FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF MARCH 15, 1999:
We had boxelder bugs in our house last fall and now they’re back again. Can we rid ourselves of them for good?
Sure, if you’re willing to cut down your boxelder trees, but most people don’t want to go that far, says Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho extension entomologist. The red-and-black, half-inch long bugs feed harmlessly on the leaves and seeds of female boxelder trees–and sometimes on maples or fruit trees. In the fall, they find ways to sneak into homes, often spending the winter unnoticed inside the walls. As the spring sun warms those walls, the boxelder bugs activate and start scouting for escape routes. Once outside, they’ll mass on exterior walls, waiting for the boxelders or alternative host trees to leaf out.
"Mostly, they’re just a household nuisance," Stoltz says. He recommends tossing them outside or vacuuming them up. "If you mash them, they could stain the wall or carpet red."
If you really have no tolerance for boxelder bugs, you could try spraying their host trees when you find small, reddish-gray, wingless boxelder nymphs on the leaves. Diazinon, malathion or insecticidal soaps should do the trick.
Can you sanitize your kitchen sink sponge in the microwave? I like to use a sponge and have been rinsing one each morning and placing it in the microwave on high for 60 seconds. Marsha Blackman, Idaho Falls.
It’s important to sanitize kitchen sponges every day or two, says Sandy McCurdy, University of Idaho extension food safety coordinator, and heating a damp sponge in your microwave oven can be a very good way to do it. In fact, a 1997 scientific study demonstrated that microwave heating greatly reduces the number of bacteria present in kitchen sponges and dishcloths.
A few precautions, however: 1) because natural sponges can be damaged by microwaving, sanitize only cellulose sponges this way; 2) dry sponges can catch fire in the microwave, so wet-and-wring them first before zapping them, and 3) handle the heated sponge carefully to avoid burns.
Precisely how long to microwave your sponges depends on their size and dampness and on your appliance’s power, McCurdy says. They’ll need to reach the boiling temperature of water, and you’ll probably need to experiment to find out when that is.
When is the best time to control dandelions, quackgrass, Canada thistle and field bindweed?
While most homeowners treat these perennial lawn weeds in the spring, the most effective applications are actually those made in the fall, says Don Morishita, University of Idaho extension weed specialist.
Systemic herbicides move into the weeds’ roots with the weeds’ carbohydrate building blocks. During the spring and summer, these carbohydrates are largely in the weeds’ leaves, flowers and seed. Fall is when perennial weeds transfer carbohydrates into their roots and rhizomes, making it the best time to apply herbicides. So, if you’d like to keep your herbicide use to a minimum–either for economic or environmental reasons–hoe and mow until then, Morishita says.
We recently moved to a flood-prone area. Is it true that we shouldn’t place sandbags against the outside wall of the house?
Sandbags should be stacked away from the house, not against it, says Tom Karsky, University of Idaho extension safety specialist. What you’re trying to do is prevent flood waters from reaching your home.
If they reach it anyway, it’s better to let the flood waters flow freely into the basement–or flood the basement yourself with clean water, if you are sure it will be flooded anyway. This will avoid structural damage to the foundation and the house by equalizing the water pressure on the outside of the basement walls and floors.