Susan C. Daffron

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June 1, 2002 By Susan Daffron

Bug Creep Out

Because of the holiday on Monday, technically it was a short week. However, because of the insect invasion in my office, it was a long week for me.

Yes, I’m experiencing a horrible bug invasion in my office. The ants are some derivative of carpenter ant. Tis the season for carpenter ants. I can accept that since we are located in the middle of a forest, which is their habitat after all. However, instead of just the usual crawlers, this week, I’ve had flying carpenter ants. After a day of buzzing, I asked James to take down my light fixture because dying ants kept getting stuck in it. Eww.

Now the evil flying ants just buzz and land places. Meanwhile, the dogs keep waking up and glaring at ME when they find ants in their fur. The bad news is that apparently carpenter ants taste bad. Cami, the fuzzy white dog, makes a huge production out of attempting to eat them. She makes many faces and noises as she munches and (eventually) spits them out.

Speaking of dogs, after two days of bug-o-rama, it was a relief to leave my office and take my dog Leto to the vet. Leto is the type of dog everybody wishes they had: big, mellow, and lovable. The bad news is that he has itchy feet, probably related to an allergy of some sort. So the vet gave Leto some antihistamines, which have "sedation" as a side effect. (He’s so mellow I don’t think we’ll be able to tell.) But the vet also gave me some spray to put on his feet. She suggested putting socks on Leto so he wouldn’t lick it and the stuff would have enough time to soak in. So I dutifully sprayed my dog’s feet and put socks on his paws. Leto was good about it and appeared to just fall asleep. The fashion statement was completely hilarious, however. And this morning, the socks were off (big surprise).

Today I am sitting in the dark in the hopes that maybe the ants won’t wake up. I’m experimenting with the idea that the flying ants wake up when it gets warmer or lighter. Cami has nibbled a few ant bodies, but other than that, we’ve been mercifully free of flyers so far.

Yesterday afternoon was probably the low point in the ant wars. I was standing up killing a flyer as a crawler was traipsing across my shoe. Here’s hoping that next by next week, the invasion will be over. As it is, I really need the weekend to get over my case of major bug creep out.

Filed Under: Logical Tips, Technology

About Susan Daffron

Susan Daffron is the author of the Alpine Grove Romantic Comedies, the Jennings & O'Shea mysteries, and multiple award-winning nonfiction books, including several about pets and animal rescue. Check out all her books on her Amazon Author page.

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