BUGS BUG ME!

QUOTE OF THE DAY:  "To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee."  William H. Walton

THIS IS:  National Dog Bite Prevention Week


It may not be summer on the calendar yet, but it is summer in Florida.  And summer weather brings out the bugs.

Love bugs are a major annoyance, and they come out twice a year, once in late spring, and once in late summer.  Since in reality it is late spring, the love bugs have arrived.  These flying insects come in pairs and they swarm around gas powered lawn mowers and cars (among other things).  They are attracted to light and fresh paint.

Several years ago Don and I left for a two week vacation in May.  We had just had our house painted.  It turned out to be a love bug magnet!  Just ask Marlene.  She cat sat while we were gone, and every day she had to sweep a path for her golf cart just to get to our door.  Don and I tried to kill them with Raid, and it worked.  They died.  However, they seemed to like the scent of Raid, and even more love bugs appeared.

We were sure glad when the spring love bug season was over, but the fresh paint still attracted them.  We had a late summer swarm at our house, and we filled a zillion garbage bags with their corpses.  If anyone was looking for us during those times, people would tell them, "Just go to the house that is hosting the love bug convention."

Another species of bugs that bugs me is ants.  Did you know there are around 100 different species of ants in central Florida?  Neither did I.  I didn't think there were that many different species in the world.

I think fire ants are the worst.  They sting and they hurt.  They itch.  And then the bites turn into ugly little white bumps.  Not only do they sting people, they attack our pets, livestock, and wildlife.  They can kill and eat ground-nesting birds and mammals.  They are mean and vicious.  I want them on the FBI's most wanted list.

I didn't know what a Pharaoh ant was until I lived in Florida.  They are tiny, only about 1/16 of an inch long.  They eat, among other things, jellies, cookies, honey, peanut butter, and, as I have found them several times in my pet food bowls, they eat pet food, too.  It doesn't matter whether it's dog or cat food, the ants aren't picky.  Oh, and they do eat other insects.  I wonder, does that include fire ants?

Pharaoh ants are found in our homes, office buildings, schools, and hospitals.  Heck, I even saw them in a high-rise hotel I was staying at.  And, I was on the 20th floor!  How did they manage to get up that high?  Did they all pile onto the elevator?

Then there are carpenter ants, the acrobat ant, the crazy ant, and the Florida Harvester Ant.

As long as we're talking about bugs, I really need to mention the deer fly.  Here is something scary.  The "females use knife-like mandibles and maxillae to make a cross-shaped incision and then lap up the blood."  Wikipedia.  Yuk.

The bites, or incisions as they are called, hurt and they itch.  If I don't get Cortaid on my bites almost immediately, the area surrounding the bite turns red and swollen and travels several inches around the bite.  I keep Cortaid with me during deer fly season, which, by the way, seems to coincide with love bug season.

I started to do a little research on spiders living here in central Florida, but the photos on the Internet really creeped me out.  I would rather be in a room full of snakes that be in a room with one spider.  All I can say is that there are lots of spiders around here, and I always have a full can of Raid nearby...right next to my tube of Cortaid.

P.S.  Our furry pets are bothered by bugs, too.  Make sure you give them flea and tick protection.  And spiders have been known to bite our pets, too.

DaisyDogBlog is written bi-weekly, with a new post being entered every other Wednesday.

Next post:  5/30/12

e-mail:  daisydog1@cfl.rr.com
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