Archive for the ‘bugs/rodents’ Category
Heavy Metal Eating Worms!
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Yup, believe it or not, that is the first post I have written in a while. What a way to come back huh? I recently read about the use of earthworms in India to remove toxins from soils. I found this to be fascinating and wonder if anyone out there has additional information about this cool idea. The project in India, overseen by Dr. Suneet Dabke, used 300,000 regular earthworms to reduce the heavy metals in the test soils by 60% in one year! That is impressive.
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Straw Bale Building and Saw Tooth Grain Beetles
Monday, October 15th, 2007
I received an unusual question from a builder today and I do not have an answer to his question. Hopefully you can help me. Here is his question:
“We were involved in the construction of a commercial facility using straw bales. We have since run into a variety of issues with Saw Tooth Grain Beetles that have evidently arrived with the bales and are now setting off smoke detectors. Do you have experience with this ???”
Here is all the information I have been able to find. If you have anything you think would be helpful, please let me know.
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Bugs and Other Pests
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007I get a lot of questions about bugs and mice in bale walls. I understand the thought as the image of a stack of bales in a barn usually conjurs images of a few mice and a handful of bugs; however, bales in a wall are very different than bales in a barn. The biggest difference is that the walls are covered in plaster and stacked very tightly. The plaster is the first line of defense against pests. The thickness of the plaster makes it very hard for mice and bugs to get in. If they were to get in, they would have a hard time negotiating the tight bale network. A loose stack of straw allows for bugs and mice to move freely while the densely stacked walls resist the movement of such pests.
