So... What are YOU doing? - Part 8

[Naiwen]

Happy weekend all! How are you? Today, just playing some games on my Switch before rocking myself to sleep tonight.

 

[tango]

My wife had one of her scheduled workouts today so I went along with her. I wasn't sure what kind of pace I'd be comfortable with given my run yesterday but figured I should be OK since she's just starting out. She struggled on a couple of the steeper sections, which isn't surprising since she's just starting out, and did pretty well overall. She's early enough in her program that her PBs aren't anything to write home about but she can set new ones regularly enough to help with ongoing motivation, which is nice.

 

[Lamb]

I've been so cold lately and it's not even winter. So what am I doing? Staying bundled and trying to keep warm.

 

[psalms 91]

That is so frustrating

 

[Naiwen]

Yo sup there guys man! How are you today? Today, just enjoying my usual TV show before lulling myself to sleep tonight.

 

[Lamb]

Watching Netflix.

 

[tango]

My wife was out with a friend so I went to church and then went for a walk in the mountains. Today I was pushing a bit harder than normal, looking more for some exercise than taking in views (although I did stop at a vista to enjoy the view for a few moments). Now sitting and chilling for the evening.

 

[Lamb]

Ugh, tried a different powder to kill the wasps because the cold air is not doing the trick and they're still alive. When will these yellow jackets die off?

 

[tango]

Ugh, tried a different powder to kill the wasps because the cold air is not doing the trick and they're still alive. When will these yellow jackets die off?

I found a blowtorch works very well against them, although it's more practical as a weapon against them outside. It was curious to see the way they started to curl up and fall out of the air. We had a nest of them in the ground - they took over an abandoned vole nest - and after a few visits from Mr Blowtorch they decided to nest somewhere else.

 

[Naiwen]

Hello afternoon all! How are you? Today, been to the psych ward. Tonight, just resting in bed before hitting the bed tonight.

 

[Lamb]

I found a blowtorch works very well against them, although it's more practical as a weapon against them outside. It was curious to see the way they started to curl up and fall out of the air. We had a nest of them in the ground - they took over an abandoned vole nest - and after a few visits from Mr Blowtorch they decided to nest somewhere else.

Their hive is in the bump out for our gas fireplace (doesn't work). We tried Delta Dust and that didn't work and now we're trying Tempo Dust because everyone kept saying they'll die out in the fall and they never did.

 

[tango]

Their hive is in the bump out for our gas fireplace (doesn't work). We tried Delta Dust and that didn't work and now we're trying Tempo Dust because everyone kept saying they'll die out in the fall and they never did.

Can you physically get at the space? If so you can get spray foams that are supposed to kill the entire nest. I think what they do is gum everything up so the wasps can't get out.

 

[Lamb]

Can you physically get at the space? If so you can get spray foams that are supposed to kill the entire nest. I think what they do is gum everything up so the wasps can't get out.

We don't know how far into the space the hive is so a foam might not reach it. That's why we're using the dusts. You use a bellows to pump the dust in and when they walk through the dust they carry it back to the hive. When they groom themselves they ingest the dust and it is supposed to attack their nervous system and kill them in 24-48 hours. But so far they're still alive after multiple dustings. I might have to contact a pro to get the area pulled apart and the nest removed. There's a local guy who has a lot of videos on how he does it and he feeds the larvae to his chickens!

 

[Naiwen]

Hello morning all! How's it going so far with your day? Today, just relaxing online before hitting the pillow tonight.

 

[tango]

We don't know how far into the space the hive is so a foam might not reach it. That's why we're using the dusts. You use a bellows to pump the dust in and when they walk through the dust they carry it back to the hive. When they groom themselves they ingest the dust and it is supposed to attack their nervous system and kill them in 24-48 hours. But so far they're still alive after multiple dustings. I might have to contact a pro to get the area pulled apart and the nest removed. There's a local guy who has a lot of videos on how he does it and he feeds the larvae to his chickens!

How big is the space? Is it the kind of space where pumping dust in could result in it blowing right past where they are nesting?

Is it the sort of situation where you could seal indoor openings and use a smoke capsule to try and smoke them out, encouraging them to leave via an exterior opening?

 

[tango]

My workout schedule had a rest day for me today, so I went for a gentle run with my wife to encourage her around what she had on her schedule. It's good for her to have some encouragement, she feels happier when I'm with her just in case of any dog encounters (I always carry a spring-assisted knife with me, in case of nasty dog encounters), and it's good for me to get my daily steps in while improving my base training.

Then this evening we had some friends from out of town for dinner. They aren't in the area for long so we were really pleased they had time to spend an evening with us.

 

[Lamb]

How big is the space? Is it the kind of space where pumping dust in could result in it blowing right past where they are nesting?

Is it the sort of situation where you could seal indoor openings and use a smoke capsule to try and smoke them out, encouraging them to leave via an exterior opening?

It's a bump out which is probably a couple feet wide by 5 feet tall. So far we didn't have many wasps coming inside yesterday and I only saw one flying around yesterday by the opening so maybe the new dust works?

 

[tango]

It's a bump out which is probably a couple feet wide by 5 feet tall. So far we didn't have many wasps coming inside yesterday and I only saw one flying around yesterday by the opening so maybe the new dust works?

Sounds like maybe the new dust is working. What covers it over from the inside - is it the sort of thing that you could make a small hole in the wall, pump your dust in directly over the wasps and then cover over the hole? If you cut a hole in the wall using a small hole saw you could pre-prepare a slightly bigger piece to stick over the hole as soon as you'd blown the dust to stop the wasps getting out. Then you'd have a relatively small hole to fix up later when you could take the time to trim down the oversize piece and set it into place.

 

[Naiwen]

Yo sup there guys man! How are you today? Today, just playing some games on my phone before hitting the sack tonight.

 

[tango]

After an awful lot of struggling I finally managed to run a cable through the cavity above my front porch ceiling to power a light. It's a temporary measure to make sure we're happy with where we put the light before we finish the rest of the work on the porch ceiling. Along the way I nearly ruined my fish tape but thankfully I was able to get it free - it had stuck somewhere in the space but I couldn't see what I was doing so I had no idea how to free it. Eventually I just pulled it hard in all directions and it came free. Then I figured I could take a more indirect route, ran a longer piece of scrap cable along the new route, and got it all joined together. A strategically placed nail through the ceiling provided a hook to stop the cable from pulling away from the indirect route, which means I can use it to pull a cable when I drill a new hole to feed some 14/3 into the cavity. So at least the effort wasn't entirely wasted on a temporary fix. The next step is to run cable from where the light is to where the next light in the chain is going, and from there to the final light. Hopefully that will be easier than this morning's effort.

Now I'm off for my scheduled workout. I'm not looking forward to this one - two weeks ago I had four speed repeats and managed OK. Last week there were six, and the last two were hard. This week I've got eight of them. I hope I don't end up with 10, 12, 14 of them in future weeks. It's hard maintaining a "challenging pace" when hills are involved, and I can't find a stretch that isn't hilly that's long enough for me to run back and forth along a flat section. I guess I just need to suck it up and figure it's making me fitter and stronger.