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Re: [TowerTalk] Moth Balls

To: "RICHARD BOYD" <ke3q@msn.com>,"towertalk reflector" <towertalk@contesting.com>,"ABowenN4OO" <abowen@nettally.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Moth Balls
From: "K8RI on Tower Talk" <k8ri-tower@charter.net>
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 15:07:15 -0500
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
I grab a hand full of mothballs and throw them into the conduit where it comes into the basement every fall.


I will be implementing this tip in all the places I will have that will be like this. My plan is to put a utility box (I have 13 of the utility company-type light green ones) at the base of each tower as a junction for coax coming down the tower and the coax to the shack -- for ground, etc. Just sitting around, these boxes clearly are an attractive nest site for wasps. I hope the moth balls will keep them all out.

On lady bugs, I suppose half of them are "gentleman bugs." And maybe they're not "gentlemen." We have a lot of ladybugs here, in the house. I think they are coming in through the bathroom vents. I didn't realize that they "over-winter," but apparently they do, seeking cozy hideaways, with 10, 20 or more huddled together in corners of the ceiling. Since they are apparently harmless and, in fact, are beneficial in the growing season

The little suckers are not harmless. They bite and many people are alergic to the venom. Besides, it hurts when they bite.


I don't get 20 or 30, I get thousands and thousands of the little buggers.
I find masses of the things 8 or 10 inches across. The last couple of years in the Fall they cover the entire south wall of my shop day after day. You can't walk between the house and shop without being bitten several times.


Now days, most of what we see are not Lady Bugs, but Asian beetles. They are difficult to tell apart. I don't know if they can tell either.

because they eat aphids, which in turn eat roses, and are more charming than most insects, I'm not too worried about them.

Wait till the suckers are crawling on your walls, in your drinks, in the sink, on the table, in your hair (they have a hard time finding mine).
Even being environmentally minded I'd rather spray the roses than put up with tens of thousands of these darn critters.


That and for some reason my yard has become very popular for Yellow Jackets (the mean tempered ones) and paper wasps. Two years ago I destroyed over 40 nests and nearly that many last Summer. That is on a one acre lot. The got behind the siding on the south end of the house and built a nest to large it pushed the siding off at the peak.

Roger Halstead (K8RI, EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
N833R, World's Oldest Debonair (S# CD-2)
www.rogerhalstead.com

73 - Rich, KE3Q



----- Original Message ----- From: "ABowenN4OO" <abowen@nettally.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2005 7:05 AM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Moth Balls



I was about to publish a note similar to K3ND's, regarding insects and moth
bolls. I opened my relay box out on the tower and found stacks of lady bugs
doing unlady like things inside the box. In addition, there were a number
of wasp clusters and spider webs.


I put 5 moth balls in a small diameter glass jar and taped it inside the
relay box (12 X 18"). No more insects. I have done the same for my remote
Beverage boxes which are loved by spiders, but a single ball will do for
those.

I am not sure about the composition but think the major ingredient is
naptha. I put the moth balls in a glass jar because I was not sure of the
effect of naptha on the various plastics. Plastic pill containers should
also work for a time also per K3ND. I suspect the balls will evaporate with
time and require replacement.


I also intend on dropping one or 2 on fire ant hills and see if I can get
them to move.

INK N4OO
===========================================
At 05:42 AM 1/13/2005 -0800, GALE STEWARD wrote:

>Years ago one of the OTs mentioned that fact the he
>used moth balls to keep insects out of outdoor
>enclosures. I have a matching network for my 80/160
>vertical. See:


_______________________________________________


See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.

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_______________________________________________

See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.

_______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________

See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.

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