Did You know - outdoor edition

[Walnut Beast]

My my Indiana WV you are loaded with great information 👍

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know that baby paper wasps/grubs make very good panfish bait?

It can be a little tricky to collect them. : The best way I found, other than sending someone else after them, was to find a big old red wasp nest the size of a dinner plate on a small bush or limb overhanging the lake or river. I'd use one of my cane poles or fiberglass crappie poles (The longer the better). I would ease my boat up towards the nest till I could just reach the nest with the outstretched tip of my pole and leave the outboard motor idling out of gear. I would pull the line on the fishing pole tight like a bow and ease the tip of the pole up past and over the nest so that the small stem of the nest was centered between where the line was tied on and the tip of the pole. Once this was done I'd continue to hold the line tight and give a sharp jerk cutting the nest off from the limb where it was attached allowing it to fall into the water below. Since this annoys the adult wasps considerable it is a good time to throw the motor into gear and head downriver a good piece. I'd let the nest float downstream until it was a safe distance away from the angry wasps clustered around the bush where the nest used to be then I'd go collect the floating nest. The baby grubs are very tender and are easily knocked off by small bluegills if they don't get hooked. Be careful removing the grubs as those ready to hatch can still sting.

[WV Sawmiller]

   After yesterday's post this may be a good time to post wasp and bee sting info. Did you know that a wasp can sting multiple times while a honeybee can only sting once? When a honeybee stings her abdomen attached to the stinger pulls off and she dies. If you have been stung by a honeybee you will see the abdomen attached to the stinger and it will be pulsing as it pumps more venom into you. Never try to pull a honeybee stinger out. It is barbed and is not going to pull out and all you will do is squeeze more venom into the sting. Beekeepers typically use a hive tool to scrape and break off the stinger level with the skin. If you don't have a hive tool handy use a sharp knife or if nothing else scrape it off with your fingernail and break it off as close to the skin as possible. 

   Wasp, bee and ant venom are a strong (Formic) acid so anything that will neutralize the acid should help. Use a base solution such as alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or bleach directly on the sting. Be careful if using a very strong bleach not to cause even more damage. I once got stung by a hornet on the forehead and soaked a cotton ball in bleach and held it on the sting. It neutralized the sting so well I got no swelling or anything but I ended up with a bleach burn that took many months to heal. 

   An old wives tale was to put chewing tobacco or chew up a cigar or cigarette and place the damp tobacco on the sting. Another OWT was to mash up 3 different types of green leaves and rub the juice on the sting. I don't know if that is true but lacking anything else in the area I have tried this and it may be my imagination but it seemed to offer some relief. I figure as long as none of the leaves are poison ivy/oak/sumac or other irritant, it probably can't hurt.

[JJ]

Honey Bees, my neighbor keeps them.
They swarm my pool during the hottest part of the day right when you want to go swimming
Bugging me honey bees - YouTube

I think they are after the water, and congregate wherever they can reach the water without falling in, which is the steps, ladder on deep end, and anything floating in the pool including me.

Funny thing is my neighbor also has a pool, but I think the bees do not like chlorine.. my pool is salt water.
I complain to him about it, but don't think he has told them to stay out of my yard - nobody has been stung yet but my kids will not swim when they are there.

        JJ

[WV Sawmiller]

   I am surprised they are coming to salt water. They definitely come to water but if your neighbor puts out water closer to them they should be coming to it. A gentle slope to the water makes it much easier and safer for them to come to it and should actually increase his honey production since they won't be having to travel as far or as long. 

   Even during the winter if you get a warm sunny day or two they will make cleansing flights to clean out the hive and get water. 

[JJ]

The salinity of my pool is 1/10 of ocean water.
I keep the pool at 3200ppm and ocean water is 35000ppm (I just looked it up).

The pool just barely tastes salty.   Mostly the bees are going into my railings, where pool water gets trapped from kids sloshing around, and climbing out up the stair.   That time of year it was very dry, so nearby stream alternative was dried up.   Maybe a little salt helps the honey??

I was trying a citronella tiki torch to drive them off, but I think it just agitated them.

They also mob my potted plants, that I was watering daily:
Honey bees - YouTube

     JJ  

[Ljohnsaw]

I have a chlorine pool with a waterfall and an exposed aggregate concrete deck.  The dogs are always getting in and out so water sits on the deck.  I think the ag seems to hold water better than a smooth deck.  On hot days, the bees will be on the deck or on the rocks that get splashed by the waterfall.  The only problem for them is one of my dogs likes to eat the bees :  After her tongue gets stung, she will snap them out of the air, spit them out and step on them, and then eat them.  But then, sometimes, she gets stung in the foot :  She just doesn't learn... She's been doing this for years.

[KEC]

Why not just supply the bees with another source of water nearby?  Bees and wasps come to my bird bath when it's real dry.

[Walnut Beast]

  After yesterday's post this may be a good time to post wasp and bee sting info. Did you know that a wasp can sting multiple times while a honeybee can only sting once? When a honeybee stings her abdomen attached to the stinger pulls off and she dies. If you have been stung by a honeybee you will see the abdomen attached to the stinger and it will be pulsing as it pumps more venom into you. Never try to pull a honeybee stinger out. It is barbed and is not going to pull out and all you will do is squeeze more venom into the sting. Beekeepers typically use a hive tool to scrape and break off the stinger level with the skin. If you don't have a hive tool handy use a sharp knife or if nothing else scrape it off with your fingernail and break it off as close to the skin as possible.

  Wasp, bee and ant venom are a strong (Formic) acid so anything that will neutralize the acid should help. Use a base solution such as alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or bleach directly on the sting. Be careful if using a very strong bleach not to cause even more damage. I once got stung by a hornet on the forehead and soaked a cotton ball in bleach and held it on the sting. It neutralized the sting so well I got no swelling or anything but I ended up with a bleach burn that took many months to heal.

  An old wives tale was to put chewing tobacco or chew up a cigar or cigarette and place the damp tobacco on the sting. Another OWT was to mash up 3 different types of green leaves and rub the juice on the sting. I don't know if that is true but lacking anything else in the area I have tried this and it may be my imagination but it seemed to offer some relief. I figure as long as none of the leaves are poison ivy/oak/sumac or other irritant, it probably can't hurt.

Very Important. Anybody that's allergic make sure they carry there EpiPen with them on a trip out in nature 

[WV Sawmiller]

   My wife is allergic to them and carries her epi-pen in her camera bag and any time we go fishing or such. They are not nearly as much of a problem as when we were further south but there are still plenty around here. I usually getting into them in one of my wood stacks every year then I get more diligent about checking first. A leafblower works fine to find them and you can defend yourself with it. Blow the dust out of you stacks of lumber or slabs and if they are in there they will come right out while you are still far enough to keep from getting stung till you can get something to kill them. 

[JJ]

Why not just supply the bees with another source of water nearby?

we did that, somebody tell the bees smiley_contract

[Don P]

 I was going to try drawing a picture for todays post but it is late, I'm tired and have another early start and probably a long day so you will have to read and use your imagination to understand what i am describing.

  Did you know old time Norwegians, and possibly others designed the footers on their buildings to prevent access by rodents? While living and working in Norway our Noggie daughter Ruth (Former HS exchange student who lived with us for a school year and has been back on many visits since and vice versa) took us around her home area and showed us some old buildings with design features to keep mice and rats out. They used a large rot resistant wood as footers. I don't remember if they set them on a rock or directly on the ground. Envision a log about 18"-20" in diameter and maybe 30" tall. Imagine having such a footer log then sawing a circle about a foot below the top to a depth of 5-6 inches then using a hatchet or hand adze to shape the area below the circle cut to make half of an hourglass shape so it a mouse climbing from the ground up would reach the narrow spot on the footer only to find a flat, squared off roof over his head that he could not easily pass.

  Some of those old Noggies had their stuff in one bag! This simple design has kept those old buildings free of pests for hundreds of years. (I understand some of those Noggies were even smart enough to come to the USA, although some stayed in New York instead of coming further south.)

If I can't remember where I saved an old picture from I guess it is probably fair use  :D


 
I know these buildings as a "stabbur" which might bring up more links if you go looking. Often the pier post is round and shaped on all sides.

The typical person's notions of a pier foundation is a set of unbraced wobbly legs under a building that grows in height and weight. A collapse waiting to happen. Look at how these builders solved that problem, a tall egg crate type joint captured within the post. Notice the gap at the stairs. Also the water shedding features throughout. Take a look at the log profile, shaved so that a shaped wrought iron ring would slide down the length. This gives a neat pleasing appearance, makes notching and grooving easier, but also removes the sapwood exposing more resistant heartwood to the weather.

[WV Sawmiller]

Don,

  Nice workmanship. Those old timers had their stuff together. I assume that is an old mill of some kind?

  Since we are on historical issues did you know the most important man in many cases when the original settlers landed in America was often the ship's carpenter? The high class, landed gentry with plenty of prestige and money in the old world might be the ones who could afford to buy passage over but when they landed the low level ship's carpenter was the only one who knew how to build a house.

[Don P]

A stabbur was traditionally a farm storehouse for grain, dried meat and fish, etc. The mouseproof tupperware container of the day. Variations on the same basic style run across Scandinavia into Russia. 

Some of those ships carpenters houses were even built like a boat upside down. Early settlers knew or learned quickly just how valuable the tradesmen were. Carpenters and blacksmiths immediately come to mind but you aren't getting far without a cobbler! They were all needed in the new country.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know nightcrawlers come out of the ground on warm nights when the ground is damp especially after a heavy soaking rain or where a sprinkler has been in use? (I understand golf greens are fine places to collect nightcrawlers in areas where they live.) The rear end of a nightcrawler is flat and he uses it as an anchor in the ground while the bulk of his body is outside searching for food or a mate or such. If you have ever watched a robin and nightcrawler doing a tug of war this is a fine example of the strength of this anchor. Sometimes the robin wins but if he loses his grip the worm escapes back underground.

   Nightcrawlers can detect light so when collecting them you want your light on a low setting or use old weak batteries. Try to keep the worm in the dim outer circle of light as much as possible. Since it is difficult to see/locate the end of the worm it is often hard to see which end is in the ground and which is the head end. The technique I found that works best is when I see a section of a worm out of the hole I use my index finger to quickly but firmly pin down the worm. Once that is done I determine which end is in the hole and which end is free. With my free hand, I then grab the worm between my pinch point and as close to the hole as I can. Once I have a good grip on it I hold steady pressure until the worm pulls free. If you pull too hard you will break the worm in two pieces. 

   Catching nightcrawlers for fish bait is a great activity to do with small children like your kids or grandkids. On a damp night around here as you walk you can actually hear the nightcrawlers retreating rapidly into their holes. They are very loud and sound like a bunch of kids slurping long spaghetti noodles. :D

[KEC]

Did You Know, Nightcrawlers will come out at night even in the winter if the ground isn't frozen and the temperature is mild. This can be a great food source for foxes, skunks, raccoons, etc. Did you ever drive a steel rod in the ground and have earthworms come out ? I was once out and saw some molehills and then saw the ground moving from a mole working its' tunnel. Suddenly, earthworms began squirming, almost flying out of the ground to escape from the mole. Worms are a big part of moles' diets. This helped to explain the worms being so sensitive to steel rods being driven in the ground and the sounds of someone walking on the ground. When I was a kid I knew guys who did well selling worms for bait.

[WDH]

In North Florida, they "grunt" for worms.  I bet that WV has been a "worm grunter". 

[Tacotodd]

I saw something about that on the tube. It looked REALLY interesting, especially for fishing. I think that the guy did it to sell the worms in his shop. Hmm...

[WV Sawmiller]

Danny,

 I was never able to grunt up earthworms. My wife calls it "fiddling" them up and they used to use an old handsaw and saw off a small tree and vibrate it by sawing down into it as if splitting it. The vibration through the roots would bring the worms up. Some people used an old chainsaw and took the chain off and stuck the snout in the ground and revved it up. The standard way was to make a point on a rough 1X4 about 3' long, drive it a foot or so in the ground then rub another rough board across the top causing maximum vibration. I hear experts can grunt up worms as much as 30' away under ideal conditions.

 Around Blountstown and Two Egg Fla, about 200 miles south of where I was raised, the state or national parks there rent out earthworm grunting rights. I read where one old timer there sent all 3 of his kids to college on his worm grunting income. We would buy them and used to use these earthworms for fishbait on the Suwannee River when we would go down to my grandparents there. At Two Egg they had an annual contest to see who could grunt up the biggest earthworm and the furthest distance. At the same contest they have a Possum Beauty contest.

  Since we are talking fishbait did you know that catalpa worms, the caterpillar phase of a moth that lays its eggs on the the catalpa tree, make excellent fishbait? The caterpillars eat only the leaves of the catalpa tree and will completely strip the tree of all leaves. The caterpillar grows to about 3" long then "goes down" into the ground to pupate. The best time to catch the catalpa worm is when it is fully mature and ready to go pupate. You can use a long slender fishing pole and reach up and touch or "tickle" the worm who lives on the bottom side of the leaf and he will turn loose and fall to the ground.

 To keep catalpa worms alive people made big screen wire cages and stuffed green catalpa leaves in there for them to eat. Another trick was to put them in a big brown paper grocery bag in the refrigerator to slow down their activity. Often we would put an inch or so of corn meal in the bottom as absorbent. My old mentor used to package them in plastic cups and cover with white Karo corn syrup and freeze them for future use.

 They spit out a nasty green-brown juice that is nearly impossible to get off your fingers no matter how strong a soap you use. My dad was a cook in the Army and he said the only way he found to get catalpa worm juice off your hands was to make up a big batch of biscuit batter.

[stanmillnc]

I can vouch for the Catalpa Worms as an outstanding fish bait. Not sure you'll find a better catfish bait. Was fishing one day, not having any luck and an old timer was bringing his jon boat to shore full of catfish saying he was done for the day and he gave me his leftover funny worms. He said to bite off the head and once they hit the water the green goo guts ooze out into the water creating a fluorescent cloud, which is irresistible to fish. He was right!

They are commonly called "Catawba worms" in my neck of the woods, due to the major river system here, the Catawba River. They emerge around the beginning of July usually and sometimes there will be a second emergence later in the summer. They totally defoliate the Catalpa tree and even in drought years the Catalpa survives this infestation and puts out new growth. I planted a few Catalpa seedlings in my yard and neighborhood and now have a good supply for a couple of weeks a year.

[KEC]

Two other good fish baits are those big green grasshoppers and big black crickets you find by flipping over flat rocks and boards laying on the ground. I never figured out a good way to get them in large numbers. Also, crayfish that have just shed their exoskeleton (shell). I have never seen anything that will get a strike faster than a softshell crayfish.

[WV Sawmiller]

Stan,

   Sometimes small fish would suck the insides out of a catalpa worm. When fishing was slow another technique was to pull (No need to bite) off the head, take a match sized stick and push from the rear to the front basically turning the worm inside out then run your hook through and pull the worm off the stick.

  I can remember slang term was "Tawby worms" or "Tawbah worms" where I grew up. Rain crows were bad to eat them.

Karl,

   Bait shops here I think fed the crawfish oatmeal and such to make them shed to get softshells which were preferred fish bait. I used to use a long handled shrimp net and scroop in the leaves and bottom of the deep holes in drainage ditches and such and catch baby crawfish. A crawfish an inch long is perfect bream, crappie, and catfish bait. They are scared of a big hardhelled crawfish. I know bass and catfish eat them but a big crawfish is poor bait. I'd tear them in two and just use the tail for bait with some success but a baby 1" long is preferred food for all the fish in our local lakes and streams.

   I like the black crickets but where I grew up in the south grey crickets were sold in all bait shops. I have found places where the long grey mole crickets would come out and on to the paved roads or parking pads and such. They are good bait where you can find them. All grasshoppers are good bait where you can catch them.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know the Baka pygmies of the central African countries live in dome shaped huts covered with leaves? They start by cutting a bunch of small limber trees/shrubs, generally under 1" in diameter at the big end and maybe half an inch in diameter at the small end/top, then they stick one end in the ground. On a small overnight/temporary hunters hut, they will stick both ends in the ground. On a larger more permanent hut they may tie the tops together in the middle. They repeat with more sticks weaving them together as they go around the hut. They leave a space at the front as an opening/doorway. When finished with the framework it looks very much like an eskimo igloo. Next they collect a bunch of broad leaves and start weaving them into the framework starting from the bottom to the top overlapping as they go. When they are finished they have a very comfortable, cool, watertight structure. if they stay in an area any significant length of time they just periodically add to the leaves to make sure the hut remains watertight. 

[ellmoe]

Dang , Howard. How can you remember all of your travels and experiences?
I really enjoy reading about them . Thanks.

[Tacotodd]

"Did You Know" almost needs it's own board!

It's THAT good.