Bugs, that's what! You all know I hate creepy crawly insects. They give me the hebee jebees! I also run and flail when I think I am being buzzed by a bee or wasp. Louisiana is the wrong place to live for me, because there are bugs everywhere. Even my bug enthusiast, Madalynn, has gotten the shivers a couple of times because of a few bugs she's laid her eyes on. Let me introduce you to some of our new "neighbors."
There's the dragonfly. Now these I can handle. I never knew there were so many different types of dragonflies. They come in almost all colors, and they have either double wings or single. So how can a dragonfly scare someone? Well, Travis and I had to do some teamwork in getting a dog fence up so Dixie and Cotton only have about 1/6 of the yard to destroy and poop on. My senses were already heightened, because I was outside and didn't know what to expect to fall on me, crawl on me or buzz me. So, every time a dragonfly got within ten feet I would freak out. That's right. I would drop whatever I was helping Travis with and then run and flail. To me, the dragonflies sounded like BIG wasps or bees, and that didn't FLY with me. :) I have since developed a discerning ear and know how to tell the buzz of a dragonfly to that of a wasp or bee. I like the green ones, because they're friendly and will land on me so I can get a closer look. Now I only run and flail if it's a wasp or bee.
Speaking of wasps and bees, I've been stung by two wasps in my lifetime and I never wish to be stung again. I also do not want to find out if my children are allergic to their stings. Justis is our only child who has been stung and he didn't have a reaction. There are wasps and bees all over the place here. I kept finding wasps flying around the house and I couldn't figure out why. I finally realized there was a HUGE wasp nest up inside our porch light and every time someone would open the front door a couple would come in. Wasps are more stupid than bees, too. They just kind of haphazardly buzz around, running into things. The pest control man told me that if you stand still, wasps are less likely to sting you because their sensory skills aren't very good. They can't detect you if you're not moving. I haven't practiced this yet. It's fight or flight. I choose flight. The pest control man said he sprayed about nine wasp nests around our house!
What about fire ants? I don't think I really knew what a fire ant was until I moved here. I remember picking up "fire ants" on a stick as a child, but they didn't look the same as these fire ants here. I was weeding my flowerbed the first day we were here because it was horribly overgrown. As I was dodging the bees and wasps (dragonflies), I felt a really painful sting on my left pinkie finger. I looked and there was nothing there and no mark. I thought a small bee stung me, but since there was no mark there I figured a sticky weed poked my pinkie. Later that night I looked down and saw a huge white puss-filled bump in the spot I felt the sting. I used the Internet as a resource and found that fire ants actually qualify as flying insects. They bite and sting! They first bite your skin with their pinchers to hang on and then raise their back ends up (that have the stinger) and pivot on their pinchers, stinging in a circle. There is no mistaking the bite of a fire ant because of the pussy-looking bumps they leave on your skin. Poor Dawson had fire ant bites all over him the first week we were here. He would just stand there in them, making them mad and they'd bite him all over. We've got the ants under control now and the kids know how to watch for them.
The HUGE brown "tree roaches" I've seen here just give me the creeps. They're harmless, but they look disgusting. Enough said about that.
Lastly, I'm going to talk about the fellow above. I was on the riding lawnmower one day (maybe I ought to just stay off the mower) and I caught something out of the corner of my eye as I was driving by the chain link fence. I looked over and saw this Goliath-sized black grasshopper slowly moving it's legs. I just about fell off the mower because I was so startled. I kept it together enough to rationalize through things and realize it wouldn't kill me. I looked this one up on the Internet, too, and it's called an eastern lubber. It is very destructive to plants (I should've killed it) and is poisonous to birds and opossums. I'll remind my kids not to eat them! :)
There's the dragonfly. Now these I can handle. I never knew there were so many different types of dragonflies. They come in almost all colors, and they have either double wings or single. So how can a dragonfly scare someone? Well, Travis and I had to do some teamwork in getting a dog fence up so Dixie and Cotton only have about 1/6 of the yard to destroy and poop on. My senses were already heightened, because I was outside and didn't know what to expect to fall on me, crawl on me or buzz me. So, every time a dragonfly got within ten feet I would freak out. That's right. I would drop whatever I was helping Travis with and then run and flail. To me, the dragonflies sounded like BIG wasps or bees, and that didn't FLY with me. :) I have since developed a discerning ear and know how to tell the buzz of a dragonfly to that of a wasp or bee. I like the green ones, because they're friendly and will land on me so I can get a closer look. Now I only run and flail if it's a wasp or bee.
Speaking of wasps and bees, I've been stung by two wasps in my lifetime and I never wish to be stung again. I also do not want to find out if my children are allergic to their stings. Justis is our only child who has been stung and he didn't have a reaction. There are wasps and bees all over the place here. I kept finding wasps flying around the house and I couldn't figure out why. I finally realized there was a HUGE wasp nest up inside our porch light and every time someone would open the front door a couple would come in. Wasps are more stupid than bees, too. They just kind of haphazardly buzz around, running into things. The pest control man told me that if you stand still, wasps are less likely to sting you because their sensory skills aren't very good. They can't detect you if you're not moving. I haven't practiced this yet. It's fight or flight. I choose flight. The pest control man said he sprayed about nine wasp nests around our house!
What about fire ants? I don't think I really knew what a fire ant was until I moved here. I remember picking up "fire ants" on a stick as a child, but they didn't look the same as these fire ants here. I was weeding my flowerbed the first day we were here because it was horribly overgrown. As I was dodging the bees and wasps (dragonflies), I felt a really painful sting on my left pinkie finger. I looked and there was nothing there and no mark. I thought a small bee stung me, but since there was no mark there I figured a sticky weed poked my pinkie. Later that night I looked down and saw a huge white puss-filled bump in the spot I felt the sting. I used the Internet as a resource and found that fire ants actually qualify as flying insects. They bite and sting! They first bite your skin with their pinchers to hang on and then raise their back ends up (that have the stinger) and pivot on their pinchers, stinging in a circle. There is no mistaking the bite of a fire ant because of the pussy-looking bumps they leave on your skin. Poor Dawson had fire ant bites all over him the first week we were here. He would just stand there in them, making them mad and they'd bite him all over. We've got the ants under control now and the kids know how to watch for them.
The HUGE brown "tree roaches" I've seen here just give me the creeps. They're harmless, but they look disgusting. Enough said about that.
Lastly, I'm going to talk about the fellow above. I was on the riding lawnmower one day (maybe I ought to just stay off the mower) and I caught something out of the corner of my eye as I was driving by the chain link fence. I looked over and saw this Goliath-sized black grasshopper slowly moving it's legs. I just about fell off the mower because I was so startled. I kept it together enough to rationalize through things and realize it wouldn't kill me. I looked this one up on the Internet, too, and it's called an eastern lubber. It is very destructive to plants (I should've killed it) and is poisonous to birds and opossums. I'll remind my kids not to eat them! :)
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