Quick and easy "bug fix"

[MEP001]

Cricket season is coming soon, and since I had to change some Hydrominder hoses anyway I came up with a very cheap way to keep the bugs out of the chemical buckets.

A 1/2" barb splice and a 1 1/2" PVC cap (About $3 at Home Depot):

Drilled a 5/8" hole in the cap:

Cut enough of the hose off above the foot valve to reach the bottom of the pail and attached barb (Not pushed quite all the way in):

Attached other end of hose and dropped in bucket:

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Apparently I don't have a cricket season where I live. That's funny.

 

[MEP001]

I've swept up a 5-gallon bucket full of dead crickets every day out of the equipment room during one of the worst ones.

 

[seattleguy]

where do you live with so many crickets?

 

[MEP001]

Central Texas.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I can't imagine this working. There is no use of relays, check valves, PLCs, thermostats, or any extra wires. This is simply not complicated or costly enough to work.

 

[Buzzie8]

No cricket problems here in PA just stink bugs!

 

[MEP001]

I can't imagine this working. There is no use of relays, check valves, PLCs, thermostats, or any extra wires. This is simply not complicated or costly enough to work.

I couldn't think of a place to put a PLC.

 

[cantbreak80]

I couldn't think of a place to put a PLC.

Silly you...zip-tie it to the Hydrominder suction hose!

 

[2Biz]

Silly you...zip-tie it to the Hydrominder suction hose!

Thats funny!

If I had that kind of insect problem, I'd be spraying my ER with this stuff:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Talstar-Pro...-4-Gallon-Bifenthrin-/360377686570#vi-content

This stuff took care of a bad spider problem I had in the bays. I was amazed at how well it worked.

 

[MEP001]

They don't seem to be reproducing in the equipment room, just coming in to die in the corners.

 

[Mr. Clean]

Are they at least bringing in more cars due to bug splatter?

 

[MEP001]

No, they don't really fly.

 

[Ghetto Wash]

Figure out a way to keep them out of the bay vaults and I'll be interested. My quarters are full of "cricket parts"

 

[cwguy.com]

I am guessing that would keep out birds also?

Dema actually sells a whole capping line of no spill stuff like what you made. It probably cost more then your version?

 

[MEP001]

Figure out a way to keep them out of the bay vaults and I'll be interested. My quarters are full of "cricket parts"

I find them in the quarters from the vacs.

They seem to be attracted to the lights, then they find the darkest point as close to the light as they can get to die.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Silly question.

Why not just make a hole in the screw on cap (Take it off to make the hole so small plastic pieces don't go in the solution) that comes with buckets just the right diameter so the hose goes thru it. Te ability to compress the hose slightly and the flexibility of the cap can make for a tight fit. If too tight you might need an 1/8th" hole in the cap for venting. You can re use the cap as many times as needed.

 

[2Biz]

My 5 gallon buckets are plastic and square shaped. The have 3" scrwew on lids with a 3/4" threaded hole in the center. I simply drill a hole throught the cap big enough for the hose to pass through. I also have a rubber gromet that fits the hose that i push down against the cap to form a better seal. I'll try to get a picture and post later...

You might be able to do the same with your PVC cap and get rid of the barb. Its just another place for air to get in.

 

[MEP001]

Silly question.

Why not just make a hole in the screw on cap (Take it off to make the hole so small plastic pieces don't go in the solution) that comes with buckets just the right diameter so the hose goes thru it. Te ability to compress the hose slightly and the flexibility of the cap can make for a tight fit. If too tight you might need an 1/8th" hole in the cap for venting. You can re use the cap as many times as needed.

I thought about that before I used the PVC cap, but 1) I wanted something that I could just drop in the bucket that would fit snug over the spout, and 2) they keep changing pail lids and the caps are different.

My 5 gallon buckets are plastic and square shaped. The have 3" screw on lids with a 3/4" threaded hole in the center. I simply drill a hole through the cap big enough for the hose to pass through. I also have a rubber grommet that fits the hose that i push down against the cap to form a better seal. I'll try to get a picture and post later...

You might be able to do the same with your PVC cap and get rid of the barb. Its just another place for air to get in.

I've been using those caps for years (I used to pour the chemical into the square containers because the pails were solid yellow) - it sits on the spout but doesn't cover it. To try and keep them in place on the hose, I slit some 3/4" hose and zip-tied it around the pick-up hose. The Hyrdominder hose eventually hardens and shrinks, at which point the 3/4" hose pieces slide around and the cap is no longer in the right place.

I wasn't going for a fully airtight seal, I just want to keep bugs and dust out.

 

[2Biz]

I wasn't talking about getting an air tight seal. I suggested drilling the hole through the PVC cap the same size as your hose and ditching the barb fitting to eliminate multiple hose connections.

When I drill the 3" plastic caps I have, the hole is big enough to pass the FV through. So I use a rubber grommet to somewhat seal the hose at the cap. My jugs have a little cap, about 1/2" on the other side I unscrew so the jug gets air. I started doing this on my winter methanol jugs to help eliminate evaporation and now do it on all of them to keep dust and bugs out.

You have a great idea for the type containers you have, just offering a little tweak!