[Cob] fleas/ticks in sand (Udit)

[Bryan]

clear plastic is better than black as it lets the rays in more to kill more
deeper.
Check out my site-> www.BryanTree.com
Bryan Hilbert
2526 54th St S
Gulfport, FL  33707
727-323-7268 office
727-804-7268 cell - Please Only use Cell 10-5 Mon-Fri. Never on weekends or
after hours unless its a real emergency.
727-489-1009 fax

Buddha: Consider others as yourself. ...


On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 3:38 PM, Don Jackson <homesteadpower at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
> Re: "The real reason I'm writing is because the local sand which is readily
> available has a lot of sand ticks/fleas"
>
> An internet search turns up no relevant results for "sand ticks".  Looking
> up "sand fleas" shows these are distantly related to fleas, and live at the
> beach, but also that some people call every creature that lives in sand a
> "sand flea".
> http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IG132
>
> So first I wonder, is this a real concern, or do you have a general fear of
> insects?
>
> Second, if this is a real concern, heat kills all insects.  If you could
> mound this sand in a pile and cover it with black plastic in the summertime,
> temperatures above 140 degrees kill all insects within a couple of hours,
> and temperatures of 120 kill most insects similarly (probably the extended
> period it would be in the sun), so the temperatures required aren't really
> all that great.  I've seen steam sterilizer units that fit in the back of
> dumptrucks that nurseries used for sterilizing 10 yards worth at a time, so
> this couldn't be too difficult.
>
> Once it's in the wall, the dryness of clay would suck the moisture out of
> insects.  Look how many insects infest clay dirt in the ground - I can't
> think of any.
>
> I don't see any one address this on the cob list (maybe it doesn't matter),
> but I would suspect the differences between washed river sand and sharp
> crushed sand might be more important, if you were really to examine the part
> that sand plays in cob house strength.
>
> Don Jackson
>
>
>
>
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