{"id":47131,"date":"2026-10-26T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=47131"},"modified":"2026-10-23T08:58:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T15:58:44","slug":"pest-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/pest-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Pest Control"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Non-toxic skeeter eliminator<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

OakStump Farms Mosquito Trap<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I saw this cheap trap at Logan\u2019s Trading Post three years ago, I figured what-the-heck, but we\u2019ve been amazed at how effective they are. About three fourths of the way up from the bottom of the jug a tube runs through a hole in each side. Fill the jug with water up to the bottom of the transverse tube, add a pheromone pack, let it sit for a week with the top off (to make sure it gets the right attention), then close it after topping the water off. The mosquitoes fly into the tube and lay their eggs. When they hatch, the little mosquitoes can\u2019t figure out how to get out. With luck, in about three weeks the trap will literally be swarming with skeeters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We empty ours once a year and add new water once a month or so; as long as you break the breeding cycle early enough in the spring it\u2019s not a big deal if you forget to water them later in the season. On our quarter-acre lot, I\u2019ve found that three traps is plenty. So far this season, I haven\u2019t seen a single mosquito (except for the two or three I let out when I opened up one of the traps to top it off w\/water). Only one of the three traps have looked really busy this year (last year, it was two of three).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don\u2019t get many bugs inside. We live in an 1872 farmhouse, so we do get the occasional palmetto bug, but never up so high as to need the Bugzooka. However, living as we do, in the North Carolina piedmont, we\u2019re plagued by mosquitoes; particularly the new \u201cAsian Tiger\u201d mosquitoes, which leave me and my sweetheart itching and inflamed for days after working in the garden or yard. We tried the \u201cpropane to human breath\u201d machine (the Mosquito Magnet) for a year or so, and it simply didn\u2019t catch any mosquitoes. The fan was not powerful enough to suck in the little buggers, so the mesh bag they said would be full of bugs was full of dust and pollen. We tried the doughnuts you\u2019re supposed to dunk in places (like gutters) where water stands from time to time, and they didn\u2019t help. We drilled holes in all of our trashcans and recycling bins, but they still bred mosquitoes. We heard about services that will spray some sort of natural insecticide all summer long, but they were too expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With these traps, we can now work in the yard or garden or sit on our porch \u2014 one of the small joys that defines Southern living \u2014 without fear. \u2014 Steven Champeon<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hurts bugs, not plants<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bug Blaster<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bug Blaster is a great insect control tool for the garden. It is completely organic\u2013it only uses the force of water. I have used the tool for three years and love it. You just attach it to your hose and turn it on. The water is forced out a tiny hole and guided in such a way that it comes out in a fine spray that is a flat circle. Stick the nozzle in your plants and it knocks all the insects and eggs off, those below the leaves and those above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every gardener knows you can remove aphids by hosing the plant, but it is difficult to get the ones under the leaves. On delicate new growth, the hosing can injure the plants. But the Bug Blaster has such a fine, controllable spray that it cleans the plants of all the pests and doesn\u2019t harm the plants. The good insects are usually hard shelled and aren\u2019t injured. Since I bought this tool I haven\u2019t used any other pest control method. \u2014 Terry Powell<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Guide to edible & useful foliage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Plants for a Future<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1970s British bus driver Ken Fern went back to the land. Twenty-five years later he published the first edition of this now-revised compendium, a catalog and guide to a staggering number of mostly-perennial plants that can be harvested for food and other uses. Literally, thousands of seed, root, fruit, flower and leaf crops from a range of bulbs, trees, shrubs, climbers, bamboos, water plants and more. Beyond climatic needs and appearance, plants are described in terms of their taste and, often, highly-specific use (e.g. Asarum canadense. SNAKE ROOT: \u201ca ginger substitute in flavouring cooked foods.\u201d). The index is conveniently broken up into edible uses, like condiments and egg and salt substitutes, and non-edible uses, like basketry, disinfectant, and tooth care; For more, check out 100 Other Uses. And actually, the Plants for a Future web site offers a searchable database of 7,000 plants. While much of the info from the book is available online, the printed format can be easier to parse and digest. There are sections on \u201cgreen manures\u201d and how to mulch with cardboard boxes or newspaper and straw, as well as how to make a pond. Despite all the ideas and potential outlined in the book, the final chapter, \u201cFuture Possibilities,\u201d truly emphasizes the magical allure of cultivation and experimentation. \u2014 Steven Leckart<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n