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BowTiedBroke

@BowTiedBroke109,375 subscribers

Went to UF🐊for Entomology🪰🕷️🦂Now I build houses in TN. Former bug executive @ $ROL. RE since ‘00, Boom to Bust to Boom again, Smoky Mtn Aficionado

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Good question. A lot of side hustles are hard to break into, but one I “kinda” did when I bought my CAT equipment was driveway grading, ditching, etc. You really only need a CAT 304 or small skid steer (259). I bought my machines to clear my own lots but figured I’d see if I could get a few “side jobs” to offset the cost of the machines. Posted a few comments in some Smoky Mtn groups I’m in on Facebook that my guys and I can do “Driveway grading, smoothing out, ditch cleanouts, gravel spreading, lot prep, etc”. I COULD NOT KEEP UP with the amount of people wanting the work done. It had me and 2 of my employees constantly running around giving estimates, grading this, clearing that. To the point it was taking me away from my new build construction sites too much. I did probably $100,000 in work in a 3 month period. I finally had to just stop doing it because my main goal was building cabins and it was taking my focus away from that. But, a person can quickly learn how to operate a mini-excavator (304) or small skid steer and by throwing a few ads on FB marketplace you can probably gauge the interest. Again, there are many side hustles out there if you’re willing to work, this was just one that kind of fell in my lap because I bought some CAT equipment. I’d pull in $10,000+ for a 2 day job usually. One job we pulled in $28,000 to clear the land, spread gravel and put in a stormwater drain. Took about 8 days and just needed my 304 and 299 there.

Good question. A lot of side hustles are hard to break into, but one I “kinda” did when I bought my CAT equipment was driveway grading, ditching, etc. You really only need a CAT 304 or small skid steer (259). I bought my machines to clear my own lots but figured I’d see if I could get a few “side jobs” to offset the cost of the machines. Posted a few comments in some Smoky Mtn groups I’m in on Facebook that my guys and I can do “Driveway grading, smoothing out, ditch cleanouts, gravel spreading, lot prep, etc”. I COULD NOT KEEP UP with the amount of people wanting the work done. It had me and 2 of my employees constantly running around giving estimates, grading this, clearing that. To the point it was taking me away from my new build construction sites too much. I did probably $100,000 in work in a 3 month period. I finally had to just stop doing it because my main goal was building cabins and it was taking my focus away from that. But, a person can quickly learn how to operate a mini-excavator (304) or small skid steer and by throwing a few ads on FB marketplace you can probably gauge the interest. Again, there are many side hustles out there if you’re willing to work, this was just one that kind of fell in my lap because I bought some CAT equipment. I’d pull in $10,000+ for a 2 day job usually. One job we pulled in $28,000 to clear the land, spread gravel and put in a stormwater drain. Took about 8 days and just needed my 304 and 299 there.

1,352,228 Aufrufe

Small flies have been insane this year. Door cracked for a second & in 12 hrs it seems like small flies have set up a breeding site near my sink or fruit. Easy solution I learned from an old timer when I was in the bug biz: red wine. Grab a clear glass, put a little wine or some apple cider vinegar in it, tightly place some Saran Wrap on top and poke a few holes in it. Within a few hours you’ll have tons of flies drinking themselves to death. Works for both fruit flies and phorid flies (the main two small flies which homeowners encounter and call a pest control company for). Once they are in, they can’t find the way out. This, coupled with one of the Zevo plug in fly lights will keep your kitchen free of flies for the summer

Small flies have been insane this year. Door cracked for a second & in 12 hrs it seems like small flies have set up a breeding site near my sink or fruit. Easy solution I learned from an old timer when I was in the bug biz: red wine. Grab a clear glass, put a little wine or some apple cider vinegar in it, tightly place some Saran Wrap on top and poke a few holes in it. Within a few hours you’ll have tons of flies drinking themselves to death. Works for both fruit flies and phorid flies (the main two small flies which homeowners encounter and call a pest control company for). Once they are in, they can’t find the way out. This, coupled with one of the Zevo plug in fly lights will keep your kitchen free of flies for the summer

105,200 Aufrufe

“African Safari” is now officially scratched off my bucket list.

“African Safari” is now officially scratched off my bucket list.

14,369,353 Aufrufe

Since it’s summer vacation time I figured I’d drop the annual list of the top cities with the highest rates of bed bugs that my old employer (Orkin) just released: 1) Chicago 2) Los Angelas 3) Detroit 4) Cleveland 5) Indianapolis 6) Springfield, IL 7) Washington DC 8) Columbus, OH 9) Pittsburgh 10) Grand Rapids, MI 11) Denver 12) New York City, NY 13) Milwaukee 14) Baltimore 15) Cincinnati 16) Raleigh, NC 17) St Louis, Missouri 18) Charleston, WV 19) Davenport, Iowa 20) Flint, MI 21) Atlanta, GA 22) Philadelphia, PA 23) Dallas, TX 24) Oklahoma City 25) Cedar Rapids, Iowa And yeah I personally took this video and yes that’s someone’s bed in North Carolina and yes they slept in it every night. That “black” that covers the side of the mattress is their excrement after they feed and relieve themselves. (Pretty much dried blood) And for inquiring minds, that infestation was about a 7-10 yr infestation that had never been treated before we got involved. Hundreds feeding on the person who slept in the bed every single night.

Since it’s summer vacation time I figured I’d drop the annual list of the top cities with the highest rates of bed bugs that my old employer (Orkin) just released: 1) Chicago 2) Los Angelas 3) Detroit 4) Cleveland 5) Indianapolis 6) Springfield, IL 7) Washington DC 8) Columbus, OH 9) Pittsburgh 10) Grand Rapids, MI 11) Denver 12) New York City, NY 13) Milwaukee 14) Baltimore 15) Cincinnati 16) Raleigh, NC 17) St Louis, Missouri 18) Charleston, WV 19) Davenport, Iowa 20) Flint, MI 21) Atlanta, GA 22) Philadelphia, PA 23) Dallas, TX 24) Oklahoma City 25) Cedar Rapids, Iowa And yeah I personally took this video and yes that’s someone’s bed in North Carolina and yes they slept in it every night. That “black” that covers the side of the mattress is their excrement after they feed and relieve themselves. (Pretty much dried blood) And for inquiring minds, that infestation was about a 7-10 yr infestation that had never been treated before we got involved. Hundreds feeding on the person who slept in the bed every single night.

151,364 Aufrufe

POV: Living in East TN and this is your drive home from the grocery store.

POV: Living in East TN and this is your drive home from the grocery store.

2,294,005 Aufrufe

Man in video life flighted to hospital, broken ribs, punctured lung, broken clavicle. I bought a Kawasaki Ninja when I was 30. Had it for about a week & decided to let it rip. Got up to 120mph on it. Sold it next day. Death wish. This dude shouldn’t have started with a 1000.

Man in video life flighted to hospital, broken ribs, punctured lung, broken clavicle. I bought a Kawasaki Ninja when I was 30. Had it for about a week & decided to let it rip. Got up to 120mph on it. Sold it next day. Death wish. This dude shouldn’t have started with a 1000.

3,632,884 Aufrufe

For everyone in the comments asking if the bear made it out of the car alive…yes, they generally always do. Usually it’s the police that get called to figure a way to get them out, but, here is an example of how a bear usually gets extracted from a car.

For everyone in the comments asking if the bear made it out of the car alive…yes, they generally always do. Usually it’s the police that get called to figure a way to get them out, but, here is an example of how a bear usually gets extracted from a car.

230,075 Aufrufe

I’m not going to jack the prices up of my cabins. I want people to see what I get to see every week. The amazing WAVES of mountains. They’ll be around $200-$275/night depending on the season. Shouldn’t break the bank. AND, you’ll not only see the Mtns, but also these…

I’m not going to jack the prices up of my cabins. I want people to see what I get to see every week. The amazing WAVES of mountains. They’ll be around $200-$275/night depending on the season. Shouldn’t break the bank. AND, you’ll not only see the Mtns, but also these…

329,905 Aufrufe

I worked in the pest control biz my entire life before a career pivot. I share this video about 1X per year to remind people during travel times that you can easily pick up bed bugs from family members you visit and hotels you visit during the holidays. This is why. The video is one I personally took at my days at Orkin. It’s the worst bed bug case I saw in my 25 yr pest control career. This is someone’s home. They slept in this bed every night. And the bed bugs fed every night and reproduced. YOUR problem is that individuals like this then go out to stores, to movie theaters, fly on planes, go to the doctor and sit in the waiting room chairs, come to your house for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years celebrations (or you go to theirs)…and they drop them off from the clothing they wear. German Roaches 🪳 often get introduced into people’s homes/apartments. In the video, we slid the mattress to the side (the sides of it were black from dried blood in many spots), and what you are seeing are thousands and thousands of bed bugs on the box spring.

I worked in the pest control biz my entire life before a career pivot. I share this video about 1X per year to remind people during travel times that you can easily pick up bed bugs from family members you visit and hotels you visit during the holidays. This is why. The video is one I personally took at my days at Orkin. It’s the worst bed bug case I saw in my 25 yr pest control career. This is someone’s home. They slept in this bed every night. And the bed bugs fed every night and reproduced. YOUR problem is that individuals like this then go out to stores, to movie theaters, fly on planes, go to the doctor and sit in the waiting room chairs, come to your house for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years celebrations (or you go to theirs)…and they drop them off from the clothing they wear. German Roaches 🪳 often get introduced into people’s homes/apartments. In the video, we slid the mattress to the side (the sides of it were black from dried blood in many spots), and what you are seeing are thousands and thousands of bed bugs on the box spring.

1,011,276 Aufrufe

My front yard. Wife is telling me she’s going to leave me if I take one (she’s named them all), but I’m out of venison and I’m hungry. How would you play this hand? 🤔

My front yard. Wife is telling me she’s going to leave me if I take one (she’s named them all), but I’m out of venison and I’m hungry. How would you play this hand? 🤔

1,018,663 Aufrufe

He will never steal a chainsaw again! (And yeah, this was filmed in TN)

He will never steal a chainsaw again! (And yeah, this was filmed in TN)

714,393 Aufrufe

Well, if you ever visit Pigeon Forge with kids they opened an amusement park of CAT machines for this exact thing. They let kids drive and dig holes, etc. Dig’n Zone.

Well, if you ever visit Pigeon Forge with kids they opened an amusement park of CAT machines for this exact thing. They let kids drive and dig holes, etc. Dig’n Zone.

72,166 Aufrufe

Yellow jackets, which usually nest underground and are often disturbed by a lawn mower or chainsaw, are one of the most dangerous and aggressive insects around. (Haven’t done an Entomology post lately so figured I’d throw one on) Why are they so dangerous? Because they can rapidly and repeatedly sting. This is a video I took of one who had attacked a katydid. As you can see, even as the yellow jacket begins to feed on the katydid, he continues to rapidly “pop” the prey with his stinger, pumping the paralyzing venom into the katydid. I count around 10 full stings of the prey. When a person is stung by a yellow jacket the first time, it releases an “alert pheromone”, which signals to most of the other colony members that danger is present. A major swarm of yellow jackets will then proceed out of the nest and attack the person (or animal). It takes around 1500 stings to kill a grown adult and 300-400 to kill a child. These numbers are achieved quickly with 100-200 yellow jackets swarming. If a person is allergic, they can go into anaphylactic shock with just one sting. I’m all about “saving the bees” because of their pollination factor…but Yellowjackets are one species of insect that I would gladly eliminate because of their danger. If you see them flying around the ground, or a tree stump or some rail road ties in the landscape, avoid them at all costs.

Yellow jackets, which usually nest underground and are often disturbed by a lawn mower or chainsaw, are one of the most dangerous and aggressive insects around. (Haven’t done an Entomology post lately so figured I’d throw one on) Why are they so dangerous? Because they can rapidly and repeatedly sting. This is a video I took of one who had attacked a katydid. As you can see, even as the yellow jacket begins to feed on the katydid, he continues to rapidly “pop” the prey with his stinger, pumping the paralyzing venom into the katydid. I count around 10 full stings of the prey. When a person is stung by a yellow jacket the first time, it releases an “alert pheromone”, which signals to most of the other colony members that danger is present. A major swarm of yellow jackets will then proceed out of the nest and attack the person (or animal). It takes around 1500 stings to kill a grown adult and 300-400 to kill a child. These numbers are achieved quickly with 100-200 yellow jackets swarming. If a person is allergic, they can go into anaphylactic shock with just one sting. I’m all about “saving the bees” because of their pollination factor…but Yellowjackets are one species of insect that I would gladly eliminate because of their danger. If you see them flying around the ground, or a tree stump or some rail road ties in the landscape, avoid them at all costs.

2,208,589 Aufrufe

Flat(ish), Burning, Pinning Phase 1 cabins tomorrow. Foundations poured next week. Off to the races. Wind picking up big time making me a little nervous. Forestry dept gave me permit this morning said it was okay. 🤷‍♂️

Flat(ish), Burning, Pinning Phase 1 cabins tomorrow. Foundations poured next week. Off to the races. Wind picking up big time making me a little nervous. Forestry dept gave me permit this morning said it was okay. 🤷‍♂️

461,019 Aufrufe

One way to get rid of an underground (or wall void) Yellow Jacket or Wasp Nest: Rodent Glue Boards One of the problems in dealing with wasps, hornets and yellow jackets is treating the nest, even if you know where it is. It’s sometimes hard to get near them to treat without getting stung. One quick way to get rid of them is to set a glue board near the nest entry and get just ONE caught on it. I usually put a small raw piece of chicken. They’ll get stuck and start stinging the glue board along with releasing attack pheromones. The massive pheromone release will draw other members of the colony to the glue board. They in turn get stuck, start trying to sting the glue board and release more pheromones. Pretty quickly you’ll have drawn the entire colony out and they will all get stuck and meet their demise on the glue board. Side note: you will have to draw the first few to the glue board with a some type of food they like. Any type of grilled meat like burger, chicken or a piece of a hot dog works. A small piece of sliced lunch meat like ham also works. That’s why you always see them coming around your outdoor family reunion feast. They love that food. Keep in mind, if you disturb a nest of yellow jackets with a mower, or a child pushes on a small log with them in it, they will k*ll you. Anaphylactic shock, airway constriction, cardiovascular collapse. They are a public health threat and it’s totally okay to rid the world of these things. (Don’t mess with the bees though) If this method doesn’t work for you, the best product I’ve used to treat them from far away is Wasp Freeze by BASF. Also, the hanging yellow stinging insect traps are very effective as well.

One way to get rid of an underground (or wall void) Yellow Jacket or Wasp Nest: Rodent Glue Boards One of the problems in dealing with wasps, hornets and yellow jackets is treating the nest, even if you know where it is. It’s sometimes hard to get near them to treat without getting stung. One quick way to get rid of them is to set a glue board near the nest entry and get just ONE caught on it. I usually put a small raw piece of chicken. They’ll get stuck and start stinging the glue board along with releasing attack pheromones. The massive pheromone release will draw other members of the colony to the glue board. They in turn get stuck, start trying to sting the glue board and release more pheromones. Pretty quickly you’ll have drawn the entire colony out and they will all get stuck and meet their demise on the glue board. Side note: you will have to draw the first few to the glue board with a some type of food they like. Any type of grilled meat like burger, chicken or a piece of a hot dog works. A small piece of sliced lunch meat like ham also works. That’s why you always see them coming around your outdoor family reunion feast. They love that food. Keep in mind, if you disturb a nest of yellow jackets with a mower, or a child pushes on a small log with them in it, they will k*ll you. Anaphylactic shock, airway constriction, cardiovascular collapse. They are a public health threat and it’s totally okay to rid the world of these things. (Don’t mess with the bees though) If this method doesn’t work for you, the best product I’ve used to treat them from far away is Wasp Freeze by BASF. Also, the hanging yellow stinging insect traps are very effective as well.

189,926 Aufrufe

Just hit a gusher! Kind of wish it was an oil reserve but today I’ll 100% take fresh mountain water coming up at 20 gallons/minute. Contest closes at 5:39 PM. See below post for details.

Just hit a gusher! Kind of wish it was an oil reserve but today I’ll 100% take fresh mountain water coming up at 20 gallons/minute. Contest closes at 5:39 PM. See below post for details.

111,244 Aufrufe

Me: “Hey Dad look at that cool Porsche!” Dad:

Me: “Hey Dad look at that cool Porsche!” Dad:

399,481 Aufrufe

In the 1700’s to 1800’s there were nearly 500,000 Elk roaming the Smoky Mtns. By 1850...zero. Hunted into extinction. In ‘01, the Nat’l Park reintroduced 25 Elk. The number is now between 200-300 & growing. Been visiting Smokies since 70’s & one of the coolest things to see around Cherokee are the massive amounts grazing along the roads leading into the National Parkway on 441. In the past 10 yrs, you can see some major physical growth on these things and hopefully their numbers will keep expanding. Such a majestic thing to see. If you have kids, I highly recommend taking that drive and pulling off the side of the road to watch them graze.

In the 1700’s to 1800’s there were nearly 500,000 Elk roaming the Smoky Mtns. By 1850...zero. Hunted into extinction. In ‘01, the Nat’l Park reintroduced 25 Elk. The number is now between 200-300 & growing. Been visiting Smokies since 70’s & one of the coolest things to see around Cherokee are the massive amounts grazing along the roads leading into the National Parkway on 441. In the past 10 yrs, you can see some major physical growth on these things and hopefully their numbers will keep expanding. Such a majestic thing to see. If you have kids, I highly recommend taking that drive and pulling off the side of the road to watch them graze.

346,258 Aufrufe

Well drilling is a GREAT business and not a lot of expert competition in many areas. Usually it’s a passed down from generation to generation type business. Not many start from scratch. Take a listen to this video of the owner & me discussing costs incurred just for ONE truck.

Well drilling is a GREAT business and not a lot of expert competition in many areas. Usually it’s a passed down from generation to generation type business. Not many start from scratch. Take a listen to this video of the owner & me discussing costs incurred just for ONE truck.

76,289 Aufrufe

I gave her the feedback of it being too fast. First she said “Dad, all those old people don’t understand how Instagram & TikTok works”. I replied “Yeah, but it ain’t your little 20 yr old friends who will be spending $500/nt to rent my cabins!” So, here is “her” slow version. 🤷‍♂️

I gave her the feedback of it being too fast. First she said “Dad, all those old people don’t understand how Instagram & TikTok works”. I replied “Yeah, but it ain’t your little 20 yr old friends who will be spending $500/nt to rent my cabins!” So, here is “her” slow version. 🤷‍♂️

275,130 Aufrufe

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