 Stories About: advice AND Ask Umbra AND green living AND wildlife
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Author |
Published |
Section |
Super Pupa
On tent caterpillars |
Umbra Fisk |
19 May 2008 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, In beautiful Virginia, this is the time of year that the caterpillars start making their "tents" in branches of shrubbery and trees in our yards. Conventional wisdom has been to destroy them, as they will surely eat the leaves inside the tent, causing some damage to the infected tree/shrub. So I have two questions: First, are these "tent worms" (which are really caterpillars) a stage of a butterfly or a mot ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, gardening, green living, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Kitty Twister
On cats and birds |
Umbra Fisk |
07 Nov 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I have three cats, and live in a close-in suburb of Boston. I love the cats dearly, and let them outside during the day to wander about, and generally not have to live an indoor, sedentary, boring life. My question concerns their hunting instincts: I haven't had any luck with any particular way of preventing them from killing birds, mice, etc. I worry most about the birds, having read repeatedly that the millions of pet cats w ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, wildlife (all these topics) |
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A Better Mousetrap
On live trapping |
Umbra Fisk |
03 Oct 2007 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, My wife and I live in a small town in Massachusetts, where I recently volunteered to head up an effort to certify our Unitarian Universalist congregation as a Green Sanctuary, an official recognition of our environmental stewardship. In discussing potential remedies for a mouse problem with a fellow congregation member, I recounted how I recently trapped four mice in our home and transported them gingerly to fields and par ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, wildlife (all these topics) |
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The Roach Approach
On battling cockroaches |
Umbra Fisk |
23 Oct 2006 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, Help! I'm having a mysterious cockroach problem. I found four in my apartment in two weeks, and not in the expected places: one in a stack of papers (I know, I should pay my bills faster), one near my vitamin bottles, one nowhere near water in my bathroom, and, the worst one, crawling along the arm of my couch (while I was sitting on the couch). I don't like to spray them with chemicals, but these things freak me ou ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Rat Combat
On keeping compost rat-free |
Umbra Fisk |
30 Apr 2003 |
Ask Umbra |
| Hi Umbra, I live in Providence, R.I., and I have a basic composting bin; it's about three feet tall, made of black plastic with ventilation shafts on all four sides and on top, but it has no bottom. I want to set this up in my tiny side yard for my neighbors and me to use. However, we have a big rat problem here and I am afraid all this delicious, rotting food will attract them. Is there any way to keep a rat-free compost bin in a ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, gardening, green living, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Mosquito Veto
On mosquitoes |
Umbra Fisk |
12 Feb 2003 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, Our 50-gallon hot water tank has been converted to a rainwater catchment. Due to the open space around the gutter that feeds rainwater into the tank, it is difficult to seal off the catchment to prevent entry and exit of mosquitoes, and they just love to use the catchment to breed. Can I use something natural to discourage them? Rebecca Dearest Rebecca, The eager Culicidae family, like their fellow insects and some of the rest of ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, wildlife (all these topics) |
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