Stage one, or education: Look, boys, a boxelder bug. They don’t bite. Use this tissue and pick it up and put it in the trash.
Stage two, or familiarity: My boys made Lego apartments for the boxelder bugs. I asked Ty to throw one away and he told me no, it was his pet. I told him then he would never run out of pets.
Stage three, or mild annoyance: There seem to be a lot. We start flicking them away from us or at each other.
Stage four, or major annoyance: A friend was coming over and there were so many at that moment that I started counting them as I picked them up. There were too many to fit into one tissue. Moved to using wet wipes.
Stage five, or wet wipes cost too much: Every time you turn around, you see one. I got out the vacuum cleaner and left it in the living room for easy access. What a nice, decorative addition!
Stage six, or involving the kids: We also got out our handy bug vacuum, which sucks up and kills the bugs. My sons took over and used it at least 20 times a day.
Stage seven, or declaration of war: One tried to eat Kris’ grapefruit. One perched on my adorable baby’s head. Kris resealed the front door to help prevent this next year.
Stage eight, or the stage I didn’t know existed until right now: As I’m typing this, one just flew into my forehead and fell on my keyboard. Worst of all? I wasn’t even surprised.
I blamed it all on my house, and how living here is a lot like living outside. Boxelder bugs aren’t just on boxelders, they also love maple trees. My house is also smack dab in the middle of giant, buggy maple trees.
Then, a happy moment! Today on Facebook a friend posted: “Dear Boxelder Bugs, I didn’t mind sharing my home with you at first, but you have taken advantage of the situation. You have moved in by the hundreds. Please leave or I will resort to squishing you.”
Why does this make me happy? Because she lives in a brand new house in a brand new neighborhood. It’s not my old farmhouse’s fault after all. I don’t feel so alone!
Not that I ever feel that alone. Not with all these pets around.
1 comment:
Someday when the boys are millionaire engineers of giant apartment complexes, they will have the boxelder bugs to thank. At the very least, their wives will appreciate that they are comfortable with bug terminiation.
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