Bug War.

I unleashed the poison!  Last month we got overran by bugs inside the house.  There were hundreds of box elder bugs and grease bugs that were getting inside.  Annmarie would sit on the couch and they would drop on her.  She did not appreciate this nature intrusion into our house.  I went on a killing spree and vaccuumed bugs nonstop and sprayed all the window casings for about two weeks solid and drastically reduced the bug population.  Well, last week it started to warm up outside and the box elder bugs are forming colonies on the outside of our house.  Hundreds of them crawling all over the corners of the house.  Our white house looks like an appaloosa horse from all the black spots.  The bugs were starting to invade the inside of the house again.  I went around today and sprayed four gallons of spray outside our house, the old house, the woodshed, the barn, the machine shop, the old bummer shed and my mother-in-law's house and garage.  Tonight before coming inside I had to use the push broom to sweep off the front porch.  It looked like a bug graveyard.  You could not take a single step without stepping on multiple bugs.  I swept at least a 1000 bugs off the porch.  The spray does have some residual effects so I will hit them again in a week.  I am also tired of killing bugs inside the house. 

I started in on the new fence up the hillside.  I got the sheep fencing stretched and in place and a single strand of smooth wire above that.  It takes quite a while to install all the clips and get it all stretched out.  I also cleaned up the front area near the old blacksmith shop.  Piled more wood onto the burn pile and found some more buried metal.  I found a pile of old wire from hay bales.  I just scooped the top off with the tractor and left it.  I will slowly start digging through the pile as time permits.  I just want to get it all organized and cleaned up.  It is slowly starting to take shape.  There is a huge old tractor tire that I think I am going to cut the sidewall off of one side and use as a cow feeder.  I can put a couple of boards inside to keep the hay off the ground.  I will have to cut a couple of drain holes on the other sidewall so it doesn't hold water. 

No luck so far with the first ad in the Agri times.  I will try the nickle next.  We have lots of babies to get rid of by the end of the year.  Anyone who wants lamb or knows someone let me know.