there ain't no bugs on me

     Ok, you caught me! I have been choosing lyrics from my favorite band, to use as my blog post titles. This one was not sung by the Grateful Dead, but was sung by my favorite musician, Jerry Garcia. And, since I experienced Jerry Garcia performing more than the Grateful Dead, it works for me! If interested, Jerry Garcia and David Grisman did an album of children’s songs called ‘Not For Kids Only’, and this song was on that album. While we are on the subject of my blog post titles, it must be understood that the lyric I choose for my blog post title, needs to be taken out of context from the songs theme. The lyric I choose relates to my blog post, the song from which the lyric came does not relate to my blog post. Here is an example: recently, I used the lyric ‘at least I’m enjoying the ride’ which relates to my blog post about motos, but the blog post has nothing to do with the song from which the lyric came, ‘hell in a bucket’. Another example: when I use the blog post title ‘sun going up and then the sun going down’, this will be the subject of that blog, but the blog post has nothing to do with the song from which the lyric came, ‘black peter’. ok, then, moving on to bugs.

     The first bug that comes to mind from living in a tropical climate, is the mosquito. Observation has helped me with this creature. First, I noticed mosquitoes swarming around my pile of dirty clothes, which got me thinking of human sweat, and how it attracts mosquitoes. The local people bath two to three times a day. At first I thought this was a way to cool down, but now, I think it is a way to wash away sweat to keep the mosquitoes away. And it works! I bath when I get up, I bath after morning work, and I bath before dinner. Also, eating chilis helps keep the mosquitoes away. I am slowly increasing my chili intake, and it seems to be helping the mosquito issue. And yes, after two days using the traditional ‘bucket shower’ I installed a shower line and head, and now take western-style showers. On another unrelated matter, I do have a western-style toilet. Ok, back to mosquitoes. The ones bothering me lately are the ‘ankle-biters’. these lovely mosquitoes stay low to the ground and quickly devour ankles. It is only a problem when I am staying still, reading, chopping vegetables, and cooking. My solution was to buy a floor fan and point it at my feet during these times, and it works! If anyone wants a business idea, make a decorative ankle bracelet that emits mosquito repellent. Similar to a animal flea collar, but one designed for humans to keep ankle-biting mosquitoes away. You design and make 'em, I’ll sell 'em!

     I have a resident frog, that lives in the bathroom. This wonderful creature eats lots of bugs, including mosquitoes. I’m encouraging the frog to start a family and live at my house forever! The only downside to frogger, was the night I went to sit on the toilet. Oops, earlier I had not put the lid down, and when I went to sit down, frogger jumped out! SURPRISE! The other helpful animals are the geckos and lizards. These wonderful creatures eat lots of bugs, including mosquitoes, and I am encouraging them to bring their gecko and lizard friends for a lengthy visit. The lizards, for the most part, stay outside, and I visit with them on the porch. The geckos, however, live inside and outside, and I find them everywhere, eating bugs. The only downside to my gecko friends, is that they poop everywhere, lots of poop to clean up each morning, but a welcome cleaning, as they eat bugs!

     Then we have the mud wasps, making nests in the downstairs rafters. When I first hung my mosquito net over my upstairs bed, I let it drape to the floor, as it was designed. Well, I did not have a solid floor, so the wasps came up to visit me in bed. Ouch, one sting was enough, and I tucked my mosquito net under the mattress until I figured things out. This is the picture from a few posts ago. For those of you that asked, I have since made the floor under my bed solid, and once again let the net hang to the floor, as designed. I have knocked down the mud wasp nests, and will continue to do so, as they are built. You see, the traditional wooden house is not sealed up, and bugs come into the house. There are openings around all the window frames, and the walls are not completely solid. I do not have netting on the windows, and see no point in doing this, as there are so many more ways for bugs to get in. The buggy solution for me is to observe the neighbors, and learn how to get around the bug issue.

     Which gets us to ants. I’m used to the various sized black ants, but am now encountering red ‘fire’ ants. My first experience was gardening. I started pulling weeds along the fence, and within seconds, my hand was covered with fire ants, OUCH! For being small, they pack a serious bite! I gave up gardening for a few weeks and observed the neighbors. Nobody weeded with their hands, they use a hoe, shovel, and/or rake to remove any weeds. Ahhhh, hand tools, which I am acquiring, have saved me from the fire ant problem. I have yet to find where they came from, but a woman down the road was gardening with gloves! What a concept! Yet, I’ve spent hours looking and asking in the huge Pakse market for gloves. Haven’t found them yet, and I need to learn more Lao to find out where the smart woman got her gardening gloves! In the meantime, I keep observing the local people, and I can now happily sing ‘there ain’t no bugs on me!