I have asked this question in the inspection pit under a diffrent topic the question proly should be under its own topic ,here is the topic incase any want to check it Author patrick_v Topic: Flextrack,roadbed and risers, HELP Figures I just got a 2, 7oz bags of WLS ballast not used it yet, but I would figure with all the different O natural products and items that can be used to scenic a model railway that there could and would be more instances of pest attempting to get in on a free meal and eat up some hard work and time. Has anyone else had any instances of pest problems due to model railway scenic items? Would like to get an idea before I start scenicing. Normally I keep the house sprayed with a general purpose insecticide from Lowe’s to keep the spiders and critters at bay the area I live is full of older built houses which can draw in a lot pest, in my line of work I have found even the newest and cleanest of homes can have pest problem due to various reasons. One house I was looking at, as I am working on get our own house, got put off due to black mold being found in the walls. [ 07. February 2004, 22:57: Message edited by: Wolv_Cub ]
The only train pests I have to deal with are of the human variety. Seriously, having recently moved into a house we bought. I have seen some evidence of a severe mouse infestation. The hanging ceiling tiles in the basement are full of mouse poop on top. I have set traps but the only mouse I have seen was the one my cats killed. I think the mice have high tailed it out after my two cats moved in. I have been preping the un-finished side of my basement for a new train layout. This has involved cleaning up all the droppings on top of the ductwork and beams (yuk!) I have also found the way they got in and out was through the dryer vent which was full of nesting. A screen over the vent opening fixed the problem. Spiders were bad aroung here last summer. We live relatively close to Lake Erie and the spiders thrive on the insect population near the lake. I found a Brown Recluse spider in my shed this past summer. These are potentially dangerous to get bitten by. I have sprayed my yard for spiders but was told that if I do this a lot, the mosquitos and other pests will then thrive. You can't win...
I don't have cockroaches, and if I did, I'd "bomb" the house (with pesticide bombs) and leave for a few hours, letting the deadly fog do its stuff (make sure all the pets are outside the house, and when you come back, open the windows to air out the house). We've had mice as visitors, but thanks to our cats and some sticky traps baited with peanut butter, they don't stay very long. And I've used Woodland Scenics ballast since I've started in this hobby back in the mid-1970s with NO (I repeat NO) cockroach problems. It's a matter of cleanliness and good pest control. Ask the folks who built the Sierra Pacific RR out in California- all the ballast on their layout is crushed walnut shells. Granted, if you live in an area where cockroaches may be a concern (an apartment building with roach problems), methinks you'll be more bothered with roaches in the kitchen than in the train room. I'll continue to use the Woodland Scenics ballast. And keep my cats employed as pest control personnel...
Like Friscobob, I have used Woodlands Scenics ballast for years. I had two layouts in my home in Houston and one layout in a Philadelphia basement. I never had a problem with roaches or other insects on the layout. We did have a cat who would sometimes get on the layout and break things, but that is a whole different pest thread. Houston can be a big problem with roaches. We have had them from time to time in kitchens, but never on the layout. I would check on the Woodlands Scenics ballast story. Sounds a little like an urban legend. Even if they are using ground nut shells, I don't think they tend to attract roaches. Ground shells are used as industrial polishing grit, and I would expect insect more trouble in industrial facilities than in most homes.
In the unlikely event , that this is credible- look for organic adhesive (e.g. wallpaper paste) as food source.
since I got home from work and had time I spent the morning searching for crushed walnuts and tried narrowing things down to see if pests are attracted by crushed walnut shells, or other such things. Very informative day with crushed walnuts shells getting results like over 3k for websites mentioning things. Seems there are more uses for crushed walnut shells than I would have thought uses include cleaning abrasives as for metal and other things but also soaps and skin exfoliate to construction (some of those anti slip materials and used in paints for anti-slip) bedding for some different pets and color dies and so forth. I also added in insects and bait so see I could find any thing that would draw in insects The only thing I could find that crossed insects and, walnuts were on importation laws and infestation and so forth but that was nuts having the meat of the nuts, But I did find some thing interesting on specially cockroaches and what they look for in foods, The url of one site incase any one wants to go look Hathorn pest control General Food: Cockroaches that invade buildings will consume a wide variety of food and nonfood items, such as: Starches sweets grease plant materials meat products cheese leather bakery products forms of glue Hair dead animals beer flakes of dried skin starch in bookbindings Hmm forms of glue,, the pages goes on about several types of cockroaches and there accepting starchy type glues as a food stuff also I found that walnut trees and shells have toxins that can be toxic to insects, planets and fish when mixed with the right ingredients. So more or less I am thinking it may have been the glue, rather than the ballast itself.
To quote Adam Savage and Jamie Hynneman of the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters: Myth BUSTED!! (Off-the-topic a bit, this show explores, and in most cases explodes, myths & urban legends in a scientific fashion, but Mr. Wizard this ain't. I recommend watching Mythbusters- check your local cable service for the Discovery Channel and times listed)
the grounded nut shells dont attract cockroaches, what it does is that if you have some in the house it is a source of food for them and they will gather up and litteraly eat the ballast
You must not have read the previous posts. Probably the best way to keep roaches out of the house would be to keep it fairly clean, lay out traps just in case they invade, and spray the house if you have to. Again, I'ye had no-repeat, NO- problems with roaches eating the ballast on my layout, even after they came from next door in the apartment building I lived in (and I got rid of the little b******s, too). Again, its the use of starch-based glues the little buggers like to munch on.
