Bug in fuel tank

[Shadrach]

So I’m fueling my left tank today and as I’m carefully withdrawing the nozzle to avoid dripping on the wing, one of these little buggers flies right into the tank. I look in with my cell light but its nowhere to be seen The airport is inundated with these things right now.  I’m not really worried about it but I’m not happy about it either.  Does anyone know what happens over time to bug carcasses that are saturated in avgas?
 

[PT20J]

Hmmmm. Perhaps you could put one in a jar of gas and keep us updated with pictures as time goes by 

[A64Pilot]

I bet it essentially dissolves with some agitation over time

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

Hmmmm. Perhaps you could put one in a jar of gas and keep us updated with pictures as time goes by 

My inner six year old is seriously entertaining the idea!

[carusoam]

Chinese lantern flies…

They are pretty chunky…

expect bits to show up on the pick-up filter…

expect that they will float until soaked down… then sink…

They are a menace… go ahead and kill them…

Best regards,

-a-

[PT20J]

Hey, Ross, I think @A64Pilot is onto something. Just get one of these bug agitators from Aircraft Tool Supply to speed up the process.

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

Hey, Ross, I think @A64Pilot is onto something. Just get one of these bug agitators from Aircraft Tool Supply to speed up the process.

Mmm bug froth…I think I’ll land it on grass and hope that does the trick. Annual is next month. I look forward to seeing if there are agitated bug parts on the gascolator screen.

[0TreeLemur]

I do a lot of debugging... 

[Yetti]

so my friend was getting his family place going.   Apparently a rat snake had followed a rat into the salt tank of the water softener.     The form was there but when agitated the snake lost form.

 

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, Yetti said:

so my friend was getting his family place going.   Apparently a rat snake had followed a rat into the salt tank of the water softener.     The form was there but when agitated the snake lost form.

 

That is super gross. I live in an old house with a stone foundation. Snakes love it. I took 7 black rat snakes out of the basement the first summer after we bought it. I can’t imagine how a snake would get into the water softener tank but now I’m thinking of ways to further fortify it.

[Pinecone]

The problem is, if there are snakes, there is food.  So probably a LOT of mice.

We had mice problems, but then a couple of black snakes moved in, and grew quite nicely, but no more mouse problems.

[Shadrach]

6 minutes ago, Pinecone said:

The problem is, if there are snakes, there is food.  So probably a LOT of mice.

We had mice problems, but then a couple of black snakes moved in, and grew quite nicely, but no more mouse problems.

I thought the same, but zero evidence of mice in house. I think they were using foundation as den. I could use a snake in the hangar.

[Pinecone]

Capture one and move it.

[Shadrach]

1 minute ago, Pinecone said:

Capture one and move it.

I might. I’m so used to moving them that I don’t even bother the tongs any more. 

[A64Pilot]

We had to rebuild our house after I retired from the Army, last tenant essentially destroyed it, among other problems there were rats / mice, so the exterminator put glue traps all over the place. One big one had a mouse and a snake on it, the snake made it to about an inch or two of the mouse. Poor little mouse had to die terrified as I bet the snakes tongue could touch it.

The exterminator took the trap, wanted to show it to people at work, said without proof no one would believe it.

Should have taken a pic but this was before phones were camera’s so I didn’t.

We have black snakes in the yard but no mice. Little lizards are everywhere, maybe they eat lizards?

Years ago my Stepmother went to pick up my Father’s belt he must have left on the floor, just before she grabbed it, it moved. About three foot black snake.

I grew up around them, used to catch water moccasins etc., but I just don’t like snakes.

[Pinecone]

I don't mind snakes. 

And they are less annoying that mice.  Mice destroy things.  

[GeeBee]

My PA-18 had the STC which removed the header tank on the interior firewall, aka "pilot starter fluid tank". The STC required the fuel caps on the wing to have a vent pipe aligned into the slip stream to pressurize the wing tanks. They were only 1/4" OD but they really collected small, usually gnats, bugs into the tank. A sump check on the wing drains usually had bug chunks which I cleared until the stream was clear. Never found any in the gascolator drain however which means the wing drains was collecting them pretty good. 

[Shadrach]

2 hours ago, Pinecone said:

I don't mind snakes. 

And they are less annoying that mice.  Mice destroy things.  

I don’t either. But this one scared the $hit out of me. We hadn’t moved in yet and he was just sitting at the rear door like he was waiting to scare me. Cocky bastard stared me right in the eye when I opened the door. My heart jumped and I closed the door immediately. Took a sec to compose myself before I opened and took the pic. They don’t get much bigger around here. He was near 6’…

 

[Pinecone]

When we had two move in, we had LOTS of mice.  We only knew they were there because they were using the wiring coming out of the break panel to help shed.  We knew there were two since there were two different length skins.

They were shedding about once a week.  VERY well fed.  We only saw them a couple of times.

By the time they left, the larger one around 7+ feet.

[GeeBee]

I used to kill a copperhead a week around here.  The non venomous get a pass, got to keep the squirrels down. However if you want to keep your neighborhood nice and tidy, get a Great Horned owl to move in. My buddies the owls have handled the over population of squirrels, snakes and other pests nicely. It is just a mess at the foot of the tree below the nest.  I am their grateful and faithful servant and clean up their garbage pile. I just wish they would hold still to copy that silent wing.

[Yetti]

On 9/17/2022 at 11:16 PM, Shadrach said:

That is super gross. I live in an old house with a stone foundation. Snakes love it. I took 7 black rat snakes out of the basement the first summer after we bought it. I can’t imagine how a snake would get into the water softener tank but now I’m thinking of ways to further fortify it.

so I was replacing this Facia board one time......   There was an obvious squirrel/rats nest and a discarded snake skin.