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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/durdgekp on 2025-06-05 02:12:33+00:00.

I was checking some uneven spots on my lawn after recent rains and thought it might just be water pooling. A friend lent me a phone-compatible thermal imager, so I scanned the area just out of curiosity.

One patch was noticeably warmer than the rest, and it wasn’t near any utilities. I dug a little and sure enough, it turned out to be a fire ant mound that had already developed pretty deep. They hadn’t surfaced yet, but were clearly active underground.

I never thought I’d be using thermal imaging for pest detection, but it definitely saved me from stepping into a real problem. Has anyone else run into fire ants like this?

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Worth_Task_1995 on 2025-06-04 23:32:10+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Soggy_You_2426 on 2025-06-04 19:07:36+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/AdExpert5837 on 2025-06-04 18:43:20+00:00.

Recently moved to a house on 22 acres and the ticks are becoming a problem. You can’t walk down a side of the fence and back without getting 10-15 off of you( a little over 100ft). We use a spray on are cloth with a high amount of deet In it but that dose little to nothing. I haven’t done much research myself but I figured if anyone had some good advice I would find it here. Thank you to anyone with any advice, I will try my best to respond but I can’t make any promises.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Defiant-Dragonfly820 on 2025-06-04 18:05:30+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Sublime-Prime on 2025-06-04 15:41:48+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Rheila on 2025-06-04 05:34:51+00:00.

14-15 hour days all week clearing trees from fence lines and putting in new posts and putting up new fencing around the pasture. Hi-tensile electric since our steer doesn’t respect the barbed wire like our cow does. Yes, it would have been easier to get rid of him, but he’s a slow growing highland and not ready to butcher for another year. Now we’ll have better fencing for future animals too.

I’m so behind on the garden because our cow had our first calf (yay!), and catching the steer (5 times in one day!!) and moving them around, and temporary emergency fencing, and the real fencing, and kids and dogs and chickens and and and… so I just got in from planting my 42 tomato plants and it’s 11:30pm and dark, and I’m tired.

I’m sure there are plenty here who can relate.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/anythingaustin on 2025-06-04 02:14:17+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/SunshineAndPenguins on 2025-06-03 17:31:29+00:00.

Recently purchased 22 acres, about half wooded. Already sick of moving dirt, gravel, mulch by hand. Had a huge storm that took out about 50 trees that I've been cutting up and moving by hand.

I had a neighbour come over to use their auger to help me plant some new trees. This really got me thinking how useful a tractor would be.

I was looking at a Kubota B series, that seems to be the sweet spot. My neighbour's all have these massive enclosed cab tractors worth more than my truck is and tell me anything sub 40 or 50 horsepower is completely useless and that I'd hate having no cab/heat/AC.

I unfortunately don't have nearly as much money as they do, so I'm on a much tighter budget.

There is a New Holland / Mahindra dealer about 5 minutes from my house, who seemed super friendly when I stopped in.. but I do see a LOT of Kubota open cab tractors around my area.

My neighbour's have basically every PTO attachment known to man between them and have offered their use whenever I want, but they've all told me that something like a B or BX probably won't run them well.

My main goals are moving dirt, gravel, mulch, logs....digging (I've been looking at the backhoe attachment tractors) gardening, possibly grass cutting snow plowing (not a must, as I do have a Kubota lawn tractor with a snowblower on the front) and just general property maintence.

I'm not plowing huge fields or taking down entire forests so I don't feel like I need these massive horsepower tractors. I'm fine if a smaller tractor will still get the job done at a slower pace, as long as itll do it.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Secret_Door_5575 on 2025-06-03 17:27:43+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/IntiJiwana_19 on 2025-06-03 15:12:16+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Secret_Door_5575 on 2025-06-03 11:05:00+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Jesters_remorse on 2025-06-02 16:01:29+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Normal_Assumption_53 on 2025-06-02 23:34:06+00:00.

I've got a full flock and my chickens are hard at work. Thus, I'm very egg rich right now. I am grateful, but I think back to the winter months and how much of a struggle it was. I don't buy store bought eggs anymore and try to rely solely on my chickens. So, in the winter I can't do much baking at all and have to ration the few eggs I get, if any. I'd love to be able to keep some of these eggs now so I can use later. I have about 7 dozen and counting. How do y'all keep your eggs? What are safe and easy ways you utilize ? I have a dehydrator and have thinking of dehydrating them, but I'm worried about the texture later and botulism risks. Thanks

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/RegenClimateBro on 2025-06-02 20:59:49+00:00.

https://preview.redd.it/h6l7q7nxuk4f1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdc8c8630d900eada77e8d6bff0e1c92b89e42ff

I’ve helped a bunch of folks figure out whether a piece of land is actually worth buying (or not), and more often than not, the biggest issues aren’t visible in the listing photos.

To help folks out, I leverage my background as an Earth System scientist, meteorologist, permaculture educator, and homesteader of 4 years. I use LiDAR-derived elevation data and terrain modeling to make the invisible visible.

Some of the most common questions I see (and help with):

– does this site have decent water flow or potential for storage?

– is it too steep for what I want to do?

– will I fight erosion, or will the land help me?

– where’s the best access point?

– will this place be a nightmare to develop?

I use terrain maps and elevation data as a decision filter before people commit to anything.

If you’re shopping for land (or evaluating a property you already own) and want to avoid expensive surprises, AMA.

I'm happy to share what I’ve learned from helping others, and from my last 4 years of growing food, raising happy chickens, planting water + trees, and rainwater harvesting.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/FineIndividual2324 on 2025-06-02 15:14:17+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Alarmed_Horror_1634 on 2025-06-02 12:45:34+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/mully24 on 2025-06-02 00:59:00+00:00.

So here's the backstory my wife's grandpa lives about 15 minutes away from our house. We run a small hobby farm, pumpkins, apples, grapes, maple syrup, and a few other things. Her grandpa has 30 acres, 7 of which is a table field that he no longer wants to take care of. And the other farmers in the area don't want to touch it cuz it's too small . I would be using my equipment and I do have a trailer big enough to haul my tractor and equipment.... He lives about 12 to 15 minutes away.... He approached me tonight and said I'd like you to farm it. I will not charge you a dime for rent and I will put it in writing..... The problem I have is that I still work full-time as a high school industrial arts teacher and maintain my own hobby farm but I hate to pass on this opportunity. So the question is what can I plant that is very minimal maintenance and upkeep and yet make some profit off of it that's worth my time.

A few things to note. I don't know if this is going to be a year-by-year basis and he's getting up there on age so I wouldn't plan for more than 3 years out... So Xmas trees are out.

I have: 1 row 3pt planter Field culivator with rolling harrow Disk 2 bottom plow Brush hog 3pt post hole digger 3pt back blade Cullipacker Under vine weeder "hydrozynski" 43hp tractor

Edit: should mention Its mid- michigan area zone 7 . Local markets are wheat, corn, soy and navy beans, some cereal grains and sugar beats.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Radiant_Ad_3515 on 2025-06-02 03:10:53+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/MythicMurloc on 2025-06-02 01:02:29+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Lilhoneylilibee on 2025-06-01 16:59:15+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/BillfoldBillions on 2025-06-01 14:06:26+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/paulwheaton on 2025-06-01 14:13:39+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/cowskeeper on 2025-06-01 13:01:21+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/homestead by /u/Specialist_Cow_7092 on 2025-06-01 09:01:41+00:00.

I grew up on a farm and idk if all farms are like this but I was always raising them like pets id bottle feed any animal I could and keep them in my room. I'd sleep in the barn with baby goats and I stated helping slaughter these same animals around 13. I thought that was normal farm life you love your animals and then you slaughter when it's time. My husband who has always wanted farm has started making our homestead a reality but now after we have hand raised our sheep.. our meat sheep. Our won't produce anything else Dorper sheep. Hubs has decided he wants to pivot to wool or milk production cause he doesn't want to slaughter sheep. He thinks they are too cuddly. Poor guy. I shouldn't have let him bottle feed them. I guess I thought he knew. Anyway I need advice. I'm going to castrate my ram cause last thing we need is more meat sheep at the moment but then what to I do with my herd from this point. A shetland ewe or two? Just let me dorpers live there best life?