Posted on 10/01/2007 3:27:13 PM PDT by decimon
The house is still intact.
Although, we had a yellow jacket nest at the office a few weeks ago in the lawn that we took out with gasoline and flame.. Amazing, the nest was huge, when all the fire went away we had burnt grass going 3 feet away from the entrance. It collapsed the tunnel.
The Japanese have the right approach to the problem (as well as six-inch long venomous centipedes and millipedes that raise welts when they walk on you). It crawls, it dies. One time I was sitting watching sumo with my landlord with four mosquitoes circling above. He giggles and produces this spray can and barely touches the top, not even in their direction. I'm thinking "what's that going to accomplish?" and then they all went into little death spirals and crashed onto the table in front of us. If it had been a cartoon you'd have heard their engines screaming. We were warned in dire terms that smuggling that back into the States would result in life in the Big House, but it would have been worth it.
My husband took a long tube and placed it over the hole to the hive. He poured gasoline down it and then threw a match. At that particular moment the local fire chief, who we had never seen before, happened to come by and inquire if my husband had a burn permit! What timing.
You may find this funny, but someone here was giving just this advice to others, regarding filling those tunnels with explosive gas and throwing in a flame, to get rid of gophers.
:::::::::::
You can buy a tool that does that here:
Yes, but my psychoanalyst assures me that's not the source of my...problems.
If the house was constructed with ballon framing there would be a perfect path to the attic. No doubt you are wondering what is ballon framing? That is where the wall studs run from the foundation all the way to the attic, typically in two story construction. Such framing creates an almost perfect chimney if you get a fire in the wall.
I know about this because my son and I spent the better part of an afternoon putting in fireblocks on our house framing when we did some renovation work a few years back. FWIW the floor joists for the second floor were real 2X8's, 25 foot long with nary a knot in the half a dozen or so that I inspected.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Be careful with those buggers, they hurt like the dickens if ya get stung.
Yeesh. Uh, look, if he comes back selling Amway my advice is buy.
This is sounds like something Eaker would do.
**Yellowhammer - Illinois countryspeak for the severely inbred isolated communities.
I'm not sure it was balloon framing, though I'm not familiar with the exact area, I'd expect 8' or so walls, a floor plate and another plate to tie the walls.
From the story, or the part I read, those things would have had to tunnel through a cinder block or two, and then two or three 2x plates to get through to the attic. That's impressive.
FWIW the floor joists for the second floor were real 2X8's, 25 foot long with nary a knot in the half a dozen or so that I inspected.
Wow!
You probably wouldn't miss it too much if you removed just one.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1165423/posts
I need some SPIDER identification help.
A few weeks ago, I was bitten by a Brown Recluse (very painful and long lasting effects). One of my dogs was bitten by another spider - and my wife a couple days ago was also bitten - but NOT by another Recluse luckily.
Tonight I just found THIS rather large spider sitting at my back door - now dead!
I have heard of some single story houses built with balloon framing it was more prevalent though in two story houses from what I have heard. At least in my area, Kansas.
We had a neighbors 2 story house across the street from us about 20 years ago burn up from a fire in the kitchen. The fire got into the wall and straight to the attic it went. If the next door neighbor to them had had a garden hose we probably could have stopped the fire spread till the Fire Dept showed up.
Our House is over 100 years old so I am not sure I would want to take any of the joists out!!!
Regards
alfa6 :>}
Well, one at a time is still coming to our light at night. As long as it is only one, I will let them live.
We think we have ours narrowed down to European Giant Hornets. Fairly docile if left alone. If they were the Asian variety, I would have already found the nest and decimated them.
I get half a dozen of them every year about this time of the year.
I miss Millee.
And check out the 4 or 5 pages of hornets... I think you will probably find what I did. European Giant Hornets.
"Mama get Real-kill, you too dad!"
That old brown glass pump bottle was wicked in 1965!
I consider myself lucky that I survived too!
I figured he’d use the Barrett to kill em...........:o)
Nite Mom !
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