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Old 10-02-2011, 09:59 PM
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Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)
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Billyuuns and billyuuns.......

.....Of these tilittle black beetles flying everywhere!!!!
what are they?!
I mean, there's not just a few dozen or even hundreds, the air's bloody thick with 'em! If they all got together they could steal my car.
Are they carniverous? Venomous? Or do they just fly around comitting suicide on the outdoor lights and getting into my nose and hair?
They just keep coming. Its like rain on the roof.
God have mercy!

Last edited by h0ughy; 10-02-2011 at 10:08 PM. Reason: bypass filter
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Old 10-02-2011, 10:14 PM
casstony
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Possibly one of the varieties of Cockchafer. The white grubs can be thick under pasture or lawns, feeding on the roots of grass(I think) and they emerge in hordes at this time of year. They give plants a hard time but they also aerate the soil - you'll probably notice finger-sized holes all over the ground.

Our dog liked to feast on them - crunch, crunch, crunch.
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Old 10-02-2011, 10:18 PM
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h0ughy (David)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by casstony View Post
...............
Our dog liked to feast on them - crunch, crunch, crunch.
so did ours when she was a puppy last year - thats all she ate for a few days we even offered her fresh mince and even a piece of rump steak , but she preferred to crunch them up

when she got hungry she soon stopped eating them
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Old 10-02-2011, 10:49 PM
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Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)
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Oh crap! I didn't need to hear that. I hate cockchafers. They're disgusting!
Yuuucchhh.
Chickens love 'em, but they've all been got by a fox.
Bring back DDT!
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Old 10-02-2011, 11:13 PM
casstony
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The owner or our local grainstore apparently has one or more degrees and can tell me anything about plants or bugs. Apparently we have the Red Headed Cockchafer which is the most difficult to eradicate, so we just tolerate them. If we catch the children using facebook we do make them eat the disgusting looking white grubs as punishment.
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Old 11-02-2011, 04:24 AM
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Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)
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In Europe they use Nematode based "insecticide" for the little blighters.
The micro-worms get-in and eat 'em from the inside-out (I'm going to vom)!
Its not as effective as DDT or some of the more toxic, and now largely unavailable, insecticides, but it IS enviro-friendly as the Nematodes die very quickly.
I'm told however, that the treatment can't be imported because it contains live, non-indigenous organisms.
Fair enough, but a shame really as I dislike using chemical pesticides.
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Old 11-02-2011, 02:02 PM
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AstralTraveller (David)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous View Post
In Europe they use Nematode based "insecticide" for the little blighters.
The micro-worms get-in and eat 'em from the inside-out (I'm going to vom)!
Its not as effective as DDT or some of the more toxic, and now largely unavailable, insecticides, but it IS enviro-friendly as the Nematodes die very quickly.
I'm told however, that the treatment can't be imported because it contains live, non-indigenous organisms.
Fair enough, but a shame really as I dislike using chemical pesticides.
Take the beetles to Europe??

Agree to meet half way????

Think laterally!!
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