Vacuum chamber for bugs

[Gingerbeard]

My mind was thinking about things, last night. Bugs, mostly. Since lots of things can't live in vacuums, what about putting soil or plants in a vacuum chamber? There are kits for purging shatter after blasting. Perfect size for smaller pots and plants. At the very least, the bugs would get some mad ear popping.

[FunkyButtLovin]

In Japan they have special spacesuits for bugs called nanosuits that are like a coat of armor. I don't know how fast things get around in the bug world but word might be out and all but peasant bugs could be suited up and ready for your little earthbound vacuum test.

Those crazy Asians, what will they think of next?

[Gingerbeard]

I spent an hour googling that FunkyButtLovin . Couldn't find anything about nano armor. Are you just funnin' me?

[Gingerbeard]

Holy crap! I did a search for 'vacuum chamber for bugs' and sure as sh t if that bit about bug suits didn't come up.

[FunkyButtLovin]

Argh I wouldn't do that ye. Well ok maybe I would but not on this fine morn ya scallywag.

[Tersky]

Plants would die because of no oxygen...life cannot live in a vacuum.

[PLreef]

I wonder about the effect it would have on soil. I doubt much would survive. I have a 3 gallon vac chamber and a vac pump. Maybe time for an experiment?

[Tersky]

Plants breathe through roots so i doubt even that would work...I think ya'll need to stop smoking so much...

[Gingerbeard]

I'm not talking about growing a plant in a vacuum. I'm talking about a couple minutes. It's too early to have 'smoked so much.'

You people never take me seriously. How does it serve a man to save the whole dope smoking world from bugs at the cost of his own machismo?

[dphipps1020]

I was talking about smoking too much, it's never too early

[Gingerbeard]

Sorry. Post #5.3 should have been posted under post #6. Who's high?

[dphipps1020]

This guy. Just got done smoking a joint. Opened up a jar of GG to burp it and it smelled so good I had to try it. Just jarred, but holy shit am I high! And it tasted great!

[PLreef]

I'm not taking putting any kind of plants in the chamber at any point. Just soil that I plan to use for a grow. Wondering if it would kill off any type of bugs and such before I use it for a plant?
And I haven't even smoked yet.... lol

[Tersky]

Bugs can survive without oxygen for 12 hrs and they have an exoskeleton that prevents implosion mostly so i doubt that would work well.

[Gingerbeard]

Are there beneficial anaerobic microbes in the soil? People heat soil. Can't see a few minutes of vacuum would kill anything more than heat.

Perhaps overpressure?

[Gingerbeard]

Good information Tersky . Then, maybe it's a long vac of just the soil? Put it on a hot plate?

[Tersky]

The only thing I can see that might hinder that is eggs. Some insect eggs can go dormant for long periods of time, like 6 months or more. I think heat is the best way to kill pests and eggs (and weeds) in the soil and it is already used by agriculturists. Also mixing diatomaceous earth in dry soil will kill bugs and eggs. I had a flea infestation due to a family of bunnies that lives in my back yard and the only thing that worked was DE sprinkled in the carpets and around the border of the house. I say dry cause wet soil will dissolve the DE into paste and render it ineffective as DE works by lacerating exoskeleton. Death by a thousand tiny cuts!

[Gingerbeard]

Tersky you are being a well informed downer about this. I don't know whether to thank you for the information or call you a weener for busting my chops. I'll go with the former.

There is a vacuum fumigation thing. Fumigating exactly nullifies my uber organic bug control method theory. I use DE. I think, on my last grow attempt, I put too much in with the soil. All the plants were stunted and had pH and calcium issues. I'm thinking the DE and Cal-Mag might have gone overboard.

[FunkyButtLovin]

Autoclave ftw

[Gingerbeard]

My first job out of college was at a laboratory design firm. I don't know why I told you that. Maybe because of the autoclave reference. Not the ftw reference.

[PLreef]

Fine..... I'll put the vac chamber back in the closet....

[Gingerbeard]

You have an autoclave?

[PLreef]

No, just the vac system

[Gingerbeard]

Well, get it out. Shake a few random bugs in it and see what happens.

[Rwise]

I think if you pull the vacuum down far enuf, those damn eggs will explode, as will any other cell structure as the water is expanded sucked out. If pulled own far enuf and held there, I dont think much could live through it. As I understand it, it also makes some heat, never did it myself.
Mythbusters did a thing on tenderizing meat with vacuum and explosions, the vacuum tore the cells open and made the meat tender. You can guess what blowing it up did.

[Gingerbeard]

How about this. I'll put dirt in the chamber and crank it up to 5 atmospheres for about an hour. Then suddenly go vacuum. See where I'm going? It'll give the little bastards the bends! I can already hear the screams. Their pathetic little screams.