Please see the below announcement for the KMCA meeting scheduled for December 1st, 2015.
Please note the new meeting location!
Gnats, Fruit Flies, and Humpback Flies Fact Sheet
The below information was provided by Brody Pest Control
Gnats
Fungus gnats are small, dark flies most often found collecting around windows during fall and winter. Fungus gnats can be found indoors infesting potting mixes used for houseplants or hopping across the soil surface. High organic matter plant mixtures and organic fertilizers, such as fish emulsion, encourage fungus gnat development.
Overwatering, a common problem during fall and winter, increases fungi and fungus gnat development. Fungus gnats can reproduce on indoor plants and cause little if any damage. They also occur outdoors where they breed in mushrooms and other decaying plant materials.
Pomace or Fruit Fly
Pomace or fruit flies are among the smallest flies found in homes. They usually are light brown and may be marked with bright red eyes. These small “fruit flies” most often are found hovering around overly ripe fruit. Fermenting materials, such as leftover beer or soft drinks, also are a favorite food. Populations tend to be greatest in late summer and early fall as they infest fruits during the harvest season.
Drain Fly
Drain flies, also known as moth flies, are occasional problems in homes. These small, moth-like flies sometimes emerge from drains of sinks, particularly in spring. Drain fly maggots develop by feeding on bacteria and organic materials that can colonize the linings of drains. Large numbers of the flies can be produced where there is a problem with broken or leaking drain pipes.
Tips to Control Flies in Home
- Clean areas where food residues may accumulate. Key locations include around kitchen equipment and fixtures and countertops that have a gap in between them. A steam cleaner may facilitate the cleaning process.
- Repair plumbing leaks promptly to prevent water accumulation.
- Clean up food and drink spills immediately.
- Rinse all beverage containers prior to placement in lined recycle bins. Do not store recycled containers for more than seven days.
- Inspect incoming fruit and vegetables for the presence of fruit flies. Over-ripe produce is most suspect and may be harboring eggs and larvae even if adults are not evident.
- Store fruit and vegetables in plastic bins in a cool storage room.
- Use trash bags for waste containers; empty and clean these bins weekly.
- Clean drains/traps and strainers at least twice per week to eliminate residues that encourage fly development.
- Place exterior trash cans, recycle bins and dumpsters away from building entrances.
- Use non-toxic fruit fly traps to capture adult fruit flies.
- Avoid overwatering potted plants; allow soil to dry between watering to prevent fungus gnat breeding.
- Use yellow sticky traps placed on a stake in plant pots to capture adult fungus gnats.
Wheaton Library & Recreation Center Project Update Monday, April 13th at 7pm
Wheaton Library & Recreation Center Project Update
Monday, April 13th at 7pm
Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad Ball Room
2400 Arcola Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20902
Come out this upcoming Monday to hear from the Montgomery County Department of General Services (DGS) regarding the Wheaton Library & Recreation Center project. As a follow up to previous discussions, DGS will be presenting the results of their design analysis for the Wheaton Library & Recreation Center. DGS staff will be there to discuss findings as well as updated renderings. For more information about the meeting, please contact Ana L. van Balen.
Deer Hunting Information
At the March KMCA membership meeting there was a presentation by bowhunters who hunt in suburban areas to help reduce deer overpopulation.
The below information is related to that presentation. You can download this as Word document at this link: A Citizens Guide to Safe Bow & Arrow Hunting in Suburban Neighborhoodsdraft flyer for bowhunting in residential neighborhoods
A Citizens Guide to Safe Bow and Arrow Hunting for Suburban Neighborhoods in Montgomery County, Maryland
As deer populations have increased, suburban and urban areas face too many deer. In some suburbs, the deer population exceeds 400 animals per square mile, while the carrying capacity of the land is about 40 animals per square mile. Although pleasing to watch, large numbers of free roaming deer increase the risk of human injury from deer-vehicle collisions. They spread debilitating and costly diseases such as Lyme, Babesiosis, and Ehrlichia Chaffensis. Deer cause great damage each year to landscaping in our yards. Worse, deer have destroyed the understory of many of our regional, community and stream valley parks, denuding hillsides of native plants, destroying habitat for other species, accelerating soil erosion and promoting thebtakeover of invasive species. Some naturalists now consider overabundant deer as significant a threat to the bird population as climate change. And too many young deer make your neighborhood very attractive for predators such as coyotes to move in – a situation we are beginning to experience in Montgomery County.
YOU CAN HELP CHANGE THIS FOR THE BETTER.
Other options for deer management such as feeding, exclusionary fencing and chemical “birth control” are impractical and prohibitively expensive. Regulated hunting, specifically bowhunting, is a safe, ethical, humane and efficient method for decreasing the number of deer in our residential neighborhoods. It provides deer population control at the least cost because bow hunters do the “work” of removing deer as a public service.
THE BOWHUNTING OPTION
Bowhunting has been shown to be a safe, effective way to decrease the size of suburban deer herds. Hundreds of metro areas including Fairfax County, Virginia, Columbus, Ohio, the Pittsburgh suburbs, and many cities in Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Canada allow bowhunting. Few problems and no accidents have been reported. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources supports the use of bowhunting to curb deer populations.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
• National surveys show that most deer harvested with a bow are shot at distances of 20 yards or less, which makes it ideal for hunting in and around urban/suburban areas.
• Bowhunters typically hunt from elevated positions or tree stands which means an arrow is shot downward into the target or into the ground.
• A hunting arrow, under most conditions, cannot travel any appreciable distance once it hits even a twig or small limb.
• Archery is one of the safest sports in the United States. Most accidents involve the bowhunter falling out of a tree stand. In Maryland and Virginia there have been no recorded incidents involving injury to persons, pets or property caused by a bowhunter.
• Deer taken by reputable hunters are never “wasted.” All the meat (venison) is used, either by hunter or by donation to local food banks, soup kitchens and shelters through an organization called Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH.ORG).
• Property owners who wish to obtain venison may do so through arrangement with their Many individuals know little about hunting and, most particularly, bowhunting. Bowhunting in residential neighborhoods should never be undertaken by amateurs, but left to well-trained, skilled sportsmen
HOW TO FIND A RELIABLE BOWHUNTER
In Montgomery County, several groups can link you to a bowhunter. The Animal Connection Deer Management Team – ACDMT – is an organization of seasoned, veteran bowhunters with strict rules and enforcement to ensure the safety of hunters and the public. Most members of ACDMT are members of the Maryland Bowhunters Society, an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting safe and responsible bowhunting; educating the non-hunting public about the role of the bowhunter in wildlife management and conservation; and educating bowhunters in safety, shooting skills, hunting techniques and landowner relations. Both groups strongly advocate ethical bowhunting within the laws of the jurisdiction hunted. Learn more about the ACDMT from their website at www.acdmt.org and contact them via email at deer.help@acdmt.org. A third group, the Bow Hunting Fire Fighters of Maryland, can be contacted through the website www.BHFFMD.com
MEET WITH A BOWHUNTER
Not every suburban yard is appropriate for bowhunting. The bowhunter will first tell you if your property has a suitable location for hunting. If it does, the bowhunter should provide you with copies of his/her hunting license, safety certificate, a signed release of liability form, a copy of the permission form for you to sign; and copies of the permission form for your neighbors to sign, if needed. Your contract or agreement with the bowhunter may stipulate what days and times hunting may take place; how you will know the hunter is at work; where the hunter will be shooting from; where bait will be located; whether the hunter may field dress the animal and leave remains on your property or not; and whether you wish to be gifted with a deer for your own consumption.
GET YOUR NEIGHBORS TO SUPPORT YOUR OBJECTIVE
Under Montgomery County law, all owners of inhabited property within 100 yards of the hunting location must give signed permission before hunting takes place. If your neighbors have questions or express reluctance, it will help if you hold a meeting with your neighbors and the bowhunter. The bowhunter can then explain how, where and when the hunting will take place. It is crucial that your neighbors understand that this form of hunting is safe, humane, and presents no risk to people, pets or property. They must provide you and the hunter with their signed permission forms agreeing to the hunting that will take place on your property. It is also wise to have their agreement that, in the rare event a deer is wounded and moves onto their property, the hunter may enter their property to euthanize and remove the deer.
Animal Connection Deer Management Team www.acdmt.org
Bow Hunting Fire Fighters of Maryland www.BHFFMD.com
Maryland Bowhunters Society ww.marylandbowhunterssociety.org
Councilmember Navarro’s Presentation at the KMCA Meeting
Councilmember Nancy Navarro spoke at the KMCA meeting on March 25th, 2015. The following is from her web site: http://www.councilmembernavarro.com/2015/03/26/kemp-mill-civic-association/
Kemp Mill Civic Association
Last night, I had the pleasure of speaking with residents at the monthly meeting of the Kemp Mill Civic Association. We
had a great conversation about some of my top priorities for the area, including: the Wheaton Library and Recreation Center, Wheaton Redevelopment, and the renovation of Kemp Mill Urban Park. We also discussed a number of other important issues, including deer management, resurfacing of roads, and WSSC billing issues.
Download my complete presentation to the Kemp Mill Civic Association:
Civic Association Meeting Wednesday March 25th
The next KMCA membership meeting will be Wednesday March 25th, 2015 at 7:30PM at Kemp Mill Elementary School.
- Nancy Navarro, our district’s County Councilmember, will be coming to our civic association’s meeting next Wednesday to report on the Council’s work and some of the local items listed below. If you have any questions or requests for her, please forward them to president@kempmillcivic.org asap, so she can start working on them!
- A WSSC (water company) rep is coming to discuss our rates. Did you know that the more you use, the higher the rate you pay, no matter how many are in your family?
- Can bowhunting finally begin to thin the deer population in Kemp Mill?
- Our website is revamped, and will be able to help you keep up with the dues and news.
- We’re finally getting a new Kemp Mill sign, with some flowers and green to go along with.
- Shaloms wants to know how it’s doing with the community.
- Updates on repaving our streets and the rebuilding of the library and rec center into a new community center.
- Will busing for nonpublic schools continue?
- Elections to fill 2 vacant KMCA Board seats.
Refreshments will be served
Deer ticks and Lyme disease are possible even in cold weather. See articles below:
http://www.tickencounter.org/faq/seasonal_information#seasonalinformation_question_04
http://www.aldf.com/deerTickEcology.shtml
Deer, Deer Ticks, and Lyme disease
What you can do about Deer Ticks, Deer, and the potential of Lyme disease
Unfortunately, people in Kemp Mill are continuing to contract Lyme disease from deer ticks. The ticks are hard to spot, and the infection is hard to diagnose, and potentially difficult to treat. Kemp Mill has one of the highest concentrations of deer, which correlates with a higher incidence of Lyme disease and car accidents. The Civic Association is continuing to explore ways to reduce the local deer population, including taking advantage of relaxed restrictions on County-regulated bow-and-arrow hunting. In the meantime, you can protect yourselves through some of the following means:
ON YOUR PROPERTY
Damminix tick tubes
You can buy them on the website: http://www.ticktubes.com/
Put them in the ground on your property, and they reduce the risk of Lyme disease by using mice that burrow underground as “couriers” to kill disease carrying deer ticks.
ON YOUR CLOTHES
Permethrin spray
You can buy them on the website:
http://www.drugstore.com/repel-permethrin-clothing-and-gear-insect-repellent-aerosol/qxp463421
There are good prices on this website for this effective repellant spray that is hard to find in local stores to use on clothes against deer ticks. This article evaluates Permethrin as repellent to deer ticks:
http://www.lymeneteurope.org/info/deet-versus-permethrin-as-a-tick-repellent
TO PROTECT YOUR GARDENS
Deerbusters Fencing
Order from their warehouse in Frederick, MD:
888-422-3337; http://www.deerbusters.com/deer-fence-rolls/
They sell a variety of plastic fences in 7.5- to 8-foot heights that are much more heavy-duty than anything available at retail stores. The distributors are also very knowledgeable about installing, and will offer advice over the phone. The plastic mesh fencing is the only type allowed by county regulations to be over 6.5 feet tall.
Ira Ungar
President, Kemp Mill Civic Association
Next KMCA Board Meeting
The next KMCA Board meeting is on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at the home of Ira Ungar, 613 Winona Ct., at 7pm.