The Sound of Silence

I had woken up in the middle of the night, and after a quick trip to the bathroom, settled back down in my bed. As I was laying there, warming up, sauntering off to slumber, a high pitched whine caught my ear. As it neared my head I flailed around, hoping to scare off my predator.

Sure enough, the mosquito went into stealth mode, and I didn't hear it returning until about 10 minutes later, just as I was about to nod off... darn! Quickly, I jump up, turn on the lights and see if I can find the varmint. No avail. The tiger mosquitoes are more wily than the ones back home. They tend to go to ground to hide, not fly up.

We have dark flooring, and there is no hope. I am being hunted, and the bloodletting will begin soon. I am doomed.

But, I have a plan. The mosquito can get my blood, but there's no place to spawn larvae in my house. If I don't open any doors or windows for many days, the mosquito will die, and its purloined blood will be for naught. Heh heh heh.

However, it's not really a good plan, as I would be holed up in my house with a 5 year-old, and that is enough 'blood letting' in and of itself.

So, moving on to Plan B.


Tim saw a 'Mosquito Magnet' and had to buy one. It basically works by burning propane to make CO2 (like our breath), and it also has a scent for mosquitoes that make them think a living animal is around. They can get in, but not out, and eventually they die, without being able to propagate.

It sits along our fence line at the 'four corners.' Our Japanese neighbors probably wonder what it is, now that they have time to not be swatting at mosquitoes all the time they are out of doors. BTW, the green lawn is our nearest American neighbors, Ann and Dan. The people directly behind us do a respectably sized vegetable garden each year, and the Abes (top left) have the most amazing array of flowers at their place, but mostly in the front.

Yes, I've heard of chemical warfare. That is Plan C.