Wednesday, May 23, 2007

And it's a dessert topping!

The lakeside cottage I live in, while not technically drafty, is far from bug-tight. This means that once in a great while I will be sitting here at the keyboard of VFTP Command Central, only to have a droning buzz announce that a wasp is circling under the light fixture in the middle of the room. I'll grab the can I keep close to hand and wait for him to light on the dangling pull cord under the fixture. They always do. Then I give them just a little squirt. Just a dribble, really.

Of Gun Scrubber.

Unlike Wasp & Hornet sprays, which are pressurized to a brazillion PSI to spray nests under a house's eaves, you can make just a trickle come out the straw nozzle of a Gun Scrubber can, to drip down on the carefully-placed newspaper below. Along with the dead wasp. Because believe you me, it kills them Dead Right There. No flying around in their death throes, the way they do when nerve-gassed by more conventional anti-wasp ordnance.

Ah, Gun Scrubber. Cleans guns, kills wasps... is there nothing it can't do?

17 comments:

Abby said...

I'm guessing it would also work as nail polish remover, in a pinch.

Anonymous said...

aerosol brake cleaner works too-- pretty spiffy for wackin' a wasp.

SayUncle said...

Hairspray works, if you want to take them alive. It freezes their wings.


-SayUncle

Kevin said...

Hairspray and a Bic lighter.

Kill 'em with fire!

Ambulance Driver said...

LOL...

There used to be a couple of medics who did a popular series of comedy hunting videos - TK and Mike.

One of their bits was advertising their own "TK and Mike Brand" products.

One was a cold remedy. The slogan was :

"It's the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, waking up nekkid in the front yard and don't give a damn so you can rest medicine! And it makes a dandy outboard motor fuel, too!"

Matt G said...

I love Gun Scrubber, but I find I get more bang for my buck with the store brand of brake cleaner from my local auto parts store, so that's what I use for my firearms. I keep a can in my kit at work, too. Have to mess around with an engine? Spray it with some brake cleaner to degrease. Have to make some pavement paint stick on some greasy pavement? Spray the area with brake cleaner and wipe it with a shop rag before spraying. Time to take some of the built-up shoe-polish off my boots? Brake cleaner and a throw-away rag. Shotguns, rifles, pistols all obviously get the full treatment outside. (Don't cut loose inside-- it'll make you higher'n a kite in short order.)

Bugs do, in fact, die quickly.

A spray in the trash keeps the dogs out of it, too.

$1.99 for a BIG aerosol can. Find 'em on sale, and buy a case. I stay away from the carbeurator cleaner, though-- they use several different formulas, some of which either leave a residue or attack synthetic stocks.

Anonymous said...

My grandfather had a recipie for a concoction of odd and unusual aromatic hydrocarbons that was absolutely the cat's nuts on flying stinging thingies. Worked pretty good on fire ants, too. Of course, he was also a huge proponent of a topical poultice of a nice-sized cud of Mail Pouch chewing tobacco for wasp stings, too. He was always battling yellowjackets and red wasps in his toolshed every summer. At least the building was made of steel framing and corrugated tin so when the Wasp Death Mix sparked off 'accidentally' there was no damage to property, save and except an occasional nest.

Regards,
Rabbit.

Anonymous said...

is there nothing it can't do?

It can't be used as a sexual lubricant. At least, I don't think it can, and I'm not willing to test that theory. I've had enough of painful, burning sensations.

Anonymous said...

It's not as good as Hoppes #9 as a cologne.

Sigivald said...

I sometimes get giant carpenter bees in my basement.

Since it's a basement and I don't want to fume myself out, I just use a wimpy spring-fired BB pistol at very short range.

Kills the bee-jesus out of 'em.

(Fortunately the basement is barely-finished and the sheetrock is halfass, or I'd worry about the dents of the occasional miss.)

Anonymous said...

Good one, Kristopher. There is no reason for any woman in this country to be lonely. A drop of Hoppe's behind one ear, and WD40 behind the other, and real men won't be able to resist. 'Course you might meet some girls too, but those would be women of quality.

jon spencer said...

Food grade silicone spray seems to kill them on contact and it is a dam good lubricant.

Anonymous said...

These work pretty good too:

http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/bug_zapper.html

Anonymous said...

And leaves a nice minty scent, too!

Ambulance Driver said...

Tam, THIS is what you need:

http://tinyurl.com/26m8tv

Anonymous said...

A brazilian...

As in "how many is a brazilian".

That's Bush humor. I recognize that. Heh.

Badminton rackets work pretty good, too, except usually you have to go find 'em after you swat 'em.

Anonymous said...

Many of these petrol based products are also good for removing adhesive residue from glass, metal and the like. Be careful with plastics tho, might remove the plastic along with the adhesive.

When I was a youngun, my uncle drove a propane truck. During summers I'd sometimes ride along with him on his route. When he would find a wasp nest under the lid to the propane tank, he would stick the propane hose just under the lid and open the valve for a couple seconds. Freeze dried wasps! And the dense propane cloud was a show of it's own!

And yep, it stunk to high heavens.

-Šhard