Home for Random Thoughts

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Lord Jim
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by Lord Jim »

I've killed (or at least sufficiently immobilized so it could be killed by squishing; I didn't wait around to see if it would finish the job) the occasional unwanted yellow jacket or wasp that has found its way into the house with hair spray, when that was the first thing I could grab...

My assumption has been that the sticky stuff in the hairspray makes it impossible for them to fly (or even crawl much) and also probably affects their ability to breath.
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BoSoxGal
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by BoSoxGal »

Burning Petard wrote:I see a tv commercial that includes the words "Nothing kills faster than Raid" Occasionally in my kitchen appear tiny little ants. Once I saw them and had no bug spray of any type handy but I did have a container of 'fantastic Scrubbing Bubbles HEAVY DUTY All Purpose Cleaner' in a spray bottle. I grabbed it and sprayed the ants. They curled up in death instantly, nothing could have killed faster, not even stomping on them with a big shoe. Since that experience, I have seen these ants marching in near-endless lines across the sidewalk outside my front door. When I do, I grab that cleaner and let them have it. Same result.

I have the same question--Just what is SC Johnson putting in this stuff? Is it really safe to use it to clean things in the kitchen?

snailgate.
These chemical companies went into business selling household cleaners and agricultural pesticides after the end of WWII when their creations were no longer needed to directly cause human deaths. That’s enough to give one pause, no?

For years now I’ve saved my money and my health and cleaned my house and textiles with vinegar, baking and washing sodas, hydrogen peroxide, castile soap, and very occasional use of ammonia and/or bleach.

Commercial household cleaners and laundry detergents are one of the biggest rip-offs of the 20th century, right up there with bottling tap water from another place, slapping a label with a nature picture on it and selling it to idiots who could get the same product free from their own tap, with possibly a very modest investment in a charcoal filter to reduce any unpleasant flavors from the local water treatment process.

Most of the cleaners you buy are mostly water, with some nice toxic chemicals thrown in for good measure. I’ve already ranted at length about laundry detergents and softeners and how both ruin machines and textiles alike, so I won’t beat that dead horse.

If you need to kill ants or other insects in your home, you can spray them directly with soapy water or Neem oil and that will kill them. To keep them away, use diatomaceous earth or essential (peppermint, citrus, clove) oils sprinkled at baseboards and back of cupboards or anyplace else they are entering the home - you can also leave cotton balls soaked in essential oils and that will keep them away.

I just can’t see buying and using in my home, or on the clothing and textiles that touch my skin, or in the indoor air that I breathe, any product with a proprietary chemical formulary that I’m not allowed to know the composite ingredients; I’m also averse to putting money in the pockets of companies so they can deliver poisons into my respiratory tract on a regular basis. Disinfecting a surface can be achieved by misting it with a 5% acidity vinegar, rest 5 minutes then wipe, followed by misting with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide, rest 5 minutes then wipe. The order of application doesn’t matter, but don’t mix the two or you get an entirely different and less friendly substance.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

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RayThom
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Home for Random Thoughts

Post by RayThom »

Those pesky pismires (piss ants) would occasionally invade my kitchen. A spritz of all-purpose cleaner always took care of them. However, I've since found out that if I toss a few mothballs behind the range and refrigerator I keep them from returning.

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“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.” 

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Joe Guy
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by Joe Guy »

I've used Windex to kill ants. It's especially handy if the ants are on a window. After reading these responses, it looks like it would be a good idea to just use the appropriate cleanser for the spot that you find them.

Or keep your place clean so they don't show up in the first place...

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BoSoxGal
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by BoSoxGal »

When I was in graduate school, I wanted to take out a student loan and invest in Apple stock; lots of people I knew used their loans for cars or even down payments on houses (a smart investment in a college town and better than just throwing it at a landlord) or whatever, and that year I was on a TA fellowship, had a very inexpensive rental situation and thus could have gotten a loan that I didn’t need for tuition or living costs. I had just gotten my first Apple computer and was crazy about the company and very confident they’d be going places - it was 95-96 and the stock was $15/share.

I didn’t ultimately do it because I was basically clueless about how to buy stocks, and this was before eTrade and all the easy access for individual investors.

Anyway; as of today my planned (fairly modest) investment would be worth $10 million. Like any person I have regrets in life; that missed opportunity ranks pretty high.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

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MajGenl.Meade
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by MajGenl.Meade »

I used to employ a magnifying glass and the summer sun to terminate ants. Takes a while.
Last edited by MajGenl.Meade on Fri Aug 31, 2018 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts

wesw
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by wesw »

maybe we should turn some chimps bonobos gorillas and orangs loose in the amazon....., and elephants.....

some african lions loose in the outback.....,

Asian lions need help too.....

Burning Petard
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by Burning Petard »

Gen'l, I have been told that our Nannie government here in the 'states has mandated that 'magnifying glass' be made of a material that will not concentrate infra red there by produce heat and enable the little monsters using it to kill ants, or burn initials into porch railings or put holes in paper. Yes I too did all those things, but I never managed to start an actual fire. Flint and steel was my preference for that.

snailgate

Big RR
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by Big RR »

I preferred matches.

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Joe Guy
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by Joe Guy »

I learn something new every day. I was watching some speakers at the Aretha Franklin funeral this morning and found out something I'd never before realized.

Aretha Franklin was from Korea!

I know this because everyone was referring to her as the 'Queen of Seoul'.

MGMcAnick
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by MGMcAnick »

BoSoxGal wrote: and very occasional use of ammonia and/or bleach.
BoSoxGal Are you aware that you should never use those two together?

Take a look at all of these things that are dangerous or ineffective when mixed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/16-commo ... .fwVoGRGXA
A friend of Doc's, one of only two B-29 bombers still flying.

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BoSoxGal
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by BoSoxGal »

Yes, I’m not a moron - I’ve taken chemistry, but that particular nugget of wisdom was taught to me by grade school age by the women who taught me to house clean. Note that I was clear to caution folks not to mix hydrogen peroxide and vinegar - not so deadly, but quite unpleasant.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

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RayThom
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Home for Random Thoughts

Post by RayThom »

I enjoy that springtime fresh scent when mixing ammonia and bleach.

It's so clean smelling it makes me dizzy.
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“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.” 

MGMcAnick
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by MGMcAnick »

BoSoxGal wrote:Yes, I’m not a moron -
I'm sure that's true, but the way you phrased it made me wonder if you were aware of the issue. Maybe it's from many years of writing legalese.
A friend of Doc's, one of only two B-29 bombers still flying.

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Lord Jim
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by Lord Jim »

In the whole history of people saying, " I hate to say I told you so" has anyone ever really meant that they hated doing it?

In my experience, most people are perfectly happy to say "I told you so"...


I know I always am...
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Long Run
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by Long Run »

But nearly everyone hates the "told you so".

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BoSoxGal
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by BoSoxGal »

I guess it depends on the type of person you are and the kind of unheeded advice you’ve been giving; I’ve been pained a great deal in that position many times in my working and relationship life, but granted I’ve never usually used the term ‘I told you so’ in discussing some terrible outcome I’d predicted being coped with by a client, friend or family member.

To the degree that the term is only used by arrogant narcissists or in the context where the stakes aren’t cruel or painful, I suppose I’d agree with you.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan

wesw
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by wesw »

yeah I m dreading the second Wednesday of noviembre...

I m gonna have to say it again......

I m only the messenger.

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RayThom
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Home for Random Thoughts

Post by RayThom »

wesw wrote:yeah I m dreading the second Wednesday of noviembre...
I m gonna have to say it again...
I m only the messenger.
I agree, that damned political cartoon created by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly in 1874 really caused a stir within the Republican Party. The Repugs haven't gotten over it since.

Dark days ahead for sure.
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“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.” 

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Lord Jim
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Re: Home for Random Thoughts

Post by Lord Jim »

We binge watched the first four episodes of season 3 of The Man In The High Castle last night, and now I can't get that damn Edelweiss tune out of my head... :(
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