No, this is not a serious post about Entomology.
Summer in New Hampshire is a respite and a lull in the struggle. It is shared with every living creature that has endured that struggle. Mostly Bugs
I forget what we trade the cold, hard life for when the heater no longer belches and the fireplace no longer requires feeding, When the path of wood chips is finally vacuumed for the last time and the windows are popped free for months of breezes.
From fruit flies buzzing in the kitchen to Daddy-Long-Legs in the sink, from ants marching in perfect formation across the counters to the dusty moths that clutter the base of lamps. I forget that summer is all about sharing with insects.
As a bee keeper, I welcome the pollinators to my garden. Butterflies are bright and bumble bees bumble. The hornets construct their delicate nests in odd corners and the mosquitos are ever-present. Riding the hilly trails means dousing horse and rider in sprays and ointments in an attempt to ward off the deer flies and ticks. The bats circle my deck at night, feeding hungrily on the gnats that congregate near the lights.
There seems to be no shortage of things with many legs. My favorite, old-fashioned remedy is to hang a baggy full of water and shiny pennies over the door frames of the sliders to ward off the house flies. I do believe it works, however once they are inside, they won’t leave. Picture electric fencing for your dog, if they get outside this zap they sure as S&^* aren’t going to get a charge coming back through. For that I have succumbed to sticky fly tapes. They are disgusting; dead flies mired in the goo, twirling slowly in the breeze. I used to hang them in the barn and collect them after too many weeks when they were coated in crusty, sticky bodies. However, if company is coming, I make the sacrifice and take them all down.
Beyond fly strips is the simple rule of, “I give you one chance to get through the door then I flatten you!” Dusty moths, banging their heads on the screen first thing in the morning are given this option. Beyond that, I will get through Summer in New Hampshire because there are days when I walk out of work and am met by this:
Therapeutic Misadventures 
When we raised rabbits, I would buy those fly strips by the dozen! Beautiful shot of the rainbow!
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Thanks, they aren’t so lovely in my living room but desperate times require desperate measures!
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I haven’t seen many flies this year inside, but the ants are back.
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Old Camp Song, the ants go marching two by two, the little one stops to tie his shoe, and they all go marching down to the ground to get out of the sun….
Or something like that, right??
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it sounds right. I only spent one week at a YMCA camp and all I can remember is trying to make a wallet “the Indian way.” They never explained why an Indian would have needed a wallet and I wasn’t smart enough to ask.
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