We are fighting a losing battle with those nasty little brown stinkbugs. Apparently they came over from Asia and are in the area to stay. During the winter months, they tend to find their way into houses and live in the walls. If there are any cracks or openings they then find their way into the house.
These things are ANNOYING. The sit on a wall or other surface and just sit there. Once in a while they will buzz around the room, crash into a wall and fall to the floor.
The really bad thing about them is that they are odiferous, an offense to the olfactory senses. In other words, they stink.
Battling these things is a pain. To deal with the immediate infestation you need to trap then one by one. However, if you aren’t careful they will raise a stink.
Sucking them into the vacuum doesn’t work very well. The vacuum will stink. You don’t want to crush them and throw them in the trash because the trash, and possibly your hands, will stink.
We’ve found a couple of things that work. (1) Catch them with a bit of saran wrap or the equivalent. Roll that up into a tight ball. The Saran Wrap is pretty good at locking the scent in. (2) Get a decent wad ot toilet paper and catch them without crushing them. Ball it up and flush them down in the sewer with the rest of the stink.
For the longer term I’m going around the house checking for cracks at the baseboard, windows, light switches and any other area they can get in. By sealing that up, you will reduce the infestation inside the house. Once the summer comes and they have left the walls, it’s time for Mister Caulk Gun and a lot of caulk. That will help keep them out for next year.
I have read that you don’t want to use insecticides. Supposedly you will then have carpet beetles that will eat the dead bugs and then your woolen clothes. There are some traps that are supposed to work.
This summer Bucks County will have four hazardous waste drop off dates for residents. While this program is nice, I really wish it was just a little easier to dispose properly of hazardous waste.I believe you are limited as to how many computers you can drop off. There are two things you should keep in mind when dropping computers and monitors off
- Keep a record of the serial number and the fact that you dropped it off at a properly designated drop off point. If the machine should ever turn up in an illicit landfill, you will have proof that you acted properly if the EPA should prosecute you (that has happened in the past with some waste disposal companies)
- The hard drives should be physically removed or destroyed. Simply erasing or formatting them does not adequately remove sensitive information.
The dates and locations are
- Lower Makefield Corporate Center: May 3rd
- Upper Bucks County Area Vocational Technical School: June 21st
- Middle Bucks Institute of Technology: July 19th
- Bucks County Technical High School: August 16th
- Quakertown Community Pool: September 27th
Resources
Water will be released from Lake Nockamixon into Tohickon Creek on March 15 and 16. This should provide some class 3 and 4 rapids. So, get your surfboard… ooops, wrong blog.. Get you whitewater craft, safety gear and get ready for some funMore Info:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/pa-dcnr-plans-whitewater-release-bucks-countys-tohickon-creek_492817_1.html
An article in Phillyburbs describes PPL using eminent domain to place high tension towers on the land of a Richland Family.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-09192007-1409981.html
I’m sure the Real Estate agents and supervisors of Bucks County Townships aren’t too happy to hear this discussed. Property values are one of the things driving the Bucks County Economy. People are willing to spend millions for homes here, especially in Central and Upper Bucks.The nightmare would be to spend a million or so of your life savings to find the perfect farm or property with just the right setting…. and then have ugly towers plopped right in the middle of things.In addition to the esthetics of the situation, there is also concern that the high tension wires cause health problems. That idea is, of course, poo-pooed by the power companies.. (remember at one time tobacco companies promoted smoking as a healthy thing to do). On the other hand, there are books and articles that point to powerline-cancer links.One of the things driving the need for powerlines is the rampant development. A 6000 foot McMansion needs a good bit of ‘lectricity to keep the heat pumps going. The little munchkins from the Mcmansion need to go to a school, which needs plenty of ‘lectricity to keep the kiddies in light and a nice comfortable environment.
So, as people are buying up houses, they may be faced with their home being under the shadow of a transmission line in order to provide additional power for those who buy homes after them.
One thing that did strike me was the apparent unwillingness of PPL to follow the railroad lines instead of going through people’s homes. I have no knowledge of the engineering involved so I can’t make a judgement. However, it would seem that it should be possible to situate the power lines along railroad rights of ways.Eminent domain is scary. The governement can come in and enforce the taking of all or part of your property with the muzzle of a gun.What can be done to lessen this in the future? For one thing, if we cover Bucks County with a spiderweb like netting of high tension wires, I would think that would have a negative effect on property values and tourism. “Gee dear, don’t those power lines just look lovely this time of year in the valley?”.. Yeah right…Here are some thoughts..
- Let’s stick to the comprehensive plans in the townships. Over and over again, developers are coming and and threatening lawsuits if they can’t take R2 zoning and change it to High Density age restricted housing.. Simple math and common sense says that when you stick more people on an acre, you will need more electric…
- Make sure that the people who have the power to stick a butt ugly transmission pole smack dab in the middle of your horse pasture have incentive to try to find less obtrusive routes.
- Look into alternative energy, incentives to make things as energy efficient as possible and perhaps other ways of bringing electricity besides towers. However, the geography of Bucks County with it’s glacial rock will probably preclude underground high tension wires.
- Oh, just for fun, every proposed route should be audited to see if the people responsible for the route have chosen a path away from their homes at the expense of other’s homes..
- Let’s make sure that the people who are forced to give easements are fairly compensated for their land. There have been a lot of national stories about eminent domain abuses where the owners are paid a fraction of their economic losses. That just is not fair.
The Bucks County Foodshed will be holding a Harvest Festival on Sat 9/29 with hayrides, recipe contests, live music, arts and crafts and a farmer’s market.The event will be held at the Middletown Grange Fairgrounds in Wrightstown
For more information, see the Foodshed’s site at http://www.buckscountyfoodshedalliance.org/
Here’s a great opportunity to get rid of of hazardous materials you have around your house. Bucks county only runs this program during the summer and early fall. Take a look at the link below and find a recycling date and place near you. Of particular interest is the fact that they will collect old computers and monitors which should not be disposed of in the regular trash.
Commissioners Announce Bucks County Household Hazardous Waste Program in Full Swing: Next Event Slated for Saturday, June 9 at Bedminster Twp.’s Upper Bucks Vo-Tech: “Commissioners Announce Bucks County Household Hazardous Waste Program in Full Swing
Next Event Slated for Saturday, June 9 at Bedminster Twp.’s Upper Bucks Vo-Tech “
Saturday, June 9, Upper Bucks County Area Vo-Tech School, 3115 Ridge Rd.., Bedminster Twp.Saturday, July 14, Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, Old York Rd., Warwick Twp.Saturday, Aug. 18, at Bucks County Technical High School, 610 Wistar Rd., Bristol Twp.
Saturday, Sept. 29, Quakertown Community Pool, Mill St., Quakertown Borough
Bucksview Blog – Bucks County Pa
We are fighting a losing battle with those nasty little brown stinkbugs. Apparently they came over from Asia and are in the area to stay. During the winter months, they tend to find their way into houses and live in the walls. If there are any cracks or openings they then find their way into the house.
These things are ANNOYING. The sit on a wall or other surface and just sit there. Once in a while they will buzz around the room, crash into a wall and fall to the floor.
The really bad thing about them is that they are odiferous, an offense to the olfactory senses. In other words, they stink.
Battling these things is a pain. To deal with the immediate infestation you need to trap then one by one. However, if you aren’t careful they will raise a stink.
Sucking them into the vacuum doesn’t work very well. The vacuum will stink. You don’t want to crush them and throw them in the trash because the trash, and possibly your hands, will stink.
We’ve found a couple of things that work. (1) Catch them with a bit of saran wrap or the equivalent. Roll that up into a tight ball. The Saran Wrap is pretty good at locking the scent in. (2) Get a decent wad ot toilet paper and catch them without crushing them. Ball it up and flush them down in the sewer with the rest of the stink.
For the longer term I’m going around the house checking for cracks at the baseboard, windows, light switches and any other area they can get in. By sealing that up, you will reduce the infestation inside the house. Once the summer comes and they have left the walls, it’s time for Mister Caulk Gun and a lot of caulk. That will help keep them out for next year.
I have read that you don’t want to use insecticides. Supposedly you will then have carpet beetles that will eat the dead bugs and then your woolen clothes. There are some traps that are supposed to work.
This summer Bucks County will have four hazardous waste drop off dates for residents. While this program is nice, I really wish it was just a little easier to dispose properly of hazardous waste.I believe you are limited as to how many computers you can drop off. There are two things you should keep in mind when dropping computers and monitors off
The dates and locations are
Resources
Water will be released from Lake Nockamixon into Tohickon Creek on March 15 and 16. This should provide some class 3 and 4 rapids. So, get your surfboard… ooops, wrong blog.. Get you whitewater craft, safety gear and get ready for some funMore Info:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/pa-dcnr-plans-whitewater-release-bucks-countys-tohickon-creek_492817_1.html
An article in Phillyburbs describes PPL using eminent domain to place high tension towers on the land of a Richland Family.
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-09192007-1409981.html
I’m sure the Real Estate agents and supervisors of Bucks County Townships aren’t too happy to hear this discussed. Property values are one of the things driving the Bucks County Economy. People are willing to spend millions for homes here, especially in Central and Upper Bucks.The nightmare would be to spend a million or so of your life savings to find the perfect farm or property with just the right setting…. and then have ugly towers plopped right in the middle of things.In addition to the esthetics of the situation, there is also concern that the high tension wires cause health problems. That idea is, of course, poo-pooed by the power companies.. (remember at one time tobacco companies promoted smoking as a healthy thing to do). On the other hand, there are books and articles that point to powerline-cancer links.One of the things driving the need for powerlines is the rampant development. A 6000 foot McMansion needs a good bit of ‘lectricity to keep the heat pumps going. The little munchkins from the Mcmansion need to go to a school, which needs plenty of ‘lectricity to keep the kiddies in light and a nice comfortable environment.
So, as people are buying up houses, they may be faced with their home being under the shadow of a transmission line in order to provide additional power for those who buy homes after them.
One thing that did strike me was the apparent unwillingness of PPL to follow the railroad lines instead of going through people’s homes. I have no knowledge of the engineering involved so I can’t make a judgement. However, it would seem that it should be possible to situate the power lines along railroad rights of ways.Eminent domain is scary. The governement can come in and enforce the taking of all or part of your property with the muzzle of a gun.What can be done to lessen this in the future? For one thing, if we cover Bucks County with a spiderweb like netting of high tension wires, I would think that would have a negative effect on property values and tourism. “Gee dear, don’t those power lines just look lovely this time of year in the valley?”.. Yeah right…Here are some thoughts..
The Bucks County Foodshed will be holding a Harvest Festival on Sat 9/29 with hayrides, recipe contests, live music, arts and crafts and a farmer’s market.The event will be held at the Middletown Grange Fairgrounds in Wrightstown
For more information, see the Foodshed’s site at http://www.buckscountyfoodshedalliance.org/
Here’s a great opportunity to get rid of of hazardous materials you have around your house. Bucks county only runs this program during the summer and early fall. Take a look at the link below and find a recycling date and place near you. Of particular interest is the fact that they will collect old computers and monitors which should not be disposed of in the regular trash.
Commissioners Announce Bucks County Household Hazardous Waste Program in Full Swing: Next Event Slated for Saturday, June 9 at Bedminster Twp.’s Upper Bucks Vo-Tech: “Commissioners Announce Bucks County Household Hazardous Waste Program in Full Swing
Next Event Slated for Saturday, June 9 at Bedminster Twp.’s Upper Bucks Vo-Tech “
Saturday, June 9, Upper Bucks County Area Vo-Tech School, 3115 Ridge Rd.., Bedminster Twp.Saturday, July 14, Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, Old York Rd., Warwick Twp.Saturday, Aug. 18, at Bucks County Technical High School, 610 Wistar Rd., Bristol Twp.
Saturday, Sept. 29, Quakertown Community Pool, Mill St., Quakertown Borough