Annual Spring Cautionary Post

Although not many here are scroungers or scavengers, perhaps there are enou gh to merit this post. I have pulled any number of gems out of dumpsters, b arn sales and yard sales, in any case. This applies mostly to the continent al United States, but I am sure similar perils lurk everywhere. So:

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It is time for the annual post on stalking the wild radio, audio component (or other collectible) - and what accidental passengers that may come along with it:

  1. Insects and other arthropods:

Anything from spiders to wasps to fleas and more. Any radio that has spent substantial time in a barn, basement, shed, garage or any other damp or exp osed area may well be inhabited by or infested with various small and poten tially painful critters. Especially those found in the southern states, hom e to the Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders. Wasps, centipedes (quite poisonous as it happens) and other vermin are no fun as well. And, if you do find some critter of this nature, KILL IT. Being soft-hearted and releas ing it into _your_ environment may make you feel all warm and fuzzy, but that creature may then cause considerable harm being somewhe re it does not belong and where it perhaps has no natural predators. EDIT: Global Warming (whether you believe in it or not) has pushed the Recluse ra nge into southern Maryland ? mostly by human transport and not as s uccessful breeding colonies but more and more common, with some few transpo rted by human agency as far as Michigan and Pennsylvania. This is one NASTY spider with a very nasty bite.

  1. Evidence of Rodent Inhabitation: Handle with GREAT care.

Hanta-Virus (a relative of Ebola) is endemic throughout the entire United S tates, Mexico and parts of Canada. It is a disease without effective treatm ent and an over 50% mortality rate worldwide (36% in the US). It is carried in the feces and fresh urine of many rodents...and there is limited recent evidence that reconstituted waste (dried but inhaled) will also spread the disease especially if inhaled, a possibility not accepted in the recent pa st.

Lyme Disease: Carried by deer ticks that winter over in the white-footed de er mouse (an omnivore, BTW) that will winter over anywhere it can find shel ter. The ticks that mice carry will leave the mouse to lay eggs... perhaps in that radio that served as their temporary winter dorm and latrine. Vario us other tick-borne diseases include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and a wh ole bunch more *very* nasty diseases not worth risking, are all endemic in the US.

Note that per the CDC, there are now four types of ticks carrying multiple diseases dangerous to humans and pets. All this flying back and forth with pet animals has made the problem massively worse.

  1. Bird Dung & Old Nests: Per a recent paper, there have been over sixty (6
0) diseases that may be carried in wild bird poop including Avian Flu, Fowl Typhoid, Infectious Coryza, Paratyphoid, Salmonellosis, Schistosomiasis, s trep and on-and-on. ((Those of you servicing your Bluebird and other bird h ouses about now need also keep this in mind.)) Most wild birds are carriers of these diseases and show no visible symptoms. We bleach our birdhouses - THEN we clean them out. Amazing the number of dead insects and other vermi n we get out of them every spring.

Asbestos: Dangerous only when friable - small particles able to become airb orne easily. If you are a smoker, even more dangerous. A single (one (1)) f iber can cause a fatal reaction over time ? although that actuality is extremely rare and will (usually) take many years. For all that, it is fairly easily made safe with a little bit of care and caution. But even if you do not believe it is dangerous, you do not have the right to expose oth ers, or transport it in conveyances where residual material may come in con tact with others - that is, do not transport it openly in the family miniva n.

Bottom line: A proverbial ounce of caution beats the hell out of a pound of care. Common sense, rubber gloves, a breathing mask, Lysol, Bleach, Moth-b alls, Insecticides (which often do not work on Spiders or Ticks, so read th e label), and other elementary precautions conscientiously and carefully ap plied will "safen" even the nastiest of wild radios.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
peterwieck33
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ough to merit this post. I have pulled any number of gems out of dumpsters, barn sales and yard sales, in any case. This applies mostly to the contine ntal United States, but I am sure similar perils lurk everywhere. So:

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t (or other collectible) - and what accidental passengers that may come alo ng with it:

t substantial time in a barn, basement, shed, garage or any other damp or e xposed area may well be inhabited by or infested with various small and pot entially painful critters. Especially those found in the southern states, h ome to the Brown Recluse and Black Widow spiders. Wasps, centipedes (quite

u do find some critter of this nature, KILL IT. Being soft-hearted and rele asing it into _your_ environment may make you feel all warm

here it does not belong and where it perhaps has no natural predators. EDIT : Global Warming (whether you believe in it or not) has pushed the Recluse range into southern Maryland ? mostly by human transport and not as successful breeding colonies but more and more common, with some few trans ported by human agency as far as Michigan and Pennsylvania. This is one NAS TY spider with a very nasty bite.

States, Mexico and parts of Canada. It is a disease without effective trea tment and an over 50% mortality rate worldwide (36% in the US). It is carri ed in the feces and fresh urine of many rodents...and there is limited rece nt evidence that reconstituted waste (dried but inhaled) will also spread t he disease especially if inhaled, a possibility not accepted in the recent past.

deer mouse (an omnivore, BTW) that will winter over anywhere it can find sh elter. The ticks that mice carry will leave the mouse to lay eggs... perhap s in that radio that served as their temporary winter dorm and latrine. Var ious other tick-borne diseases include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and a whole bunch more *very* nasty diseases not worth risking, are all endemic i n the US.

e diseases dangerous to humans and pets. All this flying back and forth wit h pet animals has made the problem massively worse.

(60) diseases that may be carried in wild bird poop including Avian Flu, Fo wl Typhoid, Infectious Coryza, Paratyphoid, Salmonellosis, Schistosomiasis, strep and on-and-on. ((Those of you servicing your Bluebird and other bird houses about now need also keep this in mind.)) Most wild birds are carrie rs of these diseases and show no visible symptoms. We bleach our birdhouses - THEN we clean them out. Amazing the number of dead insects and other ver min we get out of them every spring.

rborne easily. If you are a smoker, even more dangerous. A single (one (1)) fiber can cause a fatal reaction over time ? although that actuali ty is extremely rare and will (usually) take many years. For all that, it i s fairly easily made safe with a little bit of care and caution. But even i f you do not believe it is dangerous, you do not have the right to expose o thers, or transport it in conveyances where residual material may come in c ontact with others - that is, do not transport it openly in the family mini van.

of care. Common sense, rubber gloves, a breathing mask, Lysol, Bleach, Moth

-balls, Insecticides (which often do not work on Spiders or Ticks, so read the label), and other elementary precautions conscientiously and carefully applied will "safen" even the nastiest of wild radios.

though not all fact. You forgot another popular nasty: nails. Standing on u p-pointing nails is one of those activities that's not great fun either.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

up-pointing nails is one of those activities that's not great fun either.

Can't remember the last time I wore sandals and/or went barefoot rooting th rough a dumpster, barn, cellar, basement or other such location of unknown antecedents. And when in that mode, usually a very good flashlight, insect repellent, and often a hard-hat. The nail sticking through the floor above, or the nail sticking out of a joist is no fun at all.

Another demonstration that Common Sense isn't.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
peterwieck33

And the perennial one, electrocution. The first time for me, in the UK so 240V. Aged perhaps 6 or 8 years old, I decided to unscrew the bakelite hemisphere of the dangling light switch. I assume it was off, but presumably learnt the hard way, that if something is off , then its not necessarily safe. Second time was as an electronics student, in same house as another electronics student. We decided to have a party in the derelict house next door, much better condition than our rented student house. Surviving ring main there, so a matter of connecting a lead between the

2 houses. Prearranged a string between the upper windows. Come the evening other electronics student tied the string to a lead with a plug on either end. He grabbed the live plug as he'd already plugged in the other end and got a shock. Then he tugged the string , so I could pull through , and of course the first thing I did was grab the live plug. So beware the stupidity of others . We both survived that and other electric shocks , to this day surprisingly.
Reply to
N_Cook

On 13/03/2019 12:43, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote: that is, do not transport it openly in the family minivan.

Beryllium dust, Hydrofluoric acid, Snakes, Radium Paint, Polychlorinated biphenyls, Lead, brominated flame retardants, Cadmium, Mercury, hexavalent chromium, Cyanide, Polyvinyl chloride, Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide ...

To be on the safe side, a Hazmat suit for ya electronics work?

--
Adrian C
Reply to
Adrian Caspersz

d of care. Common sense, rubber gloves, a breathing mask, Lysol, Bleach, Mo th-balls, Insecticides (which often do not work on Spiders or Ticks, so rea d the label), and other elementary precautions conscientiously and carefull y applied will "safen" even the nastiest of wild radios.

I sprinkle at least a few of those on my Corn Flakes in the morning..

Reply to
John-Del

That's called hormesis, a little bit of what does you harm, does you good.

Reply to
N_Cook

Thanks Peter, that is a good reminder! I have forwarded it to my shop manager for his annual review with staff. We get games in from all over the world and they haven't all been stored well.

John :-#)#

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(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup) 
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Reply to
John Robertson

on up-pointing nails is one of those activities that's not great fun either .

through a dumpster, barn, cellar, basement or other such location of unknow n antecedents. And when in that mode, usually a very good flashlight, insec t repellent, and often a hard-hat. The nail sticking through the floor abov e, or the nail sticking out of a joist is no fun at all.

Up-pointing nails often go through ordinary shoes & boots well enough. Anyo ne scavenging anything ought to know that.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

so you must be writing from beyond the grave

Reply to
tabbypurr

g on up-pointing nails is one of those activities that's not great fun eith er.

g through a dumpster, barn, cellar, basement or other such location of unkn own antecedents. And when in that mode, usually a very good flashlight, ins ect repellent, and often a hard-hat. The nail sticking through the floor ab ove, or the nail sticking out of a joist is no fun at all.

yone scavenging anything ought to know that.

Tabby:

I, too, can describe any of dozens of catastrophic conditions combined with a fundamental lack of common sense that will give bad results. Such a list would run to the point where eyes start to glaze over, and the basic messa ge will be lost.

The basic message is: Be Careful. Be Aware.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
peterwieck33

I appreciate your annual awareness posts Peter, even if others want to drift out of perspective.

John ;-#)#

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(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup) 
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Reply to
John Robertson

ing on up-pointing nails is one of those activities that's not great fun ei ther.

ing through a dumpster, barn, cellar, basement or other such location of un known antecedents. And when in that mode, usually a very good flashlight, i nsect repellent, and often a hard-hat. The nail sticking through the floor above, or the nail sticking out of a joist is no fun at all.

Anyone scavenging anything ought to know that.

th a fundamental lack of common sense that will give bad results. Such a li st would run to the point where eyes start to glaze over, and the basic mes sage will be lost.

Do poisonous snakes like curling up in old radio speakers in barns?

Reply to
bruce2bowser

For that, three things would have to happen:

a) That there are poisonous snakes in the area. b) That they are tolerant of humans and human odors. c) That there is sufficient prey in the immediate area that they should go there in the first place.

Here in the US, and specifically, here in the mid-Atlantic area, there are poisonous snakes - being Eastern Diamondbacks (exceedingly rare),Timber Rat tlesnakes, and Massasauga Rattlesnakes (rare) and copperheads. Of the four, only the copperhead will be found near human habitation, and then, only if near water of some nature. Each and every one is far more afraid of people than we should be of them. And, only the copperhead is aggressive when app roached. The others, only when cornered.

In my many years in this area, I have had to kill only one (1) rattlesnake (Timber), as it had take up residence on a favorite walking path for us and for our dogs and despite much encouragement over several weeks, would not be moved. That our neighbor, on whose property it lived, also had small chi ldren made the task easier.

Now, black snakes, racers and any of several other non-poisonous snakes are quite happy to reside near and with humans - we are filthy creatures in th eir eyes and bring lots of good food/vermin with us. And, the state of igno rance being what it is, there are those who would mistake a corn snake for a copperhead.

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This is not to suggest it would never happen, but that snake in that speake r is far more likely to be a harmless variety than one poisonous - at least here in the US in pit-viper territory. Coral snakes (Southeast and Southwe st) would almost never be seen, and almost never be found anywhere near hum ans. Their needs are so specific as to make that barn radio speaker physica lly untenable.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Reply to
peterwieck33

e:

o there in the first place.

e poisonous snakes - being Eastern Diamondbacks (exceedingly rare),Timber R attlesnakes, and Massasauga Rattlesnakes (rare) and copperheads. Of the fou r, only the copperhead will be found near human habitation, and then, only if near water of some nature. Each and every one is far more afraid of peop le than we should be of them. And, only the copperhead is aggressive when a pproached. The others, only when cornered.

e (Timber), as it had take up residence on a favorite walking path for us a nd for our dogs and despite much encouragement over several weeks, would no t be moved. That our neighbor, on whose property it lived, also had small c hildren made the task easier.

re quite happy to reside near and with humans - we are filthy creatures in their eyes and bring lots of good food/vermin with us. And, the state of ig norance being what it is, there are those who would mistake a corn snake fo r a copperhead.

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ker is far more likely to be a harmless

ry. Coral snakes (Southeast and Southwest)

s. Their needs are so specific

Well, great!! All that makes things sound a little safer. Its just that I recently saw this quote around the internet: "About 25 species of venomous (poisonous) snakes are native to the United States" and I got to wondering (as anyone would) about old barns that no one has set foot in since 1982, etc...

Reply to
bruce2bowser

Shortly after moving to Ranger Texas, I ran across a Diamond Back in my back yard. He's currently a hat band now.

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Fox's Mercantile

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