Bugged

Spring, 2026

Spring marks the beginning of bug time in the country. Household pests I’m talking about. It was a long time coming this year. Ladybug beetles of one imported sort or another are the first scourge in this house come warmer weather. They hang out — and drop from — kitchen windows facing the sun.

“Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home. Your house is on fire, your children are gone….” That is how I remember the native variety when, on rare occasion, we came across these bright red harmless beetles. They were loveable. On the other hand, imports, from Asia, mostly, are anything but rare or loveable. Being poor fliers, they drop into whatever lies open on the kitchen counter. And they do not taste good.

Not that I’ve given one a taste-test, but on the basis of reports that they can, if harvested with grapes, ruin a batch of wine.

After Ladybugs come ticks, now two varieties; Dog and Deer, of Black-legged. The first, famous for leaving lasting itch after it latches on, and the second, later-coming to our shores, bringing Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. These are serious diseases, but conquered if caught early and treated with antibiotics.

I gather that anaplasmosis can affect a person in various ways. My experience late last year had me waking in the middle of the night unable to sit up or get out of bed short of rolling onto the floor. Which I did, and, eventually managed to crab my way to where I’d left the phone and was able to call for help. It was an odd experience, and expensive when considering all of the professional help and drugs required to return to normal.

After the arrival of ticks we are amused by swarms of Blackflies followed shortly by mosquitoes, which were late coming last year due to dry conditions. This year they should be sucking blood most any time the weather improves. But, oh boy, did they make up for lost time in 2025! Only the females bite, while the males are helping pollinate grasses.

No-see-’ms lived up to their name last year and kept out of sight the entire season, around here anyway. Also called midges, they often are felt rather than seen, hence the common name. Their fiery bite, fortunately short-lived, announces their presence. Not so, the bite of circling Deer flies and Horse flies soon to show.

I forget the name of the trout fisherman in Shelburne County who came up with the idea of pinning a dragon-fly “scare-crow” to his cap to keep Deer flies, the dragon-fly’s prey, at bay; a ruse that many swear works wonders.

Damned earwigs, generally a summer arrival, must be another import not encountered here on the coast, say a decade or two ago. Maybe earlier. They get into everything, Ever seeking a dark place to hide. What good fortune they do not live up to their name and fame as invaders of our craniums.

Last to show are the tiny Fruit-flies that love my compost. Why don’t they hover over stacks of bananas and other fruits at the grocery store? Hmm.

Any one of these pests can be a particular menace at a particular time of a particular year, when conditions are just right. In ’25, hoards of Black flies descended here in mid June. Stores were quick to sell out of what are sometimes called “head nets.”

These offer limited protection but can get in the way. Some years ago the father of friends living on the Clyde River was helping in the vegetable garden until Black flies became too much to bear. The solution was a head net, which brought instant relief, for a short while. Then there erupted a torrent of cursing from the far side of the pea patch. What now?

Father, seldom without a chew of tobacco and expert at letting fly with a spit of juice, forgot he was wearing a veil.

I’ll leave off with a nod to a couple of likeable bugs. As mentioned, we youngsters liked native Ladybugs. They were a rarity. Daddy long-leg spiders were another favourite. We felt close ties with the two, while most every other creepy-crawly creature, got no respect. We would help native Ladybugs fly-away home from the back of a wrist held high.

Come milking time on the farm, a Daddy long-leg with outstretched appendage, pointed to where the cows were grazing over the hill and out of sight. Not that we were milking heifers spending summers on the pasture behind our home. Just knowing of their uncanny ability was enough to win admiration.

Our likeable Ladybugs have been pushed aside by imports. And what’s a Daddy long-leg got left to perform, what with drastic consolidation of dairy farms and zero-grazing?

That bugs me. DvL