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Heartwings Love Notes 1004 - What's bugging You?

Heartwings says, "Human beings must share with insect beings."

I opened a drawer and took out my old black wool sweater. To my dismay it had several large moth holes. With a sinking heart I checked the other two wool sweaters in there, only to discover they too had suffered from chewing. Fortunately, their damage was minor and mendable. The other one was beyond repair.

I felt sad. This was my first cashmere sweater, mended many times from moth predation. The large holes solved a mystery: the source of the moths decorating a moth trap I had set out. The information was alas, too late to save my sweater. However, moths are not my only insect problem.

Ants have been invading the kitchen all summer. I tried everything short of poison. Reluctantly, I had to to kill them myself, though I apologized as I did so. I dislike murdering insects. They crawled in great numbers through my trash can. I finally bagged and tied all food garbage in plastic bags, depositing them in the trash. I kept my counters exquisitely clean, spraying them with an occasional vinegar and water mixture as well.

I have quickly dispatched the few ants that came to investigate since. Perhaps this major influx was my fault. Last late fall and winter I hosted one lone ant. I nicknamed him Andrew and made up stories about him for fun—even considering writing him into a children's book. But the influx of ants from spring onward took the shine off of that idea. Maybe he went back and told the other ants I was a kind hostess. I stopped acting like one and took up my murderous ways.

Spiders show up occasionally, however, I never kill them. That's bad luck. I do put them outside with a device called a Bugzooka. It catches insects alive so you can let them go outside. You can find it on the internet. While you can use it to catch almost any insect, it's especially good for anything that flies, like those moths that appear in my bathroom from where I do not know. I do know they're not clothes moths because they are larger, and a soft brown color. They show up and hover around there until the Bugzooka captures them.

Then there are those strange brown beetles that start to show up in the fall. They are very slow and easy to catch. I've been told they make a mighty stink if you squash them. I never have. They seem quite harmless. They neither bite me nor eat my clothes and I see no reason to kill them. Later on, if they show up and it's cold, I put them on a plant outside in the hall.

Coexisting with the insect world can be challenging. There are a lot more off them than there are of us. Ants are important, part of nature's cleanup crew, however, my home gets cleaned by me, not them. I am grateful for my Bugzooka which allows me to catch and release both harmless and biting insects. And for the rest, I just have to figure out where those moths come from and save my sweaters next year.

May you find ways to make peace with the insects around you.

Got any easy recipes to share? Food stories to tell? I so appreciate your comments and thoughts. Please write to me at tashahal@aol.com, and for more love notes, check out www.heartwingsandfriends.com. Thanks!
 

I love to hear from readers and would be honored if you would comment and let me know any suggestions or thoughts. If a friend sent you this, you can sign up at my web site, www.heartwingslovenotes.com, where more love notes can be found in the archives.

Blessings and Best Regards,
Tasha Halpert
 

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