Okay, so there’s one more project I need to do and do it quickly. My wife has to make a run to town today so she’ll be picking up the last few things I need for this so I can do it tomorrow – and hopefully make next Spring more enjoyable.
The final project I need to complete is wasp bait – I take an empty plastic jug and prep it so wasps can get in an out easily, and fill it with a homebrew bait/poison they take back to their nests and feed to the entire hive. The best times to do this are during mid spring when they first re-emerge for the season and just before winter when they are frantically stocking up before they hibernate. Which, from the swarms of wasps outside on our patio seeking out water, seems to be happening right now.
It is a pretty easy project – I take a used jug and cut a couple narrow slots in it so the wasps can get in and out easily. I also add some twine “ramps” in case they fall in and can’t get out. It isn’t a “trap” – I want them to get out so they can take the bait back to their nests to share with the others. The bait itself is apple juice with boric acid mixed in, along with a few pieces of melon and bacon. The smell of the bacon seems to keep the bees away, and we don’t want to kill bee colonies, so that’s a must.
I did this early in the year and there was a noticeable reduction in wasp activity over the season, but wasps travel up to a mile to forage, so a single bait jug like this can eliminate wasps for miles around. But today, I noticed a bunch of wasps flying around our porch and going for water from our gutters and from buckets I had put out to catch rainwater. We should have a few more days of sunny and warm-ish weather so I hope it isn’t too late to get this bait out there to devastate the wasp population over the winter.
Interesting Tidbits
Song of the day: Voices by Dream Theater
Iron Maiden Announce 2026 North American Tour with Support from Megadeth and Anthrax – “Iron Maiden have announced a 2026 North American tour with stacked support from Megadeth and Anthrax. The month-long outing continues Maiden’s “Run for Your Lives World Tour” celebrating their 50th anniversary and first nine albums, with the trek kicking off August 29th in Toronto, and running through a September 29th show in San Antontio.”
Illinois aims to crack down on ICE cars with illegal license plates after Sun-Times report – “Two weeks after the Sun-Times first asked about federal immigration vehicles with questionable plates, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched a hotline to report license plate tampering. He said penalties include potential jail time.”
ACLU sues on behalf of DC man detained for playing ‘Imperial March’ behind feds – “On September 11 in Washington, D.C., Sam O’Hara found a creative way to protest against President Donald Trump’s use of federalized National Guard troops in the city’s Logan Circle area: He played the ‘Imperial March,’ which was the Darth Vader character’s theme music in ‘Star Wars.'”
Trump admits he’s TOTALLY demolishing the East Wing because it never impressed him – “Trump had originally claimed that the 83-year-old building wouldn’t be touched in the construction of the $250 million privately funded ballroom.”
Fallout 4 Official New Content Confirmed By Bethesda, Rejoice
Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary Bundle Announced on Fallout Day – “Bethesda has used Fallout Day to announce the Fallout: New Vegas 15th Anniversary Bundle, which celebrates Obsidian’s much-loved post-apocalyptic role-playing game turning 15 years old.”
Victims of the Pompeii volcano were not who we’ve been told, according to DNA study – “The team sampled tiny bone fragments sealed inside several Pompeii casts and used ancient DNA and isotope chemistry to ask, and answer, basic questions: Who were these people? How were they related? Where did their families come from? The answers challenge well-worn tales and paint a busier, more diverse city than many expect.”
Mathematicians Just Found a Hidden ‘Reset Button’ That Can Undo Any Rotation – “A simple scaling trick can rewind even the most tangled motion back to its start.”
Here’s The Difference Between A Coffin And A Casket – A pet peeve of mine… “People use these words interchangeably, but they aren’t exactly the same.”
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