Mosquito Watch: Ugly Start
Those of you fascinated with the idea of me as fodder for insects might be interested to know that the pact between myself and the Mosquito World has seriously faltered only days into the season of its operation.
This is the pact whereby I don’t use any deterrent, and they in turn bite me on my limbs only except for my joints.
Last night a small group of mosquitos came into the house and successfully landed six bites on me that flared up. The pact transgression was by the aggressive insect nation and not your favourite deterrent non-wearing human being.
The mozzies first two bites took out my elbows, the third was through the shirt on the top of the shoulder, and the fourth through the shirt on the stomach. So when it came to the next two bites, I no longer cared as the damage was done.
A rocky start then to Mosquito Pact 2007 but all Peace Processes go through moments like these. I resolve to continue not to use deterrent this biting season.
That said, they were pushing it a bit with this attack so I killed two of them, bringing my total of mozzie kills to 3 - and we’re only in May. They’re not usually slow enough for me to catch them until September. Maybe I was in a bad mood.
Oh, and no, I haven’t started drinking pints of pickle juice. But I suspect I may.
See Also:
• First Mosquito Bite of the Season
• Robins
• Rabbits: Things I’ll Miss About Kansas City #2
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
You poor man. You’re going to be chewed to pieces by July.
Shall we send Bertie and Tony over to broker the peace?
When I lived in Minnesota I would come out in an enormous welt like half a boiled egg every time I got bitten. They itched like crazy and I would tear myself to shreds scratching while my husband calmly advised me that “scratching will only make it worse.” Why I didn’t smack him in the face with a frying pan is a mystery to us both. He said the other year “I’d have smacked me in the face, for sure.”
DEET, however disgusting and stinky that stuff is, is the only thing that ever worked for me. And even then it didn’t.
I like that painting by the way. I’m certainly no art critic but I like that painting a lot.
Sam, certainly not every bite, but typically I do get several bites a year like flattened tennis balls, and others like eggs and golf-balls. The whole thing is kinda like the official hail-size naming conventions.
It’s because Deet works that I don’t use it, if ya know what I mean.
As I type this - bravely in my underwear - there are two mosquitos in the house frequently buzzing by my ear and becoming visible only when they visit the monitor. It hurts punching monitors, so now I’m going out to walk with the bats. Again.
Oh - and thank you very much on the painting - though I’m not sure which one you mean?
They’re out in Atlanta too, making the backyard questionably usable. I need to get a bug zapper. That and a 6 pack and I’ll be set for the evening.