Vol. 4 # 10  

     SEAL, SEAL, SEAL! No, we’re not on the San Diego harbor cruise watching marine mammals loaf on the buoys. I’m talking about the yearly post Labor Day ritual we all go through this time of year, caulking gun in hand, to keep pesky little critters out of our houses. Seems like this time of year everybody starts whining about flies, wasps, spiders, and whatever else is out there skulking around. We’ve discussed these subjects in the past but for those of us over 50 perhaps some review would be helpful.

     Wasps and Yellowjackets – Now is the time of year when the colonies start to decline. What that means is that there are no more young being produced and the ones that are there are maturing and pupating. Since a major food source for workers is from larval regurgitations, "(sounds yummy, eh?)" the workers food, thus, also declines. This is why they get more pestiferous. They are looking for sources of energy i.e. your pop or sandwich! Also, newly emerged queens are looking for places to spend the winter and are getting into houses, under roof shakes, etc. So now you are set with lots of trivia for “Who wants to be a millionaire”.

     Vagrants - By this I mean just about any type of fly (a lot of houseflies now), beetle, plant bug, etc that are starting to look around for a warm winter abode. Many may also be wandering around looking for a late season meal since lots of stuff has dried up.

     Spiders – Just like clockwork the hobos have been moving around. Keep your eye out now for females. So far we’ve seen only males but that is about to change. Other spiders will be moving also in response to shorter days, cooler nights, etc.

     What to do about all of the above – First of all, exercise a little tolerance! Don’t get too upset by the vagrants and just throw them out the door. Next, go around the house with the caulking gun I mentioned earlier, and seal up all entrances to the house. By this I mean where the dryer vent exits the wall, where water or gas pipes enter the house, etc. Caulk any gaps around windows and doors and make sure there is a good seal between the bottom of your doors and the doorsills. If you are really energetic, seal up where the pipes etc come from the floor up to the sinks, etc. Lots of stuff gets in there via the crawlspace.

     After sealing all you can seal (take another look before you quit!) then you can spray the house perimeter if you feel the need. Inside, sticky traps work well for spiders or aerosol sprays if you’re so inclined. I almost never spray in the house. Newspapers, shoes, and flyswatters are great “biocontrols”!

     On another note, the past couple of weeks have seen large flights of whitish mayflies around the street lights. The poor things only live a few hours and are supposed to mate and lay eggs before dying. Our street lights, however attract them away from their duties and they miss out on the little pleasures and main mission of their lives. Alas, alak, Tsk, Tsk! Happy bugging!