Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Lab and insects

highpower48 - 9-7-2020 at 14:49

My lab is in my garage its 25 by 25feet. I use a section 12 by 12 foot as a lab. Built in 8 ft by 2 ft benches a few cabinets, racks etc. My problem is I live in rural area with a wood on 2 sides. The spiders,mud dabbers are about to drive me nuts. The spiders build webs everywhere the wasps get mud everywhere building nests and bug parts from them eating. I try to keep as much as I can in drawers and cabinets, but they still get everywhere. There are a few cracks around the garage doors and they can't be sealed. I've used traps, poisons and just sucking them up using a shop vac. Another part of the garage is used as a metal shop for my milling machine and lathe. The rest is used for woodworking. Any tips on dealing with the spiders and wasps?

[Edited on 9-7-2020 by highpower48]

karlos³ - 9-7-2020 at 15:14

What speaks against making DDT or one of its analogues?
I believe it was Tsjerk who posted his preparation of the bromo analogue of DDT earlier this year and also reported on its effectivity indoor, to keep his plants insect free.
Quite well working was my impression :)
That should solve your issue quick.

B(a)P - 9-7-2020 at 16:16

Flea / roach bombs work well for spiders and anything that moves on surfaces. Something like this.

Mud wasps are much trickier. At the end of last summer I tried to seal every gap in my shed in an attempt to keep them out after they made a nest in my chainsaw muffler:mad:.

JJay - 9-7-2020 at 16:50

I usually have more luck with traps than poisons unless I can actually spray the pests directly. Fly paper, diatomaceous earth, inverted funnels over water with baits. Heat works pretty well for really pesky arthropods.

Herr Haber - 10-7-2020 at 02:10

Quote: Originally posted by karlos³  
What speaks against making DDT or one of its analogues?
I believe it was Tsjerk who posted his preparation of the bromo analogue of DDT earlier this year and also reported on its effectivity indoor, to keep his plants insect free.
Quite well working was my impression :)
That should solve your issue quick.


Yeah ! Cost of 100ml bromo or chlorobenzene + 100 grams Chloral hydrate = not much compared to commercial products :)

Belowzero - 10-7-2020 at 03:03

When all you got is a hammer everything starts to look like a nail.

How about just using agricultural foil and wall off your section , attach to both the ceiling and the floor with staples/tape.
It will also prevent dust from gathering on your stuff.
Another advantage is that it might keep in nasty chemicals that tend to turn whole garages into rust.



[Edited on 10-7-2020 by Belowzero]

B(a)P - 10-7-2020 at 03:33

Quote: Originally posted by JJay  
I usually have more luck with traps than poisons unless I can actually spray the pests directly. Fly paper, diatomaceous earth, inverted funnels over water with baits. Heat works pretty well for really pesky arthropods.


What do you mean by heat? As in setting them on fire? Not something I would be comfortable in my lab.....

JJay - 10-7-2020 at 08:05

Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P  
Quote: Originally posted by JJay  
I usually have more luck with traps than poisons unless I can actually spray the pests directly. Fly paper, diatomaceous earth, inverted funnels over water with baits. Heat works pretty well for really pesky arthropods.


What do you mean by heat? As in setting them on fire? Not something I would be comfortable in my lab.....


Heat as in 50 C or so..... Such temperatures could potentially cause some chemicals to escape their packaging, so some level of care would be advised.

outer_limits - 10-7-2020 at 09:52

Give them names and become friends.
Are you able to protect your lab using mosquito net? It is cheap and working method. You won't get rid of spiders but the amount of incoming guests could be drastically reduced

Refinery - 10-7-2020 at 10:50

I'm not sure if there are any reasonable permanent solutions for those.

Any groundmongers could be hindered by solid state poisons.

Wasps, on the other hand.. Damn I hate those.

If there are any entrance holes in the building, I would attempt to block them the best I could. To me, wasps were only issue when I had to keep doors open for ventilation so the bastards of course entered. They seemed to be especially keen on moonshine vapors, the moment I started a run, they appeared, but were nowhere to be seen at other times.

Cou - 11-7-2020 at 21:07

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99Q1sB8oUtA

B(a)P - 11-7-2020 at 21:24

I was thinking about the wasps a bit more. You could work out what species you have then devise a trap based on either a pheromone they use for attracting mates, a food source or even a water/mud source. The mud wasps in Australia seem very attracted to water, particularly in drier times.

mackolol - 12-7-2020 at 02:23

You reminded me about this one episode of breaking bad where they chased one fly all the time :D.
I don't really know how to help you, because I don't mind bugs. I just seal all the worthy stuff that I have.
Once I have my p-nitrotoluene, which was unwanted byproduct and it was laying on a petri dish for some time. After that time there were quite a few dead silverfishes laying on my tasty smelling stuff... I ended throwing it out anyways.

j_sum1 - 12-7-2020 at 14:06

Well, chemplayer just has the insects join in the experiments. They seem to not enjoy pirahna solution particularly much though.
;)

karlos³ - 12-7-2020 at 14:10

They are his lab buddies he said somewhere I believe :D