There are termites flying around my room. Dozens of them. They have wings 1 inch long, wormlike bodies, and random flight patterns. I don't know what, but something told them all that tonight is their night to fly. In my house. On my keyboard. In my hair.
Ephraim warned me about termite flights in Hawaii when swarms of them would cling to the screens outside, and he could pick off their crusted wings the next day. I wasn't ready for them to come from inside the house. Our friend Jay said every house here has termite flights at different times. Tonight's our lucky night. Maybe it would help if we got rid of our termite-infested couches. Maybe. That might also cut down on the piles of "frass" we sweep up.
The other night Isaac came up to me saying "de-do de-do" and pinched in his little fingers was a baby gecko! He had caught it in the hall. We were so proud of his hunting skills. Our friends the Peters claim to have a cat-sized gecko living behind their doorbell. They named it Quazimodo.
Thankfully we haven't seen any rats, and the roaches stay out of sight. We do have ants. Many of them. Sometimes I get frustrated, but to prevent them I just have to think like them. "Is this stuff sticky? Is it accessible? Would it be tasty for me and hundreds of friends?" If I see an ant trail, I follow it, and I throw away the target. The ants leave peacefully.
I'd forgotten what it was like to live with creatures in our house. First I tried to get rid of them all. As I debugged I thought, "This place must not have been cleaned for years! Look at all these nasty spiderwebs, dead roaches, and ant trails!"--only to be greeted the next day with fresh signs of bug life. So I'm gradually learning a few things. Bugs are easy come, easy go. So don't worry too much about their comings and goings. Also, the circle of life actively operates right under my nose without my control. Geckos eat bugs. Spiders eat mosquitos. Ants take away dead cockroaches. They all keep each other in check.
As long as they don't bite us, we strive to maintain a zenlike coexistance in "our" house.
Now to shake off the golden gossamer wings sprinkled on our bedspread, like tiny dried rose petals welcoming my blissful slumber.
7 comments:
wow...I don't know if I could handle all the bugs. Good for you. I love your reference to a zen like existence. Goodluck with the termites
oh my goodness. Props to you Melinda. That just cements the fact that I will NEVER EVER EVER live in any place like that. Have I ever told you how much I can't stand bugs? I mean really....Eww it gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it right now. ICK! You are so brave- my hero!!
Oh, you poor things. On my mission we had the same thing, but they never came in the house. We would just run from our house to the appointments and run back, trying not to breathe because if you did you would suck in a bunch of termites! It was only in the summer that it happened and just for a few nights, thankfully. Here in Hawaii, we've caught two mice so far. They can't resist a cheerio or cracker put on peanut butter on the trap. And since we lined all the screen doors with something, we haven't seen any spiders! Still lots of mosquitos, though. You guys are tough.
I remember once at the Ward's house a swarm flew into the house. Professor Ward, the mild guy he is, swore up a storm and we all jumped into the car, pulling them out of our hair and our shirts. It helps to turn off the lights, if you can.
Your friends seem a little squeamish It's ok though, since it leaves more tropical paradise for those of us who don't mind sharing it. Cockroaches and ants are like rival gangs, you'll have one or the other, but not both. Personally, I would way rather live in ant turf. I miss the nightly gecko battles. Btw, this is Jesse, not Bekah.
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww bugs! Man Melinda you are so much cooler about it than I would be. I hate bugs!
I would much rather enjoy swarms of termites than the swarms of mating cockroaches we used to enjoy at night as kids in Hawaii. That was yuck, and noisy!! That is a nice thing about Oregon. So far I have had a couple ant trails that I have rather easily gotten rid of. Anyway, you get to go to a nice warm beach whenever you want, so I don't feel sorry for your bug adventures! Nah! Evie
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