Country File

[toxicpixie]

Now meteorological Autumn has arrived, we have had an explosion of spiders and their webs in the garden. Beautiful to look at but a nightmare in the morning making sure you don't get cobwebs on your face!

We've had an explosion of them in the bloody house! I'm not fussed, but some of them are *big* and made even me pause...

[Leon]

We seem to have been infested with midges recently.  I've been doing a bit of work in the garden over the past couple of weeks and I've been bitten to pieces.

[toxicpixie]

We seem to have been infested with midges recently.  I've been doing a bit of work in the garden over the past couple of weeks and I've been bitten to pieces.

Oo lovely :/ My other half is a midge attractor and also has a big reaction to them. It's a great combo!

[Elliesdad]

Oo lovely :/ My other half is a midge attractor and also has a big reaction to them. It's a great combo!

For many years midges never seemed to be interested in me... thank goodness.
Then, a couple of years ago, we went to help set up the tents etc for my daughter's Y6 class camping trip in Derbyshire. And then the little beggars seemed to bite me with a vengeance.
Strangely enough, the following year I was unavailable to help out 😉
Cheers,
Geoff

[toxicpixie]

Ooof, ouch! Yeah I can see how availability would rapidly decrease!

[Leon]

They're a nuisance.  I've always expected them in certain places, when we had a short camping break at Kielder a few years ago you had to fight your way through a physical cloud of them at dusk.  They've never been this bad in the garden though.

So I'm now researching how to encourage swallows, swifts, housemartins and bats into the garden to eat them.  Apparently a few birds can take out 1000+ midges in a single evening!

[Elliesdad]

So I'm now researching how to encourage swallows, swifts, housemartins and bats into the garden to eat them.  Apparently a few birds can take out 1000+ midges in a single evening!

We have a number of bats come into our garden at evening. They swoop in, snatch (whatever) insects they're after and they're gone almost before you realise it. I've not actually seen one "still" - just flying away at speed. 🦇🦇🏏

[Leon]

We have a number of bats come into our garden at evening. They swoop in, snatch (whatever) insects they're after and they're gone almost before you realise it. I've not actually seen one "still" - just flying away at speed. 🦇🦇🏏

We've got a couple that live in the eaves of the next-door-but-one house I think.  I'm hoping we can put some boxes up and encourage a few more into our garden as we've certainly got enough food for them!

[Steve J]

We have bats every night flying along up and down our street. The local woods have bat boxes in them which helps keep the number up. There is also a bat cave in an old ice cellar, which was part of a now long gone farm. You can hire listening devices to hear them as you walk in the woods at dusk.

[toxicpixie]

I've been divebombed by them before as well, just like a flitting visual glitch that you're not quite sure was there until it's away!

We went on a couple bat walks a few years ago with audio receiver's tuned to their pitch which then replay it at human audible levels, very cool, very weierd!

[steve_holmes_11]

They're a nuisance.  I've always expected them in certain places, when we had a short camping break at Kielder a few years ago you had to fight your way through a physical cloud of them at dusk.  They've never been this bad in the garden though.

So I'm now researching how to encourage swallows, swifts, housemartins and bats into the garden to eat them.  Apparently a few birds can take out 1000+ midges in a single evening!

Have you seen the RSPB advice on encouraging housemartin nesting

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/

There's probably something similar for swifts and swallows.

Painting the top of the house white seems like overkill, but constructing artificial nests as described could be the next Pendraken non-mini project.
(A long honourable tradition following the covid masks).


Bat boxes are also good, and probably easier to construct.
From memory they're beter installed in trees than on buildings.

[steve_holmes_11]

And an obligatory wargame angle: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ababil_(religious)#:~:text=It%20refers%20to%20the%20miraculous,on%20them%20as%20they%20approached.

Ababil (Arabic: أبابيل, romanized: abābīl) means a "Flock of Birds". It refers to the miraculous birds in Islamic belief mentioned in Surah Al-Fil of the Quran that protected the Kaaba in Mecca from the Aksumite elephant army of Abraha, then self-styled governor of Himyar, by dropping small clay stones on them as they approached.

The event is said to have occurred in 570, the year that the Islamic prophet Muhammad was born.


To bring the event to your tabletop, deploy Pre Islamic Arabs defending against an Abyssinian led Yemeni force.

[Elliesdad]

Have you seen the RSPB advice on encouraging housemartin nesting

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/

There's probably something similar for swifts and swallows.

Painting the top of the house white seems like overkill, but constructing artificial nests as described could be the next Pendraken non-mini project.

My daughters house had/has a wasps nest in the attic - fortunately the little bu99ers couldn't get into the house living space 🐝🐝.
She bought a couple of fake "wasps nests" and fixed them to the outside of the house. Now no more wasps - seemingly the logic being that the wasps are "keeping away" from those new nests and whatever lives in them (errr... nothing 'cause they are fakes). Anyhow, she's happy and the wasps seem to have moved on/disappeared. 😎
Cheers,
Geoff

[Leon]

Have you seen the RSPB advice on encouraging housemartin nesting

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/house-martin/encouraging-them-to-nest/

That's interesting, I'd seen the artificial nests and wondered if we could get some of those.  The bit I'm not sure about is that they recommend a 5m drop below the nest entrance but not to put them above a door/human area as the birds need to swoop up into the nest.  The back of the house is above 5m (and north facing) but half of it is conservatory (so not 5m) and the other half has the kitchen door so might be in the 'droppings zone'!  I've got a friend in the RSPB so I'll give him a nudge and see what the best option would be.

Bat boxes are also good, and probably easier to construct.
From memory they're beter installed in trees than on buildings.

Trees are an easier option for us, there's a couple at the back of the garden of a reasonable height so we can put something on those.

[Raider4]

Taken advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to mow the lawn for probably the final time this year. Not sure I've ever done it in October before? 

[toxicpixie]

Taken advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to mow the lawn for probably the final time this year. Not sure I've ever done it in October before?

Great minds think alike... I'm on my way to the shed for the lawnmower as I type

[toxicpixie]

Update! Lawn too long and wet to mow but too long to leave over winter. It now looks like some psychopathic and over enthusiastic barber has had the clippers out...

[Steve J]

First proper day out on the garden for many months and it felt good! Spring like at times the past few days here. My body aches but in a nice way . I'll probably cut the grass tomorrow, after doing the RSPB Big Bird Watch first thing.

[Leon]

We've not had chance up here yet, it's been wet and windy for about 4 months now.  I built a pond in September that has subsequently been filled with dead leaves, so I really need to get them out of there before it ruins the water.

[Steve J]

We've had wind and rain for ages, with frequent gales too of late. Nice to actually have some settled weather for once.