Reply to: Unwanted guests at night...

[Pogle]

Every time we see a large spider bimbling across the floor there is a mad scramble to get to it before one of the cats does!
The spider will be rescued and placed out of furry harms way.
Urban foxes wander through our garden regularly, we have no problem with them.
Squirrels are also frequent visitors.

The only thing I kill is cat fleas - by applying that stuff on the moggies necks, everything else gets left alone at Pogle towers.

[ctdctd]

I just leave the spiders to get on with it - they don't bother me and I don't bother then except for helping the occasional one that's decided to live in the bath.

No Rats, Mice, or foxes spotted - just a grey squirrel or two. Did have a hedgehog once but not noticed it for a while.

Bees in the loft - they seem to keep the wasps away
They are bumble bees so have a small nest which they have set up in the middle of the loft under a bit of wood. They don't seem to want to fly in the loft so land under the eaves and walk all the way to the nest.

Now as for flies - out come the RAID and battle commences

[PRC1964]

Well it would seem that other people might disagree:

Conkers to keep spiders away - Wild About Britain

Furthermore, this is in the Daily Whail so what more proof do you need?

Do conkers drive spiders bonkers? Royal Society of Chemistry tests the old wives' tale | Mail Online

Well, the Daily Fail article mentions the RSC competition to test the theory. That was last year. This year the RSC announced the winners Pupils scoop prize for unravelling conker theory

I can categorically back up their research on the basis that the young PRCs collected just about every conker in the South East last autumn and yet we still had just as many spiders as ever.

[Scrag Meister]

Currently I have an unknown quantity of mice or maybe a mouse in the house, its only a matter of time before he gets a taste for peanut butter or chocolate!!

Also a fox came to our front garden with its own takeout bag the other night and ate it below our open bedroom window. Blue carrier, 6 cans of Fosters, 2 packs of Malboro and a large box of fried chicken, I'm pretty sure he only managed the remains on the chicken bones, but the rest was scattered around the garden.

We've also had a few LARGE spiders sprinting around the lounge, they don't usually last long, depending how friendly I'm feeling. 1. Friendly hand out the window. 2. Size 11 stomp.

[Saddo]

One other thing to bear in mind about using conkers to rid your house of spiders. If leaving the conkers lying around doesn't seem to be working, drill a small hole thru the conker, thread a shoelace thru, and then apply the thwack principle to the spider. I understand that properly applied this technique is guaranteed to work.

[Saddo]

Sadly it's bollocks. The good news is that a hoover is very effective.

Furthermore, this is in the Daily Whail so what more proof do you need?

Do conkers drive spiders bonkers? Royal Society of Chemistry tests the old wives' tale | Mail Online

[Saddo]

Sadly it's bollocks. The good news is that a hoover is very effective.

Well it would seem that other people might disagree:

Conkers to keep spiders away - Wild About Britain

[PRC1964]

Re your spider problem. I haven't tried this solution myself, but I did read it on the Internet a matter of weeks ago and apparently it's a good 'un.

All you have to do is place conkers under your furniture or in corners which are out of sight. Apparently spiders absolutely hate them - must be the smell or something. You don't need to do any preparation or anything, just bog standard conkers which you can pick up from under a tree.

Sadly it's bollocks. The good news is that a hoover is very effective.

[CheeseSlice]

Re your spider problem. I haven't tried this solution myself, but I did read it on the Internet a matter of weeks ago and apparently it's a good 'un.

All you have to do is place conkers under your furniture or in corners which are out of sight. Apparently spiders absolutely hate them - must be the smell or something. You don't need to do any preparation or anything, just bog standard conkers which you can pick up from under a tree.

Sounds interesting, might be worth a go

With regard to cats there is a similar solution, though you probably wouldn't try this indoors. You can buy dry pellets of big cat dung (Lions, Tigers etc) from garden centres or similar. Just scatter some of those pellets around the areas where cats are a problem and apparently little Pussy gets the message that big Pussy might be around, and little Pussy doesn't want to tangle with big Pussy so goes and does its business in someone else's garden.

Apparently big Pussy pellets don't smell or anythng, so they won't be a problem which could impact your use of the garden.

The cats are actually our own and the best bit is that they always do it in someone elses garden rather than their own territory Its only when you 'don't' have cats you get that problem.

One last thing - how to deal with the fox. Slightly more difficult this one but you can get pellets for that problem too. They are made of lead, and you need a rifle to dispense them.

I was actually considering chasing it with a broom, but your idea sounds better.
I know that fox hunting was banned, but anyone know where we legally stand with killing foxes? All the scary stuff in the news about babies and adults being bitten whilst sleeping does make me wonder.

[Wodewick]

One last thing - how to deal with the fox. Slightly more difficult this one but you can get pellets for that problem too. They are made of lead, and you need a rifle to dispense them.

One old wives tale is to piss round the borders of your garden fairly regularly. Apparently this is similar to the Lion Tulip as the fox thinks something bigger and badder lives here!

It might be an old husbands tale as its supposed to be mans piss but this might just be because its easier for a bloke to discretely distribute the piss as required.

[Saddo]

Re your spider problem. I haven't tried this solution myself, but I did read it on the Internet a matter of weeks ago and apparently it's a good 'un.

All you have to do is place conkers under your furniture or in corners which are out of sight. Apparently spiders absolutely hate them - must be the smell or something. You don't need to do any preparation or anything, just bog standard conkers which you can pick up from under a tree.

With regard to cats there is a similar solution, though you probably wouldn't try this indoors. You can buy dry pellets of big cat dung (Lions, Tigers etc) from garden centres or similar. Just scatter some of those pellets around the areas where cats are a problem and apparently little Pussy gets the message that big Pussy might be around, and little Pussy doesn't want to tangle with big Pussy so goes and does its business in someone else's garden.

Apparently big Pussy pellets don't smell or anythng, so they won't be a problem which could impact your use of the garden.

One last thing - how to deal with the fox. Slightly more difficult this one but you can get pellets for that problem too. They are made of lead, and you need a rifle to dispense them.

[NickFitz]

no such thing as red squirrels in this country any more.

Exceptionally wrong even by your abysmally low standards

[Wodewick]

no such thing as red squirrels in this country any more.

Various isolated woodlands still support red squirrels, plus the Isle of Wight.

Nutkins in UK

[ItsQuickerAntiClockwise]

I've got a giant owl that sits in the tree outside my bedroom window and hoots very loudly.

Then there's the red squirrels constantly scuttling around on the decking.

no such thing as red squirrels in this country any more.

[CheeseSlice]

I've got a giant owl that sits in the tree outside my bedroom window and hoots very loudly.

Two years ago I noticed a ghostly image or smudge in the glass of our patio doors.
It looked exactly like an owls face with the big eye circles, and long wings either side of the face.
I think an owl had its first experience of glass.