beating trees with a bat
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
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Embothrium
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Beating my head against the wall because of pea soup water
Comments (20)Hey guys, I'm just getting into this post. Stacy you are going through battle that we have all fought. I must agree with two posts on the thread. You do have to increase the amount of plants in the pond. Algae is at the bottom of the food chain. Plants will absorb nutrients produced by fish. A question that no one has asked. How many fish are in your pond and how often do you feed them. Fish waste and non eaten fish food will contribute to pea green water. I myself have always had problems with string algae. Last year I dropped an ion gen filter in my skimmer. I really could not believe the difference. I do believe in trying to balance a pond. However what happened the year before is that I had so many plants in the waterfall and pond. When the cold weather hit and my plants starting dying back, algae went crazy. I have 5 dogs that run around and play around my ponds. I have not had an issue with pond chemicals affecting them. Hope this helps! Craig...See MoreBeating the roses to produce, seriously!
Comments (7)It actually IS an old technique. But not a baseball bat for Heaven's Sake! In old accounts I've read, they used some sort of a WHIP. A related technique is the use of a wire brush on an old, long-uncared-for bud union, which has grown barky and crusty. "Wounding" the tissue is supposed to encourage the emergence of new canes. I've done it, and I have never seen any sort of positive result, but YMMV. Jeri...See MoreI Think I Have a Bat! Holy Bat Box!
Comments (18)What height is your box at? Here are some hints I looked up at batmangement.com Common design/construction problems Bad designs are simply flawed from the start. They are often too small overall and contain crevices too large. Sometimes a critical detail is omitted, such as a landing plate. Usually these boxes cannot compete with a modern design, even after being upgraded by a creative hobbyist. Bad construction is a different matter, usually the box can be successful after some paint, caulk, extra screws, and extra roughening. * A single chamber box. Bats simply prefer larger structures which offer more stable temperatures. * Factory smooth interior crevices. All interior wood must be roughened for bats to readily cling to. Some commercial boxes staple screening to the inside of the box which may eventually fall off. A box seen for sale at a major hardware store has only one groove on the "landing plate"; this is totally unacceptable. * Unprotected roof. Roofs without shingles may last only a few seasons, once the roof is compromised the box will be incapable of retaining heat and fall into disuse. * Nailed together with unsealed seams. This type of box will warp and separate at the seams allowing unwanted ventilation and disuse. * Unpainted, unprotected exterior. Some manufacturers insist on leaving bat boxes unpainted. While in certain regions the natural wood color may be a suitable color, there is no good reason for the structure to go unprotected. * Old design. Bat research has proceeded at a very fast rate, thanks to improved communication among many different hobbyists and researchers. For example, a tall open-bottomed bat house is now prefered over smaller closed bottom designs which tend to attract more parasites. * Old plans. Bat house plans can be found in a variety of places, which is good. Unfortunately, many posters, books, and flyers were published years ago with now antiquated plans. Frightningly, this information is still distributed by many seemingly reputable sources. A stack of utterly horrid plans obtained from a state wildlife agency were seen distributed at a wildlife program in 2000. * "Recycled" material. Some people construct bat houses of good design but with lumber salvaged from demolished structures in effort to cut costs. As some pesticides can leave active residues for years, BCM always uses new lumber when constructing bat boxes. Common placement mistakes The greatest bat house in the world will never contain a bat unless it is placed properly in the field. In cool climates it is best to avoid shady locations at all costs. Often this limits the mounting options to strategically placed new posts or sunny chimneys. Bad placement includes the following: * Box is in a shady location, it needs a minimum of seven hours of morning sunlight. * Box mounted on a tree, rarely will the box receive enough direct sunlight in cool climates. * Box placed on a structure, directly under the eves. Again, this may be simply too shaded. * Placed too far from permanent water. Dry, arid locations are less desirable, though bats will drink from swimming pools. * Located over bright surfaces which reflect light into box. Shiny flashing or even pans to collect guano may deter use at certain times of the season. * Located near burn barrels or air vents where smoke or strong wind will disturb bats. Beware of air conditioner units which may not be active when installation occurs. * Erected where the box is prone to vandalism. * Placed in brightly lighted areas. Avoid mounting where dusk-to-dawn lights shine directly onto the box. * Erected directly along roads, where bats are vulnerable to automobile traffic during their dawn return. * No maintenance. Some mounting solutions make a quick yearly inspection into a difficult and even dangerous ordeal. Bat houses do require minor wasp and seam inspection, otherwise bats will begin to abandon the box. Be alert for a hornet invasion as well; bats will immediately abandon a bat house until these agressive insects are removed....See MoreBATS Bayer Advanced Tree and Shurt
Comments (4)Pls read the package directions thoroughly. I believe this product is for OUTDOOR use only, not indoor, but I've never used it so ...pls DO check. I also don't think this is a remedy for mealy bugs. That's generally alcohol applied directly w/ spray or q-tips....See Moretreebarb Z5 Denver
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Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)