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well, I got the cover tight as a drum.
Mo more Coqui Frogs are getting in and dying.
Did my monthly check today and found 5 slugs living on the bottom of the tank. Gross...
Scooped them out. Nuked it with clorox.
Otherwise it's pretty clean.
Oh and I douched out the overflow pipe. Nice stagnet water in there.
The slugs look like Ohia leaves. Yukkk!
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
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Slugs & snails do not seem to like to cross over copper. We have banded most anything we don't want them climbing (including fruit trees) with a couple of bands of copper wire (you can also purchase a thin copper tape, but the cost would be high for a catchment & I do not think that the tape is as durable as wire). With trees, you must plan on growing room & checking the bands every few months.
We are lucky (sort of) in that we had to rewire the house & have a LOT of Romax to play with (Rat bites through the Romax & live wire insulation... I HATE RATS!)
Gotta admit, I would have thought that slugs would die in a catchment, but it would still be yucky.
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Dead slugs are a threat because when they die they shed the rat lungworm parasites.
However, scientists say that a 20-micron (or even better 10-micron) filter should prevent them from reaching your faucets.
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An ultraviolet (UV) sterilizer used on the water line in combination together with the 10 micron filter could prevent other health issues in addition to those of rat lungworm larval infection.
A reminder to everyone- please do not leave pets' water bowls and food dishes out overnight where slugs can crawl into them. Pets depend on us to care for them appropriately; also, a dog with severe pain/brain problems from rat lungworm larval infection may bite and injure someone, perhaps a kid. Nobody wants that.
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Taking the Hobbits to Isengard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE-1RPDqJAY
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Astonishing skill! This archer is a real-life Legolas and then some!
http://geekologie.com/2013/11/real-life-...rs-anc.php
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When I was a kid growing up in Ohio,my grandma's farm had a cistern.Same thing as catchment.
We were not allowed to use this water for anything until it was boiled.Even the water to wash dishes was boiled first.
In most of the civilized world , catchment ,or cistern has been banned because it is unhealthy.
I wouldn't worry about the critters in your water ,because you should only be using it to flush the toilet and water your house plants.
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I'm sure glad we have a pipe with chlorinated water coming in the house.
If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it cost when it’s free
If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it cost when it’s free...now here come the taxes.....
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OK... I don't trust micro organisns firstr of all...
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
Obie, that reminds me of an old off the grid homestead I lived at in Washington, with an open well. I boiled all water, just as you said, most definitely boiled the water for doing dishes, washing hands, brushing teeth.
But it's my understanding that catchment here can be pretty good with a UV filter and the micron filter ... and I guess screens to keep the gutters clean.
I am one of those people who likes my water clean, but lord knows I've lived in a lot of places with funky pipes and never got sick. Rats and slugs gross me out though. I'm not sure I could drink water that I knew had had a slug in it. I must be getting OCD in my old age. (Now I'll go watch another episode of Monk on DVD.) ;-)
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To follow up on Alaskasteven's comment, UV treatment is a good idea but unfortunately, isn't really practical for some of us folks off-grid. Having it constantly on doesn't allow the inverter to "sleep" to save battery power, and turning the UV off and on shortens the bulb's life. We use chlorine (bleach) treatment instead and to be safe don't drink or cook with the water unless it is to be boiled Ð at least until we can beef up the PV system to handle the extra demand.
The county has a brochure with tips on catchment use available at
http://www.HawaiiRain.org/files/Guidelin...Hawaii.pdf
Obie, you're correct when you say most of the civilized world is avoiding catchment, but there many places using it for conservation purposes, although not always for potable purposes. A few years back in Japan an 80,000-square-foot hall was built to use rainwater to fill a separate water system to flush toilets. Also, catchment is seeing significant use in many third-world areas with no other viable options.
Steven also has some very good advice on pet food bowls. Treating dogs regularly for heartworms will also help prevent infection by rat lungworm. Some people use the anti-parasite medication Ivermectin (can be bought in bulk from farm supply stores) in lieu of more traditional treatments which contain a form of it as their active ingredient.
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My father is a plumber in Ohio (89 years old and still working).
He has installed many dual plumbing systems in old houses that had cisterns.Piped city water to the sinks and catchment to the hose bibs and toilets.
Unfortunately our leaders in the past allowed all of these subdivisions to be built with no infrastructure and guess what,it still goes on.Mayor Billy has applied to subdivide and not hook up to county water.
In Kapoho,everyone is being required to hook up to county water if they subdivide their farm lots.
