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August 08, 2002 - Lawnmower or mouse house?The Suffolk Times • August 8, 2002 Lawnmower or mouse house? THE POET ROBERT BURNS was tilling soil in his native Scotland when he turned up a mouse's nest, the incident that later brought forth those famous lines, "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang Aft a- gley." So it was when I got FOCUS my lawnmower ON out of the tool shed the other NATURE day. It is one of by Paul those that you Stoutenburgh yank on four or five times and Times /Review photo by Barbara Stoutenburgn say a few choice words before it starts. But this time when I tried to start it, out popped a young mouse. I thought that was all there was but when I pulled it again, another young mouse came out, and then another. By that time the engine started and out came the mother! All four of them hopped away into the tall grass, and once again, the best laid plans of mice ... went astray. I can't believe these mice continual- ly use the cowling, or cover, of the lawnmower engine to build their nest in. Whv in the old tool shed, with all it flower pots and strawberry baskets and containers of all kinds, it has to choose the mower to, build its nest in, ] don't know. This has happened before. And so, I'm hoping to outsmart them. I took the cowling off the engine and there was the nest, all neatly tucked away. I blew it out with an air hose and in its place I put seven white mothballs in hopes that that will dis- courage them from building there again. We've been told that mice do not like the odor of mothballs. So we'll see. I wouldn't half mind it if their nest didn't plug up the cooling system of the mower. These little engines are air cooled and when you stuff up their cooling fins with grass and material of all sorts, you eliminate the cooling effect and therefore the engine over- heats and you have problems. So I'll see if it works the next time I take the mower out. They are welcome to use the tool shed, but I'd appreciate it if they'd stay out of my mower. It reminded me of the time when Barbara and I were camping in North Carolina. We pulled into this campsite at night, right on the ocean. We could- n't figure out why this empty spot was there as it was such an ideal spot. Wh} hadn't it been taken? . We proceeded to square ourselves away for the evening and climbed intc bed. Just about the time we got to sleep, like Robert Burns turning over the soil and,my start- ing the engine of my lawnmower, we heard a tremendous noise right under our window, complete with glaring lights and all. What we found out later was that the beach had been badly eroded and the only time they could work on replen- ishing it was at low tide. So here were these mon- strous bulldozers with their bright lights pushing the sand right up to our camper. We were holed up inside wondering what was going on, just like the mice in the mower as it started up. The earth actually shook as the huge bulldozers pushed the sand back up into a dune right outside our door.. We thought it might be just tempo- rary, but no, it kept up for a half hour or more. Sleep was impossible. So at about midnight we got up and moved to a spot far away from the rumble of the bulldozer, and so our plans, like those of the mice, went astray. How many of you have seen paper wasps that build their small hanging nest under the eaves of the garage, house, tool shed or any place that's protected? I know I have. The day I went out to get that mower, I noticed one of the little upside -down hanging nests attached by a stem to the ceiling of the tool shed. In it were two or three worker wasps busily enlarging the nest while others brought in food for the young. i nese wasps are not as neingerent the yellow jackets that we see ound, and will very seldom sting you iless you knock their tidy little nest )m its mooring. What they do is they ew up old wood and mix it with eir saliva to make a paste. The mix - re dries to a paper consistency, giv- g them the name paper wasps. They ;re making these paper nests even .fore man crawled about the earth. It's kind of interesting to under - tnd their life cycle, which is started a queen in the early spring when e comes out of hibernation. She is the only one that winters over. All the rest die from winter kill. Somehow the queen is able to find a place where the frost won't get to her and in the spring she comes out and starts anew her nest of gray paper. She has a unique way of making sure her young survive. She puts her egg in one of the six -sided tubes that make up the nest and then deposits a seals the chamber over. When the young wasp hatch- es, it has something to eat and immedi- ately becomes active and chews itself out of its cell. Pretty remarkable, this world we live in, if. we only take time to see it and understand it. And so, my two -, some- times three -inch wasp nest will stay hanging undis- turbed from the ceiling of the tool shed. We want to remember these wasps are benefi- cial, for much of their diet is made up of insects that plague man. One thought about wasps in genera. e ow jackets usually build in the ground, although they also some- times build in buildings. These are the ones you want to watch out for. They become very agitated and will sting at the slightest provocation when you get near their nest. When they light on your picnic table they are more inter- ested in collecting food than in sting- ing you. In other words, they usually don't sting unless you threaten their nest, then they call the troops out and you're in for real trouble. Remember, wasps can sting more than once. The honey bee can sting only once. The other wasp you might see is the bold face or white face hornet, which is a large wasp. It builds a basketball - size, gray paper nest. This fellow, like the yellow jacket, will be very aggres- sive if you come near its nest. But the little paper wasps that you see hang- ing in your garage or under the eaves is usually quite docile unless you dis- turb the nest. Remember, they, like all wasps, use their nest for only one sea- son. So just give wasps a wide berth and let the world take care of itself. Suffolk Times • August 8, 2002 awnmower or THE POET ROBERT BURNS was tilling soil in his native Scotland when he turned up a mouse's nest, the incident that later brought forth those famous lines, "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a -gley" So it was when I got FOCUS my lawnmower ON out of the tool shed the other NATURE day. It is one of by Paul those that you Stoutenburgh yank on four or five times and say a few choice words before it starts. But this time when I tried to start it, out popped a young mouse. I thought that was all there was but when I pulled it again, another young mouse came out, and then another. By that time the engine started and out came the mother! All four of them hopped away into the tall grass, and once again, the best laid plans of mice ... went astray. I can't believe these mice continual- ly use the cowling, or cover, of the lawnmower engine to build their nest in. Why in the old tool shed, with all its flower pots and strawberry baskets and containers'of all kinds, it has to choose the mower to build its nest in, I don't know. This has happened before. And so, I'm hoping to,outsmart them. I took the cowling off the engine and there was the nest, all neatly tucked away. I blew it out with an air hose and in its place I put seven white mothballs in hopes that that will dis- courage them from building there again. We've been told that mice do not like the odor of mothballs. So we'll see. I wouldn't half mind it if their nest didn't plug up the cooling system of the mower. These little engines are air cooled and when you stuff up their cooling fins with grass and material of all sorts, you eliminate the cooling effect and therefore the engine over- heats and you have problems. So I'll see if it works the next time I take the mower out. They are welcome to use mouse house.? Barbara ie tool shed, but I'd appreciate it if iey'd stay out of my mower. It reminded me of the time when ,arbara and I were camping in North .arolina. We pulled into this campsite t night, right on the ocean. We could - 't figure out why this empty spot was sere as it was such an ideal spot. Why adn't it been taken? We proceeded to square ourselves way for the evening and climbed into ed. Just about ie time we got sleep, like ;obert Burns zming over the A and my start- ig the engine of iy lawnmower, re heard a noise right under our window, Complete with glaring lights and all. What we found out later was that the beach had been badly eroded and the only time they could work on replen- ishing it was at . low tide. So here were these mon- strous bulldozers with their bright lights pushing the sand right up to our camper. a were holed up inside wondering what was going on, just like the mice in the mower as it started up. The earth actually shook as the huge bulldozers pushed the sand back up into a dune right outside our door. We thought it might be just tempo - ary, but no, it kept up for a half hour r more. Sleep was impossible. So at bout midnight we got up and moved o a spot far away from the rumble of he bulldozer, and so our plans, like hose of the mice, went astray. How many of you have seen paper nest under the eaves of the garage, house, tool shed or any place that's protected? I know I have. The day I went out to get that mower, I noticed one of the little upside -down hanging nests attached by a stem to the ceilin€ of the tool shed. In it were two or three worker wasps busily enlarging the nest while others brought in food for the voune. These wasps are not as belligerent as the yellow jackets that we see around, and will very seldom sting yoi unless you knock their tidy little nest from its mooring. What they do is the; chew up old wood and mix it with their saliva to make a paste. The mix- ture dries to a paper consistency, giv- ing them the name paper wasps. They were making these paper nests even before man crawled about the earth. It's kind of interesting to under- stand their life cycle, which is started by a queen in the early spring when she comes out of hibernation. She is the only one that winters over. All the rest die from winter kill. Somehow the queen is able to find a place where the frost won't get to her and in the spring she comes out and starts anew her nest of gray paper. She has a unique way of making sure her young survive. She puts her egg in one of the six -sided tubes that make up the nest and then deposits a dro of sweet nectar into it. Then she seals the chamber over. When the young wasp hatch- es, it has something to eat and immedi- ately becomes active and chews itself out of its cell. Pretty remarkable, this world we live in, if we only take time to see it and understand it. And so, my two -, some- times three -inch wasp nest will stay hanging undis- turbed from the ceiling of the tool shed. We want to remember these wasps are benefi- cial, for much of their diet is made up of insects that plague man. . One thought about wasps in general. Yellow jackets usually build in the ground, although they also some- times build in buildings. These are the ones you want to watch out for. They become very agitated and will sting at the slightest provocation when you ge near their nest. When they light on your picnic table they are more inter- ested in collecting food than in sting- ing you. In other words, they usually don't sting unless you threaten their nest, then they call tie troops out and you're in for real trouble. Remember, wasps can sting more than once. The honey bee can sting only once. The other wasp you might see is the bold face or white face hornet, which is a large wasp. It builds a basketball - size, gray paper nest. This fellow, like the yellow jacket, will be very aggres- sive if you come near its nest. But the little paper wasps that you see hang- ing in your garage or under the eaves is usually quite docile unless you dis- turb the nest. Remember, they, like all wasps, use their nest for only one sea- son. So just give wasps a wide berth and let the world take care of itself.