Mosquito magnet attempts to fight back

We’ve recently been spending a lot of time outside ... just hangin’ out, weeding (the million baby maples coming up all over the place) and watching the kids play.

The one major concern for me, though, has been the mosquito population that is trying to take over the entire state of Nebraska!

I am a magnet for mosquitoes –- if there is one mosquito in the house, it will find me and leave everyone else in the house alone. I try covering myself with long pants and sleeves, but they often bite me through the layers.

So, I am regularly spraying myself with bug repellant and have reconciled myself to smelling like bug spray for the remainder of the summer. Not my fragrance of choice, but better than being breakfast, lunch and dinner for a hoard of hungry bugs.

I remember about a year ago there were biting flies. Someone mentioned they come around when the horse races are in town. So, that’s something to look forward to!

I guess we’ve got to learn all the tips and tricks and mechanisms for fogging the yard, positioning bug “zappers” and finding the ideal repellant. It seems like quite an undertaking, and we see from our neighbors that it also takes perseverance.

In the meantime, I’ll discourage my kids from “growing tadpoles” in the birdbath (aka: mosquito larvae), and we’ll pile on the layers of deet. It’s all worth it, though, to enjoy this amazing weather we’re fortunate enough to have here.

Linda