(EASTERN MONTANA) It’s mid-July and the critters are out. And in. Everywhere, spiders. Big ones, and really big ones, monstrously big ones, medium ones, and tiny ones. I know they eat bugs, but I like it better when they dine outdoors.
In the past week, I’ve also encountered two snakes, dozens of millers (brown moths that buzz), a few yellowjackets, thousands of grasshoppers, countless mosquitoes, a rabbit, and several piles of “dog vomit” fungus (Fuligo septica) aka dog vomit slime mold that appeared overnight (and disappeared just as quickly).
Last year, it was shiny black crickets. Millions of them in the road, in town, in the grass, on the sidewalks. I’m still waiting for another onslaught. Just the other evening as it was getting dark, I walked outside and watched two or three winged emissaries from a tall tree swoop down into the night. Couldn’t tell if they were bats or birds, so I walked back inside. And, yes, I know they fly differently, but I couldn’t see them clearly.
Trouble is, this old wooden house has cracks and crannies, gaps and holes where all manner of creatures that don’t belong inside have made their way in anyhow. (No creepy-looking alien fungal invasions – yet – but everything else I’ve listed above has at one time or another appeared in here.) It’s amusing to read the standard advice about closing up all openings to prevent pests from entering your home. Even if I could find all the ports of entry – which I can’t – I’d have to rebuild the whole house to close them up!
I often wonder what my grandparents and great-grandparents did out here on in this tiny town on the edge of the prairie. Did they just live with unwanted wild-thing houseguests? I doubt they sprayed, at least not before the end of WWII when pesticides became widely and cheaply available. I doubt they used a shotgun; they weren’t the type of people who enjoyed target practice on moving micro-bullseyes. From what I’ve heard, they weren’t cat people either. The modern snap-style mousetrap has been around since the late 19th century. Ubiquitous to this day, I would guess that snap traps, and – I know for a fact, moth balls and flypaper – were likely the weapons of choice here. I refuse to use toxic pesticides, so no mothballs on my menu. The jury’s still out on the effectiveness of any of the mousetraps I’ve used (wooden, plastic, electronic). They are literally hit or miss. My vacuum cleaner might be worth a try if the millers get too much worse this year. It could be kind of fun sucking them up. Apparently a grizzly bear could be helpful too. (Watch “Outbreak of Miller Moths” on youtube, starting at 1:40.)
One bit of comfort, as I reflect on this subject that frankly makes me a little nervous… I’m pretty sure the large snake that crawled under the lilac bush beneath my front window is the reason it has been extraordinarily quiet on the mouse front this summer. And I’m pretty sure I did not see or hear a rattle on its nether end. Small comforts, but any solace is welcome.
Oh, one last note… strong mint scents, essential peppermint oil, mint plants, and dried mint leaves … none of these deter any of the animals I’ve mentioned. The grasshoppers find my garden variety mentha and my comfrey quite tasty. So much for that myth.
Adele Field is a writer and editor based in rural eastern Montana.
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