In 1986, Lake Nyos in Cameroon erupted with an estimated billion cubic yards of carbon dioxide gas. The gas had apparently been accumulating in the crater lake, held down by the weight of the water. When it finally erupted, the gas cloud smothered and killed every living animal, including insects, in its path until it dissipated. Outsiders learned of the disaster when they approached the villages and found animal and human bodies on the ground. The best estimate is that 1,700 people and thousands of cattle died.
Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – August 21, 2018
My husband and I have purchased a log cabin–moving into it a few months ago. This cabin is located in SW North Carolina and the property is surrounded by National Forest. We are dealing with carpenter bees and boring beetles. My husband has been looking into all sorts of ways to deal with these wood damaging insects. He just bought hypodermic syringes from the local farm store to put liquid borate to them injecting into the holes we can see. We need a permanent solution, if there is such a thing, to keep them at bay. My husband is convinced for our first winter here we will have to go around the building injecting the holes we can see. There seems to be a major shortage of good workers up here who can help us out, so for now we will take steps and hopefully by spring ? there will be some better suggestions on how to deal with the outside of our cabin. He has read up on stripping the paint off the logs by a method using corn cobs, then spraying those raw logs with bug deterrent to soak into the wood, followed by finishing clear coat. This of course, is pricey $64,000.00 was a recent quote for the size cabin we have. Also we have read adding Bora Care to paint, to give her a coat for the winter won’t really help so painting the building just for the winter is throwing good money into the air. The house also is in bad need of caulking as the previous owners used the wrong caulk that shrunk leaving a drafty home. We have some work cut out for us. I am curious to hear from other log cabin owners who have some ideas for us.
Hi Karen,
Sorry to hear about your dilemma. I cant help you with the bug problem, But I do know a little about the caulking problem. The caulk you want to use is a one part polyurethane sealant such as Loxon. Or Masterseal NP1…It smells like milk chocolate, It comes in a few colors, It’s difficult to squeeze with a hand caulk gun, so a cordless caulk gun is highly recommended for consistent, even, beads that you smooth with your finger. It’s expensive, around $7.00 pr 10 oz. tube. Master seal may be a bit cheaper @ around $5.00 a tube in bulk, But it will seal up the drafts, and is paintable. Normally you install backer rod ( chinking ) between the logs, and seal over them. The poly allows the logs to contract and expand while keeping the joint sealed. It wont shrink, and stays flexible.
I hope this helps.