Mostly hot and muggy with widely scattered yellow flies.
 

Yeah, it is yellow fly season around here again. I have to say that we really hate those SOBs. Probably more than any other pest I can think of that we have to deal with. Makes doing anything outside not only NOT fun, but often rather painful. Connie really welts up badly from their bites. I don't welt up, but the bite is still rather sharp and painful.

Connie and I had planned on a trip out west the middle of this month, but with my car in the shop and other compounding sound reasons, we decided to cancel out. Had hoped to be away from here when the yellow flies were at their peak, but that isn't going to happen.

I've got four Mosquito Magnets set up with flashing lights and wind motion devices to try to take care of the bulk of them. Hopefully that will work. Has worked pretty well in the past, anyway, but there are always going to be some that get in a bite or three, no matter what.

They seem to bother me in the eve before dark once in a while. I live near the saw grass on the gulf.

Well, who would ever have thought such a cheap device would provide so much fun, entertainment, and satisfaction?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/BLACK-FLAG-...per/1000687658

Just bought one today on a whim while Connie and I were in Lowe's, so later this evening when we were going to take a walk around, and feeling pretty apprehensive about the yellow flies, I put the two AA batteries in it figuring maybe it would kill one or two yellow flies. Well, let me tell you, it killed a LOT of them as they were flying around us. I was just swinging it randomly over our heads while holding down the button, and frequently heard the satisfying ZZZAPP! as a yellow fly contacted the electrified grid. Connie wanted to try her hand at it, and she was zapping them right and left as they came in trying to sink their teeth into us. Honestly, never seen that kind of "killer" look on her face before, as she was thoroughly enjoying the carnage.

I think I'm going to have to buy a few more of these bad boys. They proved to be quite a bit more effective than I had expected them to be. Especially for only $9.00.

Now if I can just figure out how to make one in the shape of full body armor..... :pokeowned:

You may see temps over a 100 next week.

We got two of these from Harbor Freight a few years ago. They were too cheap not to buy! My two boys were teenagers then and they had a blast with them. One Thanksgiving we had a crowd at the house for dinner and one of there friends (another teenage boy) was slaying flies and whatever other insects he could find, when we heard him yell from the carport! He had jumped up to swat a bug with it and accidently hit the ceiling of the carport, breaking off the paddle part with the grid that electrocutes the bugs! The grid, held on only by the electric wires, fell down contacting the back of his hand. He still had his thumb on the button so it was frying the back of his hand!

Looks like the forecast is for low to mid 90s here, with practically no chance of rain. Subject to change without notice, of course.

Yeah, we are going to run out to Lowe's and buy a few more of these things. At least one for each hand. Connie said she zapped 9 of them this morning, and I got 5 of them when I went over to the garage to turn on the AC. Between the mosquito magnets and these things, we might actually make a dent in the population of these monsters. Of course, I'm sure it doesn't help that we have cattle, horses, and dog breeders all around us.

Well, actually these bug zappers work quite well on the yellow flies. I don't know how many of them we have killed, but it is a BUNCH of them. I'm actually getting used to the smell of cooked flies finally. I had to change the batteries today because I walked down to one of the bamboo groves, and the zapper was going off constantly, sometimes 3 and 4 flies at a time getting smacked down. I was thinking the zzzap was not as loud as usual afterwards, so I figured it was about time for new batteries. Yep, next flies that got zapped it was MUCH louder and the spark really darn bright.

We are going to buy some more of them tomorrow. We feel naked walking out of the house without one in hand now. Truth be known, it is actually fun zapping these little vampires. Yeah, we still get bit now and again as some will come in low and get our legs. But we are definitely putting a crimp in the next generation due next year.

I should take up tennis. My backhand from all this practice I am getting would be impressive. :hehehe: I'm guessing anyone seeing us walking around the property from the road probably thinks we are some sort of tennis nuts anyway.

Another fun insect torture device! My wife has had this for five or six years now. https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/bug...60&Channel=pla

Yeah, I never did get around to buying one of those things. The guys at one of the seafood markets I stop in at have one of them and they loved it.

Thermometer outside in front of the garage showing 102 degrees right now. :ack2:

91f here.

It wouldn't be a good time of year to be doing work up in our attic area during the hot part of the day. I put a remote sensor up there and it registered 133.7 degrees at the high point. I don't know why the builders chose to put the air handler for our heat pump system up there. That sort of heat can't be good for those components.

Well, I'm not planning on doing much work in the garage any time real soon. Was 105 degrees in there today. And that is with the vents open up near the roof, fan running to circulate the air, and the small AC running. :ack2:

Actually didn't feel much cooler when I walked outside.... Got up to 102.6 degrees, but with the humidity, felt like 110.6 degrees according to my weather station. :ack2: :ack2:

Not as bad as they were saying here. Around 92f. Need rain bad. Just got this small scope today and it did not bring any rain.
http://i66.tinypic.com/flzhoy.jpg

Looks like they are predicting things will change around Friday and stay unsettled for a while with moderate chances of rain. I don't normally mind hot weather, but triple digits is a bit much. Especially when we have to be constantly waving around this bug zappers to kill yellow files.

Speaking of which, we seem to be making a definite impact on the yellow fly population around here. We took a walk around our path, that we havn't done in a couple of months, and the yellow flies were very thick back in there. It was almost like the Fourth of July with the bug zappers popping. But around the buildings where we spend our time and have been zapping the yellow flies constantly, we seem to be just getting stragglers now. Now that we know these things work pretty well, hopefully in a couple of years of using them we will be able to really knock back the population of those suckers.

Anyway, sharp looking scope. Did you buy this one to refurbish and resell it?

I got it new. It will be used on a bigger scope for a finder scope.