Engineering Pest Dispatch (was:Re: [BC] Engineering feats of note)

[Larry Albert]

At 11:47 AM 5/21/05 -0400, you wrote:

><SNIP>
>
>I have seen many bumblebees and wood borers (looks like a larger bumblebee,
>but eats wood like a carpenter ant) shrug off all manners of wasp and hornet
>spray.  Wood borers are best killed with a BB gun (catch them while they're
>tunnelling, and drive a BB through them in the tunnel).  The cheap Red Ryder
>type of spring-piston is the safest for this activity, but still wear
>ANSI-rated safety glasses when doing this; I do.  Get the end of the barrel
>as close as possible, and watch for ricochet.
>
>To knock down a wasp or bee that is, say, in your office at work (I have
>killed three queen yellow jackets this week here, one of which flew out of
>the A/C vent into my office, and the other two were in the library inside the
>building!) some stiff hairspray or similar can knock them down long enough
>for you to step on them.  I have killed a yellowjacket with hairspray, but
>the amount needed is quite large.  Ammonia-base glass cleaner also works as
>an effective knockdown, particularly with bumblebees.

<SNIP>

   At one job we had a major problem with wasps in our entire 
building.  (Don't know if they still do; I left.)

   I have knocked many a wasp out of the air in the shop using a badminton 
racket.

   A spray bottle filled with alcohol also knocks wasps out of the air.

   Both methods WORK and leave no residue.

   Hairspray can leave residue where it dribbles down.

   I used the cheap alcohol from the paint department of a hardware store
for audio/video heads, general cleaning and spraying wasps; without any 
equipment problems.

YMMV

Albert