll get the chance to witness it here right around the corner.

 

[Alaskan]

But don't stand in the middle of the river to test flow speed....

 

[Bruce]

this message will self-destruct in 2hrs

Didn't work!

 

[Baymule]

LS, you, @Devonviolet and I will be ok. We are all high and dry. You and DV might get some mud, but we'll all be ok.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Don't forget about some berms, they can be very beneficial in directing or diverting waterflow. They can also provide high ground for refuge of the animals....and, dirt is pretty cheap.

 

[Bruce]

and, dirt is pretty cheap.

Not here! I have so much ledge covered with a thin layer of dirt (mostly clay) I can't (if I had the equipment) just move it around. I don't suppose someone wants to "gift" me several thousand yards of clean topsoil??