Howdy-
One subject I've never seen explored in the hobby press is what to do about pest control on / around a model railroad? Do you just subscribe to a commercial pest control service and whatever they do / spray is okay? Are there any concerns with commercial pest control chemicals coming into contact with any of the items commonly found on a layout? (I already know there can be issues with the chemicals coming into contact with children & pets, so be sure to ask your pest control agent and clear out of the house when needed).
John
I remember way back when we had to fumigate the house. We just used those bomb things you could buy at stores. Don't even remember what it was, I think it was ants or spiders or something. But my dad set off the first one was like "get outside now! this stuff will kill ya!". I remember having to stay out of the house all day and we took our cat to the local kennel for the day, we must have went to Milwaukee Zoo or something. Poor guy, I didn't like what we did with the cat though. I was all worried that he would think we got rid of him, or that my parents would forget they left him there. This was waaaaaaaaay before the concept of 'pet motels' was around mind you. And even then, our town was a small little crap hole. Even our pound was crappy. It was built inside of an old barn at the bottom of a hill that the doctors office was built on. It's still in the same location but eventually they tore down the old barn (more like tapped it with their finger and watched it fall) and built a brand new concrete building. The inside was always nice, just the barn was kinda...well..suprised everyone that it was still standing.
Usually whatever they spray goes around floor/wall joint. Being now-a-days where everything has to be non-toxic to living things I would presume that the spray would not react with anything on the layout. But then again I'm sure the layout was constructed with things more toxic than the spray. At the same point my Bachmann box car has a fairly big label right on the back that says 'contains toxic material' or whatever. I says made in China. I'm afriad to touch it . No mosqitous buzzed out of it when I took it apart so that was a good sign. Or spiders. I guess there was a big hoopla last week about some banana shipment that ended up having an 8 leged hitch hiker. They thought it was the most deadly spider in the world so they just killed it off instead of finding out if it was. It wasn't. It was a venomous spider, but completely harmless to humans, and it was a very pretty looking spider. All oranges and blacks coloring.
MILW-RODR Being now-a-days where everything has to be non-toxic to living things
Being now-a-days where everything has to be non-toxic to living things
'cept the bugs...
I've got a 400sq.ft. building. In the buggy season, I spray Ortho Home Defense along the base of the walls inside and out. Set off 1-2 bug bombs about once a month. Cover the layout with thin plastic drop cloth. I have a problem with BIG spiders and last year Black Widows. You need specific chemicals for spiders. Here's a good site to find out how to kill certain types of bugs.http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/I have a problem with wasps and moths buzzing around my florescent lights when they're on. It's a never ending battle and I don't feel like I'm winning very often. I've found a badminton racket works good for them!
This website has some natural, and presumably safe, bug control ideas. I know my mom was convinced Fells Naptha controlled spiders.
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm
Dave Nelson
Too bad a a guy couldn't put a pesticide solution in the smoker unit on your engine or factory and then just walk out and leave em run for 15 min. or so. Just do this once a week for three weeks to kill the individual instars and youv'e got it made. On a more seroius note you didn't say what pest ou were concerned with. Pesticide for spiders may not kill fleas or ants so maybe for the first time,at least ,you may need a professional to determine the exact problem.
reklein On a more seroius note you didn't say what pest ou were concerned with. Pesticide for spiders may not kill fleas or ants
On a more seroius note you didn't say what pest ou were concerned with. Pesticide for spiders may not kill fleas or ants
Correct. Most foggers are tailored to roaches/silverfish. I've only found one that said it worked on spiders too. You have to read the instructions. (I know that's not in our nature, but some times you have to.)
rekleinToo bad a a guy couldn't put a pesticide solution in the smoker unit on your engine or factory and then just walk out and leave em run for 15 min. or so. Just do this once a week for three weeks to kill the individual instars and youv'e got it made. On a more seroius note you didn't say what pest ou were concerned with. Pesticide for spiders may not kill fleas or ants so maybe for the first time,at least ,you may need a professional to determine the exact problem.
Well, in my specific situation I have these huge brown silverfish looking things. They have about two billion legs-- and that's just on the ONE side !!!! :) They seem to particularly like to hide behind cardboard and out-of-the-way places-- so when you move something they drop to the floor and there's a mad race (him for the wall, me for the broom... :)
I already have a commercial pesticide company that's working to resolve the issue. They said it would take a few applications and there would probably be a resurgence in the spring when things warmed up again, so I'm taking it in stride.
However, I just got to wondering the other day what other people do since model railroads seem to invariably get created in bug-infested territories and I've never seen any discussion of it in the model press. So it was mostly just an idle curiosity type of question.
Seems like to me if you have millipedes or silverfish maybe a dehumidifier might help as those bugs like a warm moist environment. It won't kill the bugs but may reduce their number. You should be able to get free info on that subject from your local extension agents, or go to their offic and look at the handouts. Exterminators can get spendy. BILL
That's a good idea. AFAIK its not a terribly humid environment, our basement is finished, but it certainly couldn't hurt and it would be a cheap solution. Probably wouldn't hurt to have it anyway for the layout. Would help keep the environment more stable I would guess.