ThinkingAfield.org

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)

Got skeeters?  Welcome to the club!  While most of us are good at bellyaching about the swarms terrorizing us outdoors, there’s little we can do to eliminate them.  Oh, sure, we can get rid of some obvious breeding sources of standing water.   Or, we can spray all manner of repellants or pesticides on our lawns and shrubbery, where moisture and darkness provide the perfect environment for reproduction.  The chemical companies will appreciate any futile efforts to do something.  And, draining the myriad swamps around us is about as likely as fulfilling promises to do the same in Washington, D.C.

Maybe you missed a few, when you emptied the birdbath or tipped over anything holding water where the blood-sucking varmints hide.  Heck, they’re in the bushes, lawns, trees and just about anywhere there’s some shade; you won’t get them all and it only takes one to threaten victims with disease, or some incessant, itchy discomfort for a while.

But, what’s more maddening than one hungry mosquito in your bedroom at night?  Or, how about when you pull your vehicle into your garage, the door comes down and you’re left there to get attacked, while unloading the groceries?   Commercial sprays are poison, and anything chemists invent to repel or kill the tiny pests is not good for humans.

Fly swatters can create a breeze in front of them and the forceful push of air often blows mosquitos away for a clean escape.  When you finally smack one, you’ve got a bloody mess (your blood of that of a loved one) to clean up.

The solution is just that:  a solution of water and dish soap.  The trick is how to apply the fatal blow to the blood-thirsty aerial acrobats – and this discovery has made all the difference in my indoor control.

I was getting ready for a shooting event on Independence Day and ran across a 3-In-1 Balloon Pumper that I thought would be helpful inflating balloons for targets.  The Discovery Balloon Pumper can fill balloons with water or air but it also can perform eradication duty with its built-in mister.

It is this mister feature that has given me the edge.  If you have any household sprayers that produce the fine atomized mist needed, you can repurpose them; I found a small spray bottle of Renuzit air freshener worked great, too.

The Balloon Pumper holds over a quart of liquid but gets only a small fraction of dish soap and water for skeeter duty.  A squirt of dish soap is all that is needed and it works on any insects including bees, ants, and the like.

That example above of the garage swarm actually happened, when my wife came home the other day.  To the rescue, I came with the Balloon Pumper.  With the garage door already closed, hundreds of skeeters buzzed about and when the hatch of the car was opened, some flew inside.  I started high on the garage door with the fine mist and let it cascade onto the concrete floor.  The entire squadron fell harmlessly to the floor with the tiny droplets.  Next, into the vehicle with a shot or two and the excitement was over.  It took about 30 seconds and we were free to bring the goodies indoors.

Being the hunter that I am, I search them out before bed looking on all walls and ceilings.  In one hand is the Balloon Pumper and the other a towel to clean up sprayed-on moisture and dead mosquitos; incidentally, I’ve never had cleaner windows.

The beauty of the soapy mist is that the odor is neutral and it’s generally safe to apply wherever the enemy exists.  It’s an environmentally friendly alternative that’s cheap, effective and as readily available as skeeters themselves.

 

Funds from the Manitoba Conservation Trust will help The Duck Hunters Organization make mallards.

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA — A large grant will help Delta Waterfowl send more ducks winging south from prairie Canada.

The Manitoba Conservation Trust announced plans this month to fund the construction and maintenance of 150 new mallard-producing Hen Houses in southwest Manitoba. Since its founding in 2018, the Trust has consistently rallied behind the mission of The Duck Hunters Organization.

“The new Delta Hen Houses will help add mallards to the 2022 fall flight and every year thereafter,” said Jim Fisher, senior director of Canadian conservation and hunting policy for Delta Waterfowl. “This is an exciting addition to the 500 Hen Houses that the Manitoba Conservation Trust has previously funded, which were already installed and ready to make ducks in time for last spring.”

The grant was awarded by the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation, a former federal corporation that’s now a non-profit entity administering Manitoba’s Conservation Trust. The Conservation Trust has a $204 million endowment that has distributed more than $18 million to conservation in just a few short years, including $8 million in 2021 alone.

“We are grateful to the MHHC for its generous gift toward Delta’s duck production efforts,” Fisher said. “This grant will certainly benefit Manitobans, but also hunters farther down the flyways.”

Hen Houses, which are used primarily by mallards, are wire nesting cylinders placed over water in small wetlands. Delta focuses nest structures in wetland areas with limited nesting cover where predators such as red foxes, raccoons and skunks easily find duck nests in sparse patches of grass. Past research in Manitoba has shown that mallards using Hen Houses are 12 times more likely to hatch a nest than those nesting in the grass. Read more

DNA results received Wednesday confirmed the bear killed by wildlife officials last Friday was the same bear who fatally attacked a camper in Ovando early on the morning of July 6.

The DNA samples from the bear, saliva sample at the scene of the attack and samples from two chicken coops that were raided in the area all match up.

Montana is bear country and recreationists can be bear aware by following some simple guidelines:

• Carry bear spray and be prepared to use it
• Avoid surprise encounters by traveling in groups, making noise and being aware of surroundings, particularly in areas with limited sight lines and recent bear sign (tracks, scat and turned over rocks and logs)
• Keeping a clean camp by securing attractants, keeping food securely stored
• Find a list of bear-resistant containers on the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee’s website www.IGBCOnline.org

For more information on bear aware guidelines, go online to FWP’s Bear Awarewebpage.