Paradisal Pests

I seem to be on a bug thing here. Care to join me?

The Virgin Islands may be paradise, but paradise comes with a cost. There are certain things one has to learn live with if one chooses to live in the tropics.
Because most homes are without screens on the windows and lack air conditioning, (well, that's relative, there are breezes so yes, it's "air conditioned") we live in a state of mutual acceptance with nature .

We live with termites, as mentioned in my last post. We also have a number of different kinds of ants. I love the crazy ants. They're black and when you disturb them they run around like crazy in a gazillion different directions. When they get on you they tickle something fierce. But they're harmless. The ones I hate are tiny, itty-bitty ants that have a bite worse than a fire ant.

They are just visible here, next to a regular sized spoon and a small piece of egg shell.

Here are some other creatures we live with.

Mosquitoes. There's no getting rid of them. But you can reduce their numbers if you put mosquito fish (which are a relative of the guppy) in your cistern where they eat mosquito larva and thus cut back on the number of dive bombers. Living with mosquitoes means living with the possibility of getting dengue fever. I've had it. They don't call it break-bone fever for nothing. Every single joint in my body ached.

Sandflies. Or no-see-ums. Small almost microscopic biting flies that come out particularly on the beach right at dusk when it gets still.

Wasps. These are Friday wasps. If you disturb their nest they buzz around, ask questions and if there's no serious danger that needs attacking, quickly settle back down. They're cool. It's like they know it's Friday so they're relaxed and happy.

On the other hand there are Monday wasps which look the same but are bit larger and have an attitude. It's Monday, don't you know and they're pissed they have to go to work. If you disturb their nest they attack first and ask questions later

Mahogany birds. In Florida they are called palmetto bugs. I like the name mahogany bird better as it refers to their color which is truly a lovely brown mahogany besides which, they fly. They can grow to be damn near 3 inches long, so when they fly they really are rather bird-like. One time my sister and I caught one and put it in the freezer. A few days later we took it out and defrosted it. Sure enough, its legs began to wiggle so we smashed it. The beast that will survive the end of the world.

My grandmother used to say a cockroach is only as dirty as you kitchen and bathroom. She wasn't afraid to smash them with her bare hand either.


I'm not phobic about insects, although as a kid I was near phobic about spiders, but not any more. I am a strange graft of Friday wasp and a crazy ant.


What about you?Can you smash your fears or would you rather run from the room squealing? Are you a Friday or Monday wasp? A crazy ant or a tiny biter? Are any of your characters bug lovers or phobic about them? It can certainly add dimension.

Termites

Termites. In the islands they live in huge nests in trees. You can see one here.

These nests are usually in live, healthy trees. One might think, "OH NO!" But they don't harm the trees. Their mission is to eat dead wood and leaf material. I'm sure if there weren't any termites the tropics would be buried in plant debris. They have a second job as well. The small local parrots make their nests inside live, active termite nests.

I took this picture of a pair from some distance away and then blew it up so that's why it's fuzzy. But you get the idea. They are rather gregarious and noisy birds that like to fly around together in small flocks.

When it rains hard termites may suddenly grow wings and fly all over the place, landing and dropping their wings. Sweeping up the wings is difficult as they have that fly-away quality of not staying put. Usually though, the termites behave themselves and stay out in the yard doing their termite thing.

Here in the Texas Hill Country the termites are a bit more sinister. They are not out there in the open where you can see them. They make their nests and tunnels underground. They are sneaky and can chew their way through things long before you know they are there.

Recently we discovered we had termites in various places in our yard. Some are too darn close to the house for comfort. So we've gotten the perimeters of our home and out-buildings professionally treated. It was quite the deal and not all that cheap.

However, safeguarding our abode is a priority, particularly since we both agree we would like to be here at least another 20 years.

Dealing with these termites got me thinking about things that chew on us and prevent us from doing what we want or keep us from writing.

Are your personal termites external or internal? Can you see them and know where they are or are they invisible to your inner eye? Are they chewing up useless dead wood? Or are they, unbeknownst to you, devouring a precious piece of internal furniture?

Better check.