dt@yenta.alb.nm.us (David B. Thomas) (06/18/91)
Has anybody else noticed that CFC cleaners (such as Super Wash) are even more harmful to insects than they are to the ozone layer? I mention this because I just did battle with 2 nasty black widow spiders and it was the next best thing to squishing them! When I worked at an electronic repair shop, and a roach would crawl out of a unit, the cleaner was generally the only thing handy (besides freeze mist, which didn't work), and it was always amazingly effective. On previous attempts to kill black widows, I tried smacking with a newspaper, spraying raid in a continuous stream at four inches away, and nothing seemed to work. Finally, I managed to get in a good shot with my 8 1/2's and that was the end of her ... but it was very messy and a little scary. If I weren't a seasoned nethacker, I might have been too chicken to try that. The next one I was able to torch, and that worked *magnificently* (burn, baby...). But, these last couple were situated in such a way that I couldn't attack directly (in a corner, near good cover), and torching would pose a severe fire hazard. Remembering my repair shop days, I shook my trusty super wash can and fired away. Boy, talk about yer instant shrivel. And they retain their shape, for you entomologists out there. I guess I shouldn't be posting this, because now everybody is going to be trying it, and we'll all fry from the ozone loss ... so I'll admonish: use this trick only when the insect is dangerous, your first shot has to be good, torching is not practical or safe, you can't just stomp the dang thing, etc. But.... it does work, and I'm happy to be rid of some nasties, thanks to my career experience repairing tape decks :^) little david -- Early to rise and late to bed, Makes a man tired, wired, and dead.
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (06/18/91)
In article <1991Jun18.012200.22752@yenta.alb.nm.us> dt@yenta.alb.nm.us (David B. Thomas) writes: >Has anybody else noticed that CFC cleaners (such as Super Wash) are even >more harmful to insects than they are to the ozone layer? ... Being soaked in a strong solvent probably wouldn't do you much good either...! -- "We're thinking about upgrading from | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology SunOS 4.1.1 to SunOS 3.5." | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry