The Winter War Begins...

The floors in my house are white, with the exception of the newly re-finished living room floor which is now an amber wood color. People always grimace when they see the floors and ask, "Aren't they hard to keep clean?" I think white floors would be difficult for someone who never cleans, but I clean all the time.

When I first moved here I was talked into staining the floors a dark brown, so dark it was almost black. I hated it. Besides the fact it was dark which can be pretty dreary during our dark, wet, cold winters, I couldn't see the spiders. It freaked me out they could sneak up on me. So I stripped the floors and painted them white. The kitchen, laundry, mud room and downstairs bathroom are all white tile. I can see those black creepy little bodies a mile away now!

Yes, I love white tile. It's easy to wash. It's like doing dishes. And I don't have cats, dogs, kids or men walking in and out of my house with dirty shoes. I don't even wear shoes in the house.  I have no desire to track not only mud into my living space, but pesticides, herbicides or dog shit. Lately, I've had too many people complain when I ask them to take off their shoes, but I have yet to have anyone volunteer to clean the floors before they leave. I am tempted to post a sign on my door that says, "REMOVE YOUR FUCKING SHOES!" I am so tired of arguing with these people.

Will I ever experience a winter without a war? Summer wars include bumble bees, yellow jackets, hornets and wasps. Every winter larger animals move in and I've been infiltrated by opossums, mice, rats, and one year I had a cat living under my house. Looking back I think that cat was probably managing the rats, but hearing it run around the crawlspace all night did not give me comfort. It's a struggle to get rid of the freeloads and try to do it safely for both myself and the vermin. So far this year the critters have stayed away. (Knock on wood.)

This year it's ANTS! First time in fifteen years. If it wasn't for my white tile counter and floor, I probably wouldn't have seen them until they took over the whole kitchen and ended up in the food. They are so tiny they are nearly microscopic. They were coming in through under a window ledge (I think) in the pantry, traversing across the counter, down the cupboards, across the floor and up the garbage receptacle which is in the kitchen just outside the pantry. Thankfully, I don't keep food in the pantry - just toilet paper. Again, thank GOD for my white tiles or I might have never noticed them until it was a real mess.

So, how to get rid of them without poisoning myself? First, I cleaned out the garbage container and moved it to the other side of the kitchen up on a chair. They didn't like that and started marching INTO my lower cupboards searching for tasty treats. UGH! No snacks in those cupboards but I had to clean everything stored in there. (What a pain!)

I needed to try some natural deterrents, remedies that wouldn't poison me and would just keep them from wanting in the house. I read like spiders they hate peppermint so I washed the tiles down with peppermint oil. That worked for a couple hours then they were back. I kept washing, and they kept coming back. Not working.

I read vinegar will kill them on contact and deter them. I tried that, but I know vinegar can eat tile so I wasn't thrilled with the idea. I tried it once and it didn't faze them at a all, in fact, their troops seemed to multiply.

Cayenne pepper. In another dwelling I had an ant problem, bigger ants coming in from the garden into my ground level apartment. I tried all kinds of things and the only thing that worked was cayenne pepper in a line on the edge of my patio. But how do I place bright red cayenne pepper on my beautiful white tiles and grout without staining it? I tried putting it on just the tiles, but the ants just walked around it. Not working.

After a week of battle, I was at my wits end. I was done trying to deter them. It was time to bring out the big guns. I've used boric acid for cockroaches when I lived in Phoenix and it works great but you can't just leave a pile of it and expect them to eat it. They are smart. They won't. You have to dust their trails with it so they only walk in it. After the cockroaches clean themselves by licking it off their feet, they are dead. Boric acid is also toxic to kids and pets, and if you stick your hands in it and then eat it, poisonous to adults, too. I tried it on the big ants in my former apartment, but I don't think I did it right. I found a recipe online:

Wearing gloves, mix 8 teaspoons of sugar with 1 cup of warm water in a container you plan to throw away or can clean really well after. Instead of sugar, you can use maple syrup, molasses, honey, or anything you might have around the house that is sweet and yummy. Add 1/2 teaspoon of boric acid and mix well. Using cotton balls, soak up the mixture and place where the ants are coming in. I also added a bit of coconut flour because I figured if ants want to carry it back to the nest, they would poison the other ants.

I put the cotton balls on little pieces of plastic to 
keep them off the tile.

I also placed a small container under the house below where the window is located.   I also caulked around the window ledge, but I did worry they'd find another way in. Annihilating them seems to be the only solution as they are relentless.

They loved it. Yum. It took about 24 hours for the ants to all disappear, with a few stranglers every now and then. I've left the poison balls on the counter just in case...for now.

Death by Dog

We have a pet epidemic in the United States as I've summarize in previous posts. I surmise this is due to the epidemic of mentally ill who find unconditional love from animals they keep as prisoners for their own sick, self-centered needs. They anthropomorphize these animals believing they are devoted children, friends or even lovers dressing them in clothes and sleeping with them in their beds.

Unfortunately, pets are considered property and laws don't fully protect them against bad owners nor protect them against this kind of abuse and neglect. Obviously, I am opposed to pet ownership. It's human entitlement that believes this is appropriate let alone sane. (For the record, I oppose zoos as well.)

Many MCSers own pets. I can only assume they don't have allergies or respiratory dysfunction that often comes with chemical sensitivity. Or they do and would rather be miserable and complain incessantly than take care of themselves. We are all different in our "multiple systems affected", but it still seems irrational to me for anyone with chemical sensitivity to willfully dabble in de-worming, de-fleaing, or any number of treatments that might involve chemicals. 

They feed their pets with cheap, toxic, chemical-laded pet food made in China. I have rarely in my life met anyone who feeds their pets raw meats as every dog and cat should eat for optimal digestion and health. Instead pet foods supplemented with fake nutrients and gluten is good enough which shows a total lack of pet-ownership responsibility. So many dogs end up with gluten sensitivities. This seems in opposition to a chemically sensitive lifestyle and I'm in constantly surprised when I hear about pet-owning MCSers. 

An article I recently read added to my anti-pet arsenal:  

A man died from “multi-organ failure” after being licked by his dog. 

Good god! You can read this article HERE  

In summary, the article states a man was licked by his pet and contracted Capnocytophaga canimorsus, a bacteria found in the saliva of cats and dogs. He began feeling sick with flu-like symptoms. After a few days red spots and bruising developed all over his body (see article for photos) before he was admitted to the hospital where he was diagnosed with kidney failure, sepsis and gangrene! His family eventually had him taken off life support and he died. 

How many times have I seen my friends kiss their dogs or cats right on their mouths? Or they let their dogs lick all over their faces. BLAH! How many times have these animals walked up to me and tried to lick my hand before I realize it. And the bad pet owners just excuse this bad behavior as being friendly. Clearly it's fucking life threatening!

It's so incredibly gross and makes me want to vomit. 

Last of the Grass

The grass is GONE! No more mowing! Hooray. I left a bit for Peter:

 



 

He also has his Dr. Seuss landscape in the back, but this will give him a bit to nibble and lay upon.

See the bright red over the beauty bark? It's how I'm keeping the cats from using it as a litter box. Grrrr...

The Pet Epidemic

Originally I had "pets" as a form of entertainment. Yesterday's encounter with yet another bad dog owner made me re-think my position. Some people spend their recreation time training, showing and caring for a specific type of animal. For others, pets are a source of comfort and therapy. For most, however, pets are an expression of mental illness and a sick need to dominate another species.

Carnivore ownership falls into this latter category. Dogs in particular are subjected to all kinds of mistreatment due to their pack-like mentality that makes them easy to control. This also makes dogs highly trainable, unlike cats which tend to be more independent, but rarely do dog owners train or care for their animals properly.

 

They allow their dogs to bark uncontrollably, roam neighborhoods freely, crap on public parks and beaches contaminating water and land with bacteria and parasites, and breed out of control. Rarely do these dog owners have any control over their animals and seem to take great pride in the fact they are not smart enough to train their dogs. They brag about their dogs' barking addiction ignoring the fact that most dogs bark because they are insecure and afraid. Research shows barking dogs suffer from heart disease and this isn't because they enjoy barking.

 

Dog aggression is highly valued by the stupid dog owner as some form of misguided security system and dog attacks resulting in human deaths are on the rise. And then there are the dog owners who train their dogs to attack and to fight other dogs. Dog owners are sociopaths. They have no concept of consideration for others nor coexisting within a community.

Although cats aren't as noisy as dogs other than the midnight howling, most cat owners do not properly care for them and they are equally as dangerous. Cats, like roaming dogs, never defecate in their own yards. They are often allowed to roam neighborhoods unsupervised defecating their worm-infested feces in gardens and playground sand. Pregnant  women are advised not to garden unless they want to give birth to brain dead babies because of the dangers of this parasite. Cats also spread diseases to wildlife.

Exotic animal owners are in a category all by themselves. What is the attraction of caging and controlling wildlife? It defies common sense and it's animal cruelty. Again, one needs to question the mental stability of a person's need to dominant another species.

Rarely are people able to care for one or two animals properly, but in most areas multiple animal ownership goes unchecked. The justification is right of ownership or stupid people claiming their right to do whatever they want regardless of anyone else. Animals are legally considered property, not living creatures, and this originated when animals were property used on farms and served a purpose. Today most animals are treated as lawn ornaments or exhibitions serving to make their owners feel better about themselves.  I don't know how many people have told me they prefer the company of their animals over people. I understand how annoying people can be, but it makes one question the mental stability of people who kiss animals on the lips and sleep in the same bed with them. Eewww. They profess their pets are like family members but how many people throw their babies outside to cry all day? Still, when times get tough, they'll take their animal relatives to the local shelter. Millions of dollars are spent every year euthanizing unwanted pets. There really needs to be better pet ownership laws protecting animals from the mentally ill.

 

A minority among the millions of crazy are animal owners who spend the time needed to train and care for their animals properly. Their dogs come when called and don't bark uncontrollably. Their cats are kept inside assuring their pet's safety. Understanding the needs of their carnivores they feed them the BARF (bones-and-raw-food) diet instead of Chinese produced toxic pet food and find natural alternatives to chemical pesticides and worm treatments such as brewer's yeast, garlic and pumpkin seeds. They also understand their responsibility as an animal owner within society and the need to coexist with others in the community.

Most chemically sensitive people I know are allergic to carnivores. With all the pesticides, flea dips, toxic deworming treatments and smelly shampoos used on animals these days, is it any wonder? On occasion I read about a chemically sensitive person who has a houseful of cats. Really? How does that make sense? The dirt and dander they contribute to an airspace is enough to suffocate anyone, not just the chemically sensitive.

Personally, I don't feel the need to dominate another species and I find keeping an animal in a cage is cruel and inhumane. Right now you are all wondering, Well, what about Peter?

Peter's Story

I am a boy. I am livestock.

Peter is a product of my crazy-ass brother's fetish for baby rabbits. He also owns a dog he encourages to attack cyclists and has been known to pack kittens in a duct tape-sealed box and dumped them on a neighbor's porch. The guy's an idiot in every sense of animal ownership. Every few months he goes to the auction and buys a box of baby bunnies. This fetish doesn't come out of the blue - we were raised with 900 rabbits. We lived with rabbits, we ate rabbits, and we displayed their trophies all over the house. My brother is tapping into his childhood. Just because we know why he's crazy, doesn't make him any less crazy.

Shortly after I moved to this house my brother called me and asked if I wanted a rabbit. NO. Now that I have a house how wonderful it would be to have a pet to keep me company. NO. (I'm not mentally ill nor companionship needy.) He went on to say this little girl bunny had four siblings. NO. He gave three to the neighbor girl who starved them to death and the fourth disappeared, probably ran over by a car or eaten by a dog. This was the last baby bunny, sure to die a horrible death. Damn. I can't stand animal abuse. OK, he knows how to manipulate me. I had just read about how rabbit manure was excellent for an organic garden so I caved. I can do one rabbit. I was interested in having a rescue farm someday so this would be my first animal orphan rejected by a stupid human who irresponsibly decided animal ownership was too much trouble.

I named her Bella. Like belladonna the herb, a plant I was growing in my garden, only she would be bella bunny, the beautiful bunny. Right away, she didn't act like a girl. Girl bunnies are usually preferred as pets because they are even-tempered and sweet. Boy bunnies are temperamental, moody and can be downright mean. Girl bunnies get along with other bunnies. Boy bunnies will kill other boy bunnies. Girls can be bred for more bunnies. Boys are solitary. Girls are preferred. This rabbit was temperamental, moody and downright mean. My brother would make a really great sleazy salesperson.

I never thought to check her gender until I went to the local auction in search of a companion for her.  As I was looking at all the bunnies, a man with obvious auction experience started chatting so I asked his advice. He said the number one warning is to check the sex. Everyone always labels their rabbits as girls in order to sell them. They lie. I didn't buy Bella a companion that day, thankfully. As the auction approached the stink of perfume and the smell of smoke made me leave, but on the way home it got me thinking. Did my brother lie to me? Wouldn't be the first time. As soon as I got home I flipped her over...MY LITTLE GIRL BUNNY HAS A PENIS! It all makes sense. I promptly renamed him Peter. Like portabella the mushroom, he was brown and he became Peterbella. Peter, the Fierce, Bad Rabbit, from Beatrix Potter's stories. I have poster of a Peter Rabbit illustration and Bella, I mean, Peter, looks just like it.

His formal name has since changed. One day I fed him some fresh beets from the garden. About an hour later I was walking by his hutch and I heard...someone farting. Not sweet bunny farts but big man farts. Loud and long. I look around thinking maybe my neighbor was out in his yard. At first I was scared, even when I realized the noise was coming from my rabbit.  Nothing can kill a rabbit faster than diarrhea. He was fine. He was just laying around his cage free farting for fun. I renamed him Peter, the Fierce, Bad, Farting Rabbit. When I realized there was nothing wrong with him I laughed so hard tears rolled down my cheeks and I had to sit on the gravel to keep from collapsing. I laughed the rest of the day every time I passed his hutch.

So Peter is livestock. He is my rescue farm. I did keep him in a hutch for a while until he got used to me. I wanted to make sure I could catch him if need be. He doesn't eat other animals and he doesn't go to the neighbor's yard and crap. He lives in my yard keeping the walkways trimmed, weeding out clover from the lawn and providing manure fertilizer. He is my personal gardener. He isn't a pet. I can't count how many people come into my yard and start tapping their leg calling, "Here Peter! Come here Peter." HE'S NOT A DOG!  He doesn't cuddle, won't allow anyone to pick him up nor does he provide me any therapy. We have a mutual understand and shared respect. At times, however, he does act like a lawn ornament and he can be entertaining.

Six months later, my brother called and asked me if I wanted two more baby bunnies he just bought at the auction.

NO!

Pest Control

My neighbor is afraid of bugs so he has a professional pest control company spray his house down once a week. Can you imagine?  He seems to think over-spraying works, but his rationale makes no sense if he needs to spray constantly because the bugs keep coming back. I told him they were reproducing and creating giant, resistant mutants that can't be killed. Unfortunately, that makes him want to spray twice as often. I'm sure I gave him nightmares. Next time I'll tell him the chemicals will make his boy parts fall off....

I once lived in a basement apartment with giant spiders. The landlord seemed to have a bug fetish and wouldn't help, but what could he do that wouldn't kill me, too? Between August and October when the weather would change and spidey mating season would start, I'd see around 30 skittering over the floor in the course of the season. They were fast, ugly and BIG! About the size of my palm. I lived in fear and fear can be very motivating. The thing about bugs, they've been around forever so the trick is to find repellents that have been used since the beginning of time, back Before Chemicals (B.C.).

Actual Size

I read spiders don't like scent. Smart critters. Any scent. When I found this out I developed a new-found admiration for the creepy crawlies. The year I tried peppermint oil I saw only two spiders. It was nice - smelled like candy canes. My tolerance for essential oils has decreased since then and now I have to be careful with them as well, but I can spray  outside and under the house with no problem. Now I see maybe two spiders a year and they are of the small-ish variety.

Another miracle pest repellent is cayenne pepper. In the same apartment I had an ant infestation. They made an ant hill out in the garden and decided they liked my patio. The landlord loved ants, too. He was so incredibly useless.  So I started experimenting with various historical insect control methods. Finally I laid a line of cayenne pepper around my patio and they disappeared. Not much messes with cayenne.

I currently live near a river and when I first moved here everyone told me I'd eventually have rodents at some point. Feeling charitable toward wildlife,  I bought a bird feeder and started feeding the birds. What a mistake! The ratties were grateful and stored up a winter supply of bird feed. That winter I could hear them gnawing at my walls. It echoed through the house at night. Good lord, I felt helpless! I was so grateful they never got in the house, but they always sounded like they were within a half inch from breaking through. <shiver> Someone scared me to death and said they can nibble on the electrical wires and burn down a house.  I also read a rat shit is a theory for the cause of breast cancer. Jeez. I tried traps, but I'd find them triggered with the food gone. Poisons killed them off, but their dead bodies stunk up the house for three weeks  and a new tribe would move in the next week and continue the gnawing. Besides I'm opposed to poisons and with Peter running free I fear he'll somehow get into it and die a horrible death. If there is any way possible, I prefer to keep pests away rather than kill them. Even rats. So I started putting cayenne pepper around and under the house with the peppermint oil.  No more ratties! I go to Winco or Costco and buy it in bulk.

Actual Size

I lived in Arizona a few years back. It was the first time I'd ever seen a cockroach.  I swear it was the size of a cat. And friendly! It came skittering toward me one day, and stopped. I think it was waiting for me to feed it. When they skitter at night it sounds like they are tap dancing. Normally I would have been impressed. I tried everything to get rid of them. Yes, them...he brought the rest of his family. Finally I read boric acid does the trick, but you have to dust it lightly in corners because cockroaches are smart. And clean. They prim and wash themselves like cats. So when they walk in the boric acid dust, it gets on their little legs, they lick and die. Also, check to see where they are coming in: around sink drains, under counters and plug up any holes you find.  A construction trick down in Arizona is to put boric acid under the foundation. It'll kill anything including termites. The problem is you can't use it freely if you have pets or children. It'll kill them, too.

Garden pests are discouraged with things like soap (Planet Ultra Dishwashing Liquid, the All-Purpose Miracle Soap!), onion/garlic tea and cayenne pepper. I am very careful with these home remedies in the garden because I don't want it to chase the good bugs away so I don't do too much.  Companion planting keeps the plants strong so they can resist invaders on their own and there are some plants that deter bugs so I grow them around plants that need extra protection.  

Slugs...Why did the universe make slugs? I don't see their purpose in the grand scheme of things. I've tried salt, beer, copper, garlic, tomato leaves, pine needles, killing them by hand with a sharp instrument, drowning them in water, and talking sweetly to the snakes and black beetles so they stay in my yard and eat them. I almost got some ducks then decided the ducks would cause more damage than the slugs. It was a full-time job. Finally someone told me about Sluggo which is iron phosphate and supposedly certified organic. It works quite well.

For aphids, if there aren't enough ladybugs or ants helping out, I've used Planet Ultra Dishwashing Liquid, the All-Purpose Miracle Soap. Most bugs don't like soap as it suffocates them and Planet is scent-free so it's not going to suffocate me. Also, aphids don't like chives so grow chives around your rose bushes.

I have a rabbit and I've read wild rabbits that will move into your yard and destroy your grass and plants won't go near cayenne pepper. I thought I'd try it so if I wanted to keep Peter out of a particular garden, this might work. Fifteen minutes after I applied it, I found bunny boy sitting in it. Maybe Peter is just a goof ball? His eyes did get watery, but it doesn't seem to faze him. Maybe it gives him a thrill? Rabbit masturbation?

I used to love cats, then I moved where over-breeding is an epidemic. Many of the neighbors have cats that breed incessantly, and the litters from the previous season all have their own kittens. One house nearby has a minimum of eighteen new kittens every spring and they do nothing to control it.

You know cats don't crap in their own yards - they go to the neighbors'. I have vegetable gardens and nothing disgusts me more than the thought of eating food grown in parasite-contaminated cat shit. Pregnant women are advised not to garden unless they want to give birth to brain-dead babies because of these parasites. And then there is the smell and mess. UGH! Be sure to always wear gloves while gardening. I sometimes catch cats sleeping in my bunny's sleeping places which is incredibly irritating since the rabbit can't find many other rest places. Damn free-loading cats giving my bunny fleas and worms!

Cat from Hell

I've tried nearly everything: cayenne, lemon peel, boric acid, peppermint oil.  Two of my neighbors trap cats and "take them away"; another traps and then douses them with cold water. The other neighbor shoots them. Her rule is if they are walking through the yard she uses a bb gun; if they are crapping, a shot gun. I really don't understand cat owners who allow their cats to roam. Besides the cats that spread disease to wildlife (and pet bunnies), they are also subjected to wildlife diseases. Not caring for your cat properly is so irresponsible, but people don't care. It's disgusting. Again, I prefer to keep the pests away than kill them. The only remedy I've found that works for cats is chicken wire and deer netting, but that gives my yard a certain concentration camp look that I don't enjoy. Oh, well.

Anti-Cat Concentration Camp Decor

For people pests, see my post titled, "Home Invasions".

Anyone have any other chemical-free tricks?