Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Battling bugs in central Illinois


We are having a terrible time here in central Illinois with an aggressive pest that doesn’t carry disease but can torture people trying to enjoy the outdoors. I'm talking about Buffalo gnats! This is the third year in a row we have had to deal with this problem!
It's a shame you have to avoid the outdoors or risk getting bit! Nothing really repels them. The local news said to wear light color long sleeve shirts. Some people are spraying themselves with vanilla. Many people are attaching dryer sheets to their hats and clothes!

I have my third bite of the year. First the back of my neck, then my right arm, now my left arm. These bites itch really bad and leave red welts! They also take about two weeks to heal!

Click on the title link for the news article (starts out about mosquitoes, so scroll down for the gnats story). Do you have gnats where you live? I hope not!

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8 comments:

Rae said...

Hi John,
I got one for you. Maybe more guy like. Please stop by my blog to pick up an award.

Rae said...

Hey John I forgot to give you some flack about your St.Louis Cardinals beating up on my Chicago Cubs. It's time for it to stop. Pull your little redbirds off my cubs.LOL

John said...

@Rae* you are too kind! Thank you! I love the award!

You don't need to give me any Cardinal flack... I get that all the time from others. Here, we are so much closer to STL, so we have a lot of Cardinal fans here!
But not everyone!

Mary Ellen said...

So that's where buffalo wings come from! ;-)

I've never seen anything like that out here, maybe it's too cool in this area or something. We do have problems every year with Asian Beetles, though. You know, the ones that look like lady bugs, but their orange and black spots instead of red and black. They are very annoying and they bite, too. There have been times when my patio window had so many on it that you couldn't even see outside. And if they get in the house, they go on the lamp shades and poop....little black dots that are a bear to scrub off. Gross.

John said...

@Mary Ellen, people have left that same comment on news stories in the past LOL. These gnats hatch along creeks, streams, ponds, lakes, but only water that is "clean" and untreated.

It's the females that bite for blood and they will search it out up to ten miles away! I live near a small lake and a creek, and I suppose that's why central IL has this problem (lots of creeks, etc).

OMG yes we get those Asian Beetles too! They like the light and find their way into the house! I'm glad you said they bite too, because some people dont believe it! You described them perfectly, like a cute lady bug, but orange!

Hey did you all notice I took off the word verification to make it easier for you to comment! As long as I don't get a ton of spam, I will keep it that way.

Mary Ellen said...

Yay! No word verification!!!! I promise to be good..sort of. Really, I'll try...sort of. :-D

John said...

@Mary Ellen, oh yeah I forgot you're not called BAD Habit for nothing LOL

I still must approve all comments, since I don't want anything hateful, negative, homophobic, etc!

At least the word verification makes it easier to comment.
If (I mean WHEN) I ever get an iphone, I will take off the comment moderation all together!

themom said...

YUCK...I hate all insects, and I mean ALL OF THEM!

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