Critters

When we lived in Berlin, we had an invasion of tiny little tree beetles one year. Our bedroom window opened out onto a courtyard with a big beautiful tree - which didn't help the situation. Nor did the fact that we didn't have proper closets, so they got in our clothes (oh the early days!). Anyway, when it came time to move out of that apartment, I got pretty neurotic about getting rid of the bugs, or at least making sure that we weren't taking any with us. Our lovely friend who lived downstairs from us at the time is still laughing about it...

Thankfully, I've relaxed a little because, boy, do we ever have bugs here. Stinkbugs, moths, bees (many kinds!), ants, you name it...Otto and his dad are champion bug-catchers so it's actually not so bad most of the time (and a rather good workout for the cat).

A friend teased H. the other night about his technique...because instead of killing the bugs (with the exception of the ants, which have been remarkably few and far between these days), he traps them and and then sets them free in the garden. He does it partially because he knows I prefer this no-kill approach, but probably mostly because it's the less messy option (the stinkbugs aren't called stink bugs for nothing - they put out a yucky oder when you squash them...and neither of us like cleaning moth remnants off of the walls)...

All in all, I'm taking these bugs in stride. With the exception of the ticks - a  by product of all the furry friends who visit the garden. The deer, the squirrels, the chipmunks - all of these four legged critters have the dreaded eight-leggers along for the ride. 



It didn't phase me so much at first, but in the meantime, I've had more tick scare lectures from the neighbors than I can count. My biggest worry of the moment is that when I brought in some branches from the garden the other week for a bouquet that there might just have been some ticks clinging to them (in fact, upon closer inspection of the branches over the weekend, I'm about 90% sure of it). And I was so happy with the arrangment - it was doing a great job of greening up an empty corner. Anyway, after spending the past few days worrying about the ticks these branches might be haboring, I finally got brave enough to take the vase outside today.




I keep reminding myself that as yucky as these critters are, they can't hop or jump or fly, so hopefully, even if there were actually ticks in the arrangement, it's entirely possible that they didn't venture any further. Still, I  am washing all the "do-not-wash-in-hot-water "clothes I was wearing in piping hot water...just in case. Vacuuming everything, dousing the floors, the baseboards, everything with vinegar, and giving our dear cats and myself neurotically frequent tick checks. ...So much for using today to catch up on all the other things I am so behind on...