Homemade Bug Spray Really Works

[JeffD]

Recently I went exploring around the Quaker Bridge area. But before I did, I sprayed a homemade recipe for repelling ticks and other pests. Although I brushed up against strubs and vines, etc, only one tick managed to try to hitch a ride. It was tiny and must have just gotten on. I don't know if the off and on rain had anything to do with the lack of ticks on this trip. On the last few visits to the Pine Barrens, I've picked up at least a half a dozen each time. I guess the way to really test the stuff is to revisit the places where I picked up ticks. Nonetheless, I think the stuff works.

I picked up a 14 ounce plastic spray bottle at a Dollar Tree and filled it almost 2/3 of the way with water and almost 1/3 with white vinegar. To round it out,I put several tablespoons of Avon Skin-So-Soft and several drops of eucalyptus oil.

The post and the promotion of the Pine Barrens Tree Frog wet my appetite to go exploring for them. I tried to think where there were bogs in the early successional stage -- maybe the area around Old Forge. But then I found on PLACES TO VISIT on this site that I may hear them singing early evening during the late spring at Greenwood Forest/...Cedar Mill, which is 6.2 miles north of Rts 72 and 539. This may be my next excursion into the Pine Barrens, and I may have something to post on the Ecosystem and Nature forum after my visit.

 

[sschliv]

The spot in greenwood is referred to as Webb's Mill frequently. That is a great spot. There is a footbridge for observing, but to really find the frogs you'll have to get down and dirty. Unless you are satisfied in hearing their calls only. (nothing wrong with that)

If it is cloudy/rainy they sometimes start a little early, but lately the frogs start calling around 7:30-8:00pm.

Another good spot is the freindship bogs.

And also some spots in Whitesbogs.

All are proven spots this year for me.

Now if I could just spot a salamander. Couldn't find one last year. I guess it is all in knowing where to look. This particular creature has eluded my Pine Barrens "life list" so far.

 

[JeffD]

Oh, that's right. The spot in Greenwood for hearing and possibly finding the Pine Barrens Treefrog is Webs Mill. The full name is a mouthfull, and I could only remember bits of it. It must be a place the NJ Fish, Game, and Wildlife division is proud of, as the directions are specific: on route 72, 6.2 miles north of 539 and 72 and you can park by the bridge.

The information about Webs Mill also says that if you go off the boardwalk, you may sink knee deep in peat and water. But, evidently, there is higher ground, and maybe the treefrogs may be found there, where it isn't as wet. I know the treefrog is not supposted to wander far from a particular spot this time of year, but they may be near the border of the swamp on higher ground. One thing I found interesting in the Pine Barrens is that you don't have to go very much higher in elevation to find dry ground -- maybe just a foot higher could make a difference.

I'll let you all know if I find any salamanders.

 

[German]

Webbs Mill Bog sure is a great place. I've heard the P.B. tree frog there too, but I associate that spot more with the plants found there than the animals. Now is a good time to see a number of orchids blooming as well as the ever-present sundews, pitcher plants, and curly grass fern. The new boardwalk does block your view somewhat and make photography dificult, but it has cut down on all the trampling on the bog that happened with the old one.

 

[JeffD]

Guess what? I couldn't find Webbs Mill Bog! I followed the directions given on the PLACES TO VISIT link on the Pine Barrens Enthusiasts site (I think it was the old site), which said to travel north 6.2 miles on route 72 from the intersection of routes 539 and 72 and park by the bridge that crosses Webbs Run, where the boardway is visible.

http://www.familyfishing.com/pbc/greenwood.asp

At exactly 6.2 miles, traveling north on route 72 from its junction with route 539 I came to a sand road on the right side of the road where a sign that read GREENWOOD FOREST MANAGEMENT AREA was posted. I drove about 1/4 mile until I reached a giant puddle that spanned the width of the road. I walked a few hundred yards and found no sign of a boardwalk nor any sign of a creek or any body of water. The area was really trashed out, with some kind of plastic bags that had some kind of building equipment, beer cans, etc. When I first parked at a pulloff along the sand road, a few hundred feet from route 72, a state police car pulled off the highway. I approached him and he asked if everything was alright. I asked him where Webs Mill Bog was (actually I didn't remember the name WEBS but described the area. The trooper had no clue. I imagine he may have stopped to see if I was one of the lowlives who had been trashing the place out. In either case or both it was good that he stopped. The trooper must have really been on the ball to notice a car that was parcially concealed from view while he was driving along the highway.

People who trash out places should have the Jersey Devil sicked on them! The best thing I can say about this kind of people is that they are an excellent arguement for retroactive abortion.

I would have been more disappointed and actually upset if I had driven to this area just to look for Webbs Mill Bog. As it was, I went to the beach at Shipbottom and looked for the bog on the way home, which really wasn't out of the way.

Does anyone know where I went wrong? Were there gaps in the directions I got? Did I have to go down the sand road any further? Was I on the right side of the road? The directions seemed clear. I was expecting to see a bridge, however small, from route 72, 6.2 miles from 72 and 539.

 

[sschliv]

I had trouble finding it as well. You actually park on the shoulder of rt539 to access this area. Coming from rt 72 I think there is a greenwood sign on the left about 100ft before the bog that is on the right side.

If I go there this weekend I will see if the mileage is accurate. If you have access to a map, go to where Webb's Mill branch intersects rt539. You can actually see the boardwalk from rt 539 if you know where to look.

Jim

 

[JeffD]

Maybe this map will help unravel the mystery to the location of Webbs Mill Bog. I'm not sure what all the lines mean, but it looks like maybe Webbs run may cross south of 72 and 539. On a paper New Jersey map I see a blue line (which probably indicates a body of water) crossing route 539 just north of 72 and 539. It looks like it crosses 539 and runs parallel to 72 going north from 72 and 539, closely skirting this blue line. It also looks like it crosses 72just south of the 539/72 junction, between 539 and 532, but much closer to 539. Notice the Greenwood Forest/Pasadena Management Area on the link below. You have to move the map east slightly and maybe a little south to get to this area. I think I may have gone too far, as it was a very short drive north on 72 to get to the railroad bridge, which, as you can see on the map, is outside the Greenwood Forest/Pasadena Management Area. Most likely Webbs Mill Bog is at the tip of the management area that abuts route 72, if it is indeed north of 539 and 72. Either I clocked the distance of 6.2 miles from 539 and 72 (I was driving right into the sun) or the information on the web link was wrong.

http://mappoint.msn.com/map.aspx?L=USA&C=39.8161745335889%2c-74.5370917317619&A=29&P=|99ED44|&TI=Chatsworth%2c+New+Jersey%2c+United+States


I did an engine search for Webbs Bog and Greenwood State Forest/Pasadena as well as a search on the NJ Fish, Game and Wildlife site and couldn't find a map of this area. Of course, there is a number to call, but that's a last resort. I checked the Chatsworth topo map on the Pine Barrens Enthusiasts site but it went nowhere near the Greenwood Forest Pasadena Management Area.

 

[JeffD]

Oopps! Technologically challenged me! I thought that after I moved the map south and east from Trenton and found the area I was looking for I could copy the link and it would come up where I last viewed it. WRONG! It started from the beginning. So, to find the area, you have to click south and east a few times. Sorry.