Night-Night, Sleep Tight and …

Don’t Let the Bed-bugs Bite!

Who gets itchy just imagining the kid down the block has head lice? Do you run for the hand sanitizer after a news story or magazine article exposes fecal matter in bowling ball holes? Do you wonder why the posters at the gym suggest cleaning the machines before and after each use?

I keep hearing about the bed-bug outbreak, or is it a pandemic? The idea of introducing predator bugs to control the bed-bug population makes me think of the Kiss-Bugs introduced to Florida to help control the pest population. Anyone who has seen these bugs that fly in tandem as they mix flight with reproduction knows that sending in predator bugs is a bad idea. And, who wants more bugs in the house?

The CDC or someone has to put an end to the invasion. I heard today that the little critters, much like the head lice the little guy at the end of the block has, have caused movie theaters to close down.

I remember dusk, on hot summer nights in Illinois. The Franklin Kids would listen anxiously for the sound of music on the street out front that meant the Ice Cream Truck was on the way. Following the treat vender, we clustered at the screen door to watch the fogger truck spraying a thick and welcome cloud of DDT. (We are all, decades later, doing better than that generation of wild life.)

When my daughter participated in a 4H entomology program, the leader was fond of saying two things.

“What time is it when you see a grasshopper?” He would fairly shout this question.

The kids would reply, “Too Late!”

The second thing he made sure everyone knew during the lecture on making ‘Kill Jars’ was, “If it will Kill an Insect – It will Kill you!”

Even though my siblings and I are still alive and squirming after our regular doses of DDT, I agree with his caution about Kill Jars. We shouldn’t climb into them.

But, what if we became super bed-bug sleuths and took no prisoners? We could hire laid off BP workers to come and put all the stray bed-bugs in kill jars.

And this is why the CDC hasn’t hired me. Who is flicking imaginary creepy-crawlies off their bed sheets? Who got through this post without reaching up to scratch their heads?

Thanks for visiting and come back soon.