Bug Off!

I have learned a lot of tolerance when it comes to insects...
let's face it, you have to when you live this close to the woods.


But what I can't tolerate are those teeny, tiny gnats.
You know the ones (and if you don't, you are oh so lucky!)...
they buzz around your head biting wherever they can,
flying up your nostrils and into your ear canals.
It's amazing to me how the tiniest of pests can be the most formidable adversary!


I have looked at the horses with envy at times...
safe and secure in their fly-masks.


I have even considered donning one myself to work in the garden.
I just cannot get the fit quite right.


Yesterday, as I was preparing to do a bit of gardening,
I suddenly had an "Ah Ha!" moment.


I remembered a mosquito net that I had bought for our trip to Alaska two years ago.
(Luckily, I remembered where I had stored it.)


Perfect!!

I can hardly believe that I have been battling these nasty little gnats for all the years of my life
and never once considered wearing a net.


Now, here I am gardening...
my hands in the dirt, bugs all around me...
my head sitting nicely inside a screened-in-porch!
Eureka!


Since we made the commitment to garden organically,
we have had to learn to live with the garden insects.
Some of them delight us...some of them, not so much.


And for the most part, gardening organically has worked out.
It is always a race to harvest the squash before the squash beetles decimate the vines.
And you should see my pumpkin vines....horrible massacre by squash beetles!
I will still be able to harvest some pumpkins, however.


I just pulled what remained of zucchini vine carcasses from the garden.
The score is.... Bev - 10,  Squash Beetles - 10.
After all, there is only so much zucchini one can tolerate, right?
Eventually it happens to us all...we give the zucchini away, right?


I harvested lima beans yesterday, and more Christmas limas for drying.


Picking them was easy!


Cleaning them took a little longer.


In the end, this bowl was completely filled.


 I spent a rather pleasant bug-free afternoon in the garden...
weeding and harvesting and enjoying the sights and sounds and smells.


If you, too, have been suffering at the wings of gnats and "no-see-ums"...
take my advice, and get yourself a head net.
Amazon has a lot to choose from.... HERE.


The MaryAnn Update:

MaryAnn seems to be doing fine.  She is still wheezing.
She is also still doing everything she normally does...


eating, drinking, coming out to visit...


I am much less worried about her now.


PS....Don't forget...
this afternoon Daphne and Chloe will be drawing a name for our giveaway winner.
I will post the winner tomorrow...Saturday.
Yes, we will have a Saturday posting this week!!

Comments

colleen said…
I laughed out loud when I saw you in the first fly-mask...too funny!! What a great idea using the mosquito netting. So glad to get a positive update on MaryAnn. MaryAnn, I'm rooting for you for the wheezing to be much better by Monday. xoxox
jaz@octoberfarm said…
i wonder if maryann has a slight cold? those bugs would drive me crazy. great idea about the mosquito net!
daisy g said…
You are brilliant! We have no-see-ums here, and they are such a bother!
Glad to see MaryAnn is on the mend.
Gone Country said…
I love Aha moments! And that, is a good one!

I'm jealous of your lima beans ;). I grew some the last year I was at our house and they were awesome! So tasty with the only seasoning I used what a bit of sea salt. My Hubby swore I cooked them in a ton of butter they were that good. Enjoy (and eat some for me!)!

I hope MaryAnn continues to improve. It's such a scary thing when our furry kids have an ailment since they can't tell us what is wrong or where they hurt. Crossing my fingers she'll keep improving and the wheezing will be gone before ya know it.

Also crossing my fingers that Daphne & Chloe pull my name out of the hat! Love all the giveaway items!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lynne said…
I have one of those head nets . . . Works wonders . . . especially when I am crawling around on the ground weeding!
This N That said…

Glad Mary Ann seems to be OK..Ann has one of those net hats..I'm going to steal it from her..My bug suit works just fine...You don't have to be in the woods to be a victim..It's worse when you are freshly showered with clean hair..I almost bought limas the other day..Didn't feel like shelling them..:) Beautiful pictures...Have a super weekend..
PJS said…
What a wonderful idea - a hat with a "screened in porch". Glad to hear MaryAnn is doing better. I still chuckle that you named the girls Ginger and MaryAnn - their names take be back to my (long ago) youth and Gilligan's Island.
Abby Frances said…
I love the idea of organic gardening! Do you ever use any kind of organic bug spray or anything like that when you have major problems? Or do you just let nature do what it will do? :)
Bee Haven Bev said…
Abby, I don't spray...however I do use beneficial insects....I send for beneficials to add to my soil to help fight off the bad ones.
Susannah said…
Aha...glad you thought of the net!! I despise those nasty little no-see-ums! Your place looks as wonderful as usual. I love coming to your post. always interesting news. Allergies for Mary Ann? Have a happy weekend!
Katmom said…
#1... You my dear are one very cleaver lady (netting!)
#2, so glad Maryann if doing better...
#3, I miss you!
I can't remember if I told you, but the 'Rats w/Antlers' desimated my grapes,,, I have 3 little grapes hanging... all the bunches are Gone! But thank goodness my tomatoes are doing well,,, I see salsa, LOTS of salsa in my near (2weeks) future... so come on over & we can, 'can' together! lol!
JudiB said…
Good to hear Mary Ann is doing ok. We have to worry it is our job!!
Bugs are not a problem here it is to cold..lol. BUT..I am sure as soon as it warms up our friends will be back. May be it is time to order a net!!
Joyce F said…
Is using Diatomaceous Earth considered organic? We have little gnats which are annoying but the worst thing here in Kansas is chiggers. They insert their feeding structures into the skin in in the worst places (think in the tightest place of bra or underwear bands and insert enzymes. They really itch.
Anonymous said…
I call them 'no see-em's' as the hubs never sees theem or is bothered by them. They head right to me so I bought 2 cheapo nets for over my hat and head this spring as every bug out there lives off me, or so it seems. Good you too found them. Patty/NS
deodar said…
Oh I hear you about the bugs, especially when they bite you in your hairline! Hate, hate, hate, them, give me snakes or mice or frogs, not bugs. I garden with my therma cell happily cooking along next to me, works great. I've also had some success with dusting my squash and cucumber vines at the bases with diotomaceous (sp?) earth. Not real pretty but it works pretty well and is all organic.
Unknown said…
PICKLE 'EM!! The zukes... Not the bugs. The zuchini, I find, are crispier than cucumbers and hold up better to canning. I used the bread and butter pickling recipe from blogger Marissa McClellan "Food in Jars" for bread and butter pickles.
Unknown said…
The mother of invention...perfect! So happy you found a solution! Those gnats are just the worst...they do fly up one's nose...always.