
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 8, 1995                   TAG: 9501200031
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOHN K ARBOGAST
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

VACUUM CLEANER HELPS RID HOUSE OF CRICKETS

Q: I have an infestation of crickets in my basement. Can you recommend a safe, nontoxic way to get rid of them? I prefer not to spray, because the area is poorly ventilated. The basement has a cement floor and walls and high, ground-level small windows. There is no outside door. L.W., Lexington

A: Sounds like you may have camel or cave crickets, well-known for their preference for damp, dark locations. Run a dehumidifier, since solving the moisture problem is usually the first step in controlling cave crickets. You may have to use a small amount of any of the common aerosol insecticides to eliminate the current crickets. The vacuum cleaner can eliminate them, but be sure to dispose of the cleaner bag.

Q: I noticed on a recent Saturday evening in downtown Roanoke that flare rockets were being shot off to scare away birds. Where do these birds go? To your house and mine, and we all know from past history that they'll end up downtown. Comments? S.O., Roanoke

A: My comments: I'm not aware of recent bird battles. However, an effort by the Virginia Department of Agriculture back in the '80s to disturb birds in downtown Roanoke before they established roosts included screech-like noises and rockets fired from tall buildings; I recall that this work was ineffective. It appears that the best legal bird elimination method involves eliminating any place that the birds can land on or roost - such as old-fashioned flat windowsills and thick tree branches - through tree thinning, use of bird netting over building facades, specifying sloped windowsills in remodeling, etc.

Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column cannot reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given. Please do not send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.

by CNB