Spiders are * NEWARK, Del. - A lot of people see the spider as little more than a sinister presence that lurks in dark, cobwebby comers waiting to pimp out and grab you. This prejudice no doubt was fostered by the childhood fears of many of us, but it certainly doesn’t do justice to the poor spider. <'■o 4 w P. L. ROHRER & BRO., INC. SMOKETOWN, PA This much-maligned animal is actually one of Nature's best pest control agents, since his whole life is devoted to capturing and gobbling up insects. Because of hi§ fondness for houseflies, small beetles, mosquitoes, thousand loggers, cockroaches and other troublesome insects. One good solution to the annual Spring crunch: Use fertilizers this Fall! Why take a chance on Spnng rainouts, wet fields, and the crunch for field time and fertilizer application 9 Save Spnng for planting Think “Fall application” with ORTHO UNIPEL complete pelleted fertilizers When you team up Fall application and ORTHO UNIPEL fertilizers, you can “Do it All in the Fall ” One quick pass over the field gives plants the basic fertility needed for fast and profitable growth next Spnng Or as some say “one haul in the Fall does it all ” UNIPEL fertilizers are precise, pelleted chemical combinations of Nitrogen, Phos phorus and Potassium in ratios suited to varying Midwest soil and crop-fertility needs Each UNIPEL pellet has two forms of Nitro gen and Phosphorus One form is quick acting for a fast start in the Spnng Another is long-lasting for continuous season-long grow-power And there’s also readily available Potassium Spend your valuable Spnng time planting corn instead of fertilizing See us soon about ORTHO UNIPEL fertilizers for Fall' TM s ORTHO CHEVRON md design UNIPEL Reg U S Pel Off CHVI2~7 natural pest control agents he’s definitely on the beneficial list. For the most part, he’s also quite safe to have around. There are about 1000 species of spider in the U.S.With a couple of well known exceptions - like the black widow, the tarantula, and the brown recluse - most are quite harmless to humans. In fact, says University of Delaware extension entomologist Frank Boys, the spider is a very timid creature who would be quite happy to avoid all contact with people. Spiders are so familiar to most of us that we tend to take them for granted - unless they get in our way somehow, or unless we have a special phobia for them. But most of us know very little about them, points out Boys. They belong to a class of animals known as arachnids and are closely related to ticks, mites, and daddy longlegs - all of which have eight legs and two body ORTHO UNIPEL CMvtwi • Ortho FERTUZERS Helping the World Grow Better PH: 717-299-2571 sections. Insects, on the other hand, have six legs and three body sections. Spiders are equipped with all sorts of specialized mechanisms for catching insects. Some swing from a long strand of silk onto their prey as it flies by. Jumping spiders can pounce on a bug from several inches away. Fishing spiders can walk on water and even dive below its surface m pursuit of the aquatic insects and small fish on which they feed. Crab spiders are so well camouflaged by their coloring that they can just sit inside a flower blossom and wait for unsuspecting insects to enter. Some members of this last family actually have the ability to change color so that they blend in better with their plant surroundings. All spiders have spmerettes, but not all species make webs. The silk for the webs is secreted as a liquid which hardens when exposed to the air. For its size, spider silk is stronger than steel - in fact, during World War n the silk from some spiders was used for making gunsights. Spiders use them silk not only to make webs for trapping insects, but also to line their nests, construct egg sacs and to make “parachutes” on which some tropical species manage to travel great distances. When it comes to webs, the orb weavers are the great builders among spiders. These boldly marked black Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 4,1978 and yellow arachnids grow to more than an inch in diameter and usually can be found hanging upside down in the middle of their large outdoor webs. If you’ve ever seen one of these webs et ched with beads of water early on a dewy morning, you’ll understand the orb weaver’s reputation as a spinner. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever get bitten by a spider, says Boys, unless you’re working m a heavily infested area like a deserted building, an old well, or an abandoned pile of lumber. And m that case the spider’s probably biting to protect itself. A little extra care on your part will usually avoid the problem. Though spiders, are basically beneficial, there are times when they can become a nuisance. If you’re tired of dusty webs festooning the chandelier or decorating the comers of ceilings in otherwide tidy rooms, sanitation is the most practical method of control. Duck season reopened HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Game Commission reminds the state’s waterfowl hunters that the second, or mam, part of the 1978 duck season reopened on Wednesday, November 1. The early part Clean away all webbing with a vacuum cleaner. Housecleaning with a cloth, dust mop or broom will do little to get rid of the source of webs. When removing them, take care to also get the small egg-sacs that may be with them. Be sure to remove the vacuum cleaner bag immediately after use and destroy its contents - If vacuuming is im practical or difficult, a chemical spray can be used to control spiders instead. Aerosol sprays of DDVT (vapona) or pyrethnns are effective in snider knock down treatmems, says the entomologist. Dichlorvos strips (vapona) give good control for several months in rooms with minimal ven tilation. Extensive chemical treatment outdoors is not recommended. Spiders are an important part of the natural population, and their elimination may allow un desirable insects to multiply. season had opened at noon on October 11 and then closed at sunset on October 12. The second (or main) part of the season for ducks, sea ducks, coots and mergansers will close in the state at sunset on Saturday, Decembers. the 129
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