Gnats & Other Bugs

I love most insects

Since early childhood I’ve had an affinity for insects. Grasshoppers, bees, beetles, and all manner of flying or jumping insects were, not only my playmates, but, in may ways, they were the saviors of my young heart and soul.

Insects have mysteriously, and often magically, shown up for me. Forty years ago while on a Hawaiian vacation, an unexpected encounter with an energetically radiant four or five year old Hawaiian girl with long shiny black hair and a bright round face, temporarily wobbled my perception of time and place.

I encountered her while I was walking on a narrow dirt path along the Wailua River on the Island of Kauai where several high and dazzling waterfalls tumble into the rushing river waters below.

Tourists and locals frequent this crowded two-way path where it’s likely a trecker will rub elbows with a person who’s walking in the opposite direction. The young Hawaiian girl I mentioned above, popped out of nowhere, like she had fallen from the sky; instantly, our eyes locked onto each other, as she said, “Here, open your hands, this is for you!”

She opened her palms and deposited a tiny irridescent blue beetle into my hands; in that transcendent moment, I was breathless, felt like I was receiving communion from nature.

After depositing the tiny blue beetle in my hands, she disappeared as mysteriously as she had appeared. There we lots of folks walking behind me, so I had to continue on the trail while at the same time being spellbound by the power of this tiny being in the palms of my hands. I peeked at her frequently to be certain she wasn’t suffering in the sweat developing in my palms.

Her little blue self accompanied me on the rest of my journey along the river; we joined in expressing our reverence for the water, the land, and the ionized air that surrounded us.

Ending our walk along the Wailua, leaving the rainbow-infused waterfalls, we returned to the lush green grass, tall palms, and the wide opening between the mountains revealing a cloudless cirulean blue sky. There, I sat on wet grass, opened my palms, and rested her in an outcropping of tall grass where I felt she would likely not be trampled by passersby; while watching her weave her way into the shadows of the tall grasses, I thanked her for exchanging her love-power with me, then, with reverence and gratitude, I blessed her on her way.

As you can see, I love and honor the insects of this planet. But, I do make some exceptions!, I tolerate mosquitoes who are flying around outdoors, occasionally drawing blood from my ankles or neck, but when they enter my house, buzzing in my ears when I’m sleeping, well, that’s an occasion for treating them as an intruder, swatting them away or smacking them while they’re biting on my skin.

I feel the same way about the gnats who are currently procreating in the rich organic soil of my houseplants. They’re attracted to light, especially electronically produced light like that from my laptop screen.

I don’t want to kill the little pests, yet, they appear to be destroying the roots of my dear houseplants and are distracting me from my writing and household tasks.

What a quandry!

After weeks of placing yellow sticky traps I purchased from Temu, into each of the plant pots, I’ve tired of looking at dead gnats stuck on bright yellow images of sticky sunflowers. At my wits end, I’ve decided to introduce a fungus I’ve just purchased from an online company that swears this stuff works to eradicate the gnat eggs buried deep in the soil. Blessed be the soil that will hopefully become a resting place for hundreds of gnat eggs.

I’ll let you know how it goes next time we chat here.

In the meantime, a few inches of snow are landing here tomorrow; I relish seeing the ground blanketed with white and enjoying the stillnes that the bright white flakes deliver onto the land.

Until later…