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ems wrote:My goodness... from possibly going blind to armadillos. This is quite the thread.

yeah, we beat the going blind thing to death so now we got side tracked good and proper with critter care and pest removal stuff.

The armadillo returned last night. Decimated one of the flower beds but left the other one alone. Totally destroyed a 20 ft X 2 ft strip of flower beds I have next to my hours. All but one of the plants totally uprooted.
The gun is looking more attractive now.
I am going to move all those plants to a safer (elevated bed) location till I can get the little SOB to stay away. It will be easier than trying to replant them each morning. I went through this last year. Until rain comes and softens the ground he will want to hunt in soft ground.

Also I had a new 30 pound sack of bird feed about 3 feet high on a cabinet on the front porch (wouldn't fit inside where I have to put any food and block with concrete block to keep coons out) and the 30 pound sack was down off the cabinet and pulled 6 feet out away. Sure is one strong coon. They love cat food and bird seed.

That's bad news

I know me too would be thinking at a gun, but I say to myself I can't kill all what bothers me; if I do I will end in prison

I read ground pepper is good, I don't know if that is true. Have you try to find a way to catch him? It seems to be maybe the only solution at least you try the dreaded recipe (ammonia + human you know what) . I think if I was you I would try it, 20 feet X2 is a bit area it should be hard to see .

Rosie

"A single-strand electric fence set 3 to 4 inches off the ground might also be effective."-- http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Documents/16308.pdf

You may want to turn that off before having hubby attempt BlackSpinner's suggested method, though.

jnk wrote: You may want to turn that off before having hubby attempt BlackSpinner's suggested method, though.

I can just see it now.

We didn't get any rain yesterday and won't today and next maybe chance is mid week. Doesn't look good.

I am just going to replant the flowers into another flower bed and let the little SOB root around to his heart's content for the time being. This particular flower bed has been trouble for me from the start anyway. Nothing has done well there and I only have to move maybe 12 plants and they haven't grown like they should. Some are still very tiny. Same plants in other beds are doing much better and are huge. I think too much sun and heat which I can't do anything about. 2 summers ago every thing thrived there but last summer and this summer things just have died there even before the armadillo remembered where it was. I might just put some fake flowers in there and be done with it.

I joke about the gun but I know I am all talk and no action when it comes to killing things. Having husband wet down 40 square feet of ground would be a chore since he is usually only home for 1 or 2 days at the most. Plus we don't know for sure that it would work anyway. Husband would and could do the dirty deed with the gun if I asked but I just can't. What if it is a she and she has babies? This drought is hard on all of us. I just can't kill something for trying to feed itself and doing what mother nature has ingrained in it to do.

Looks like the armadillo has won this battle. In the meantime I will continue to research effective methods to make the ground less attractive. It is obvious that the granules didn't work well.

rosacer wrote: I know me too would be thinking at a gun, but I say to myself I can't kill all what bothers me; if I do I will end in prison

Rosie

LOL! So true for most of us.

Looks like all it took was a bottle of beer to bag this one:

Vader, you're so bad. But I do hear they're good eatin'. Especially 'road aged' to perfection.

After reading this article, I'd get out the shotgun, and I wouldn't handle the potting soil: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/27/ar ... index.html

brucifer wrote:After reading this article, I'd get out the shotgun, and I wouldn't handle the potting soil

Yeah, I knew about the leprosy thing last year. That is the main reason I didn't touch the little guy when he was taking a drink.
I wanted to because I wanted to know what his armor felt like. I sat right down next to that water dish. Probably a foot away fro him.

I always wash my hands really, really well after I have been messing in the ground and immediately when I come inside.
Always done this after I read a while back about some parasite that raccoons carry that can travel to the human eye. Transmitted via their excrement to dirt to fingers to mouth to digestive tract to the eye.
And yes, that did cross my mind when I first saw the floater.

I set out a bowl of dogfood with warm water last night to feed some stray kitten i spotted yesterday under my deck and this morning the whole bowl was gone. Not just the food, i mean the entire dish itself disappeared. I'm guessing some racoon or something stole it

While I don't recommend starting an armadillo petting zoo, it's pretty hard to catch leprosy, even if you are exposed. It's also treatable if detected.

A havahart trap is often effective. Although a Colt Alaskan is the preferred treatment.

Pugsy wrote: Just wondering if anyone else has had this sort of thing happen. If no retina damage...is it possible that the floater and flashes of light will dissipate with time? What I found pretty much said once you have it...you got it but I didn't do any real extensive reading on it just yet.
I can still see the bits and pieces of seaweed and this morning still experienced the flashes of light. I don't see it being bad enough to have the floaters removed though. Just a minor annoyance at this point.

From my sister:
(76 years old)

Halo family,

Last Thursday I had a sudden tear- קרע - in the retina - רישתית - in my left eye. This is not separation - היפרדות - of the retina. Yesterday, this was repaired in Rambam Hospital by laser beams. (Separation requires a full surgery). The doctor advised not to fly/go away for two weeks. This morning I cancelled my flight for tonight. I have an appointment next Monday for a check-up. If all is well, I will try to make reservations for Thursday night.

The symptoms which indicated the tear where sudden 'cob-webs', followed by dark spots and flashes of light in my eye. The laser did not take the symptoms away. I am advised that in time most of it will disappear to the point that it will not bother me.

Thanks Avi,

I was lucky. I had zero issues with the retina. Not even a minor tear. No need for any treatment at this time.

I really like my eye doctor; and my vision isn't all I am grateful to him for:
His raving about his knee replacement prompted me to ask for a referral to HIS surgeon;
which made my PCP take another look at my knee, concluding I would need no knee replacement;
-as I have patellofemoral syndrome--which responds to exercise and therapy.
My would-be surgeon had been eager as heck to chop me up--"Curses--foiled again!"

I've had floaters for at least 30 years. Mine are tiny black specks. I guess over the years I forget they are still there. In the beginning they bothered me a lot (just seeing them) but no more. Flashes of light. Sometimes. I just ignore all of that. Compared to my apnea problems, this isn't anything. (I still haven't found a mask that works for me).