41 replies to this topic

[Vendayn]

The governor talked about (according to news websites) decreasing water usage by 25% and removing a lot of greenery with more drought tolerant plants (probably native California plants)

For me, that is great. I prefer a native habitat than an artificial one.

 

And that means, and reason I'm posting this here (though its going into off-topic since it fits more)...that means a HUGE decrease in Argentine ants and a HUGE increase in native ants. Maybe Pogonomyrmex will make a return, and meaning the horny toad lizard will come back in some areas.

 

I think they did a study, and a 25% decrease in water is a 75% decline of Argentine ants. Pretty sure the percents are right. That is a huge decline in a lot of areas.

 

Best news I've heard in a while when it comes to news websites, as I hate looking out and seeing artificial lawns everywhere. I'd prefer to see California with native plants, not a bunch of plants imported here. And I love the thought of FINALLY seeing less/no Argentine ants and seeing native ants everywhere.

 

I really really dislike all these housing areas and apartments not using native plants. So, maybe FINALLY people/apartments will switch over to native plants. Makes vastly more sense, and looks WAY nicer.

 

Then again, some of this is conjecture...but water rates will go up and overall people will use less water for their yards. So I'd assume they'd get rid of the ugly green non-native plants, and switch to the more natural natives. I can hope...

 

In any case, there will definitely be a huge decline in Argentine ants and there has already been a decline in many areas of them. So, good news all around.

[Michaelofvancouver]

I read an article about this, a while back while researching the delta smelt. Can you link me to the study that said increases in water decreased argentine ant populations?

[Vendayn]

I'll try and find it tomorrow as I have the day free, unless someone beats me to it. I did a quick search, and seems I couldn't find anything about it. I am pretty sure I read about it somewhere, but I could be remembering wrong lol. Maybe I asked on antdude's forum and one of the Myrmecologists there said something about it.

[LAnt]

The news said that there would be fees or higher rates for people that wasted water. A Pogonomyrmex rebound is a nice idea!

[SMILEforAnts]

Yeah I heard you guys have a year's worth of water left. That sounds pretty frightening.

 

You guys better stock up on bottled water! That's what my family in Milpitas is doing.

[Vendayn]

Well, if we don't get enough rain...last I heard its more 10-15 years. I think it was Las Vegas that only had a year or two of water left or something (maybe it was 5 years, don't remember). But, they are in middle of a barren, dry desert and use enough water to flood a small country lol.

[cpman]

When we had water restrictions here, people got so efficient at not using water that the water company had to add a "drought fee" because they were not profitable. Water restrictions are not too bad once you get used to them.

[BugFinder]

We have plenty of ground water to get us through the drought, it's just been off limits to us until now.  We're going to have to tap into that because we have no snow pack this year, which is where almost all our drinking water usually comes from.

 

If cities required rain water collection/storage, and water retaining landscaping, instead of requiring turf, which doesn't retain much water at all, we'd never have water shortages, but it seems we aren't smart enough to do any of that as a state.

[Foogoo]

There was a recent LA Times article/editorial stating that it is untrue we only have 1 year of water left. The article is technically true, but I thought it was irresponsible. We do have a lot of water in emergency reservoirs and groundwater. However, the last thing we want to do is dip into the emergency reservoir because that's the last of the last. Groundwater is also much more complicated than it seems. Much of LA's groundwater is contaminated. The Central Valley has been pumping groundwater like crazy resulting in permanant and irreversible damage to the reservoirs - they'll never hold water again.

 

The problem is that water is cheap so many people don't take conservation seriously. A gallon of water comes out to barely fractions of a cent. People conserve electricity more because when they don't conserve, their wallets hurt. I saw somebody hosing down their tree last week in the hot afternoon. Not watering it, literally spraying water up into the tree. Lawns, excessive showers, flushing when not necessary, swimming pools, etc. Complete waste of treated, potable water. The latest snow survey of the Sierras (where much of our water usuall comes from) showed it was at 4% of normal. 4%.

 

Source: I'm a water utility engineer specializing in groundwater.

[dspdrew]

Maybe he was giving the birds a drink.

[Foogoo]

Maybe he was giving the birds a drink.

Or showering the squirrels?

[Vendayn]

I noticed the apartment complex waters a lot less now. Instead of every day, its every other day. And for shorter periods and sprinklers don't shoot out as much water (more of a trickle). So today, I took a walk along the hillside along a wall. It is irrigated, and only other ant there is Brachymyrmex. There were still Argentine ants there, but compared to last year...there was A LOT less. Last year, there were thick lines all over the hillside. Today, it was the occasional ant and not many Argentine ants at all on the hillside.

 

The river area still has tons, but that is expected.

[Ants4fun]

Nothing like a good ole' drout to weed out the invasive ants!

[antsinmypants]

My order for coated miniclover seeds is on the way to my house. Outsidepride.com has a 15% off sale using the coupon code of 'Mother' that is good until the 10th of this month, I believe. These miniclover do not produce a lot of white flowers like traditional clover does, thereby reducing potential bee stings. Most importantly, of course, is that this drought tolerant ground cover is the cheapest alternative to replacing the lawn and it looks great. If you do consider purchasing this product, get one that has been coated no more than 6 months from the time you want to plant it. The coat has bacteria on it that fixes the nitrogen in the air, if I recall correctly. Unfortunately, I have to wait till this fall before I can sow it b/c my lawn and garden guy threw pre-emergent weed killer on the lawn two months ago. My lawn and garden guy wants to remove my sod with a sod remover from H. Depot but it's cheaper for me just to throw the seed over the existing lawn, using the existing grass as cover from the sun while they germinate. I checked with the Fresno Water Division, and they told me to notify them this fall when I will be sowing the seeds as I will need to be watering the lawn for 7 - 10 days while they germinate (I don't want to get a penalty for watering on non-watering days).

Edited by antsinmypants, May 7 2015 - 7:42 AM.

[AntsTexas]

When we had water restrictions here, people got so efficient at not using water that the water company had to add a "drought fee" because they were not profitable. Water restrictions are not too bad once you get used to them.

lol, what r they gonna do if u don't pay, turn the water on.....

[dspdrew]

The best is how the government wants to fine people for watering their lawns, and then they wanna fine the people who don't water their lawns for having dead lawns.

[drtrmiller]

The best is how the government wants to fine people for watering their lawns, and then they wanna fine the people who don't water their lawns for having dead lawns.

 

That's more related to housing associations, which are private entities of homeowners.

 

I suppose some local municipalities may have ordinances related to general upkeep of publicly visible property in designated areas (usually more related to junk cars as opposed to dead lawns).  These ordinances are designed to combat both urban blight and decay of land and real estate values that result when one obstinate person doesn't care about the community of which he or she is a part, and chronically chooses to willfully and selfishly neglect it, causing harm to others.

Edited by drtrmiller, May 8 2015 - 9:29 AM.

[dspdrew]

http://www.sgvtribun...ng-a-brown-lawn

 

 

I find it to be far more selfish to tell others how you would like their lawn to look.

[drtrmiller]

http://www.sgvtribun...ng-a-brown-lawn

 

 

I find it to be far more selfish to tell others how you would like their lawn to look.

 

Overly ambitious regulators don't usually get anywhere with silly threats like that.  I couldn't find a follow-up story, so I'd imagine the whole thing fizzled out.

[dspdrew]

I doubt anything fizzled. Most likely they gave into the tyranny, as it is what most Americans do.