Mosquitos and bugs this summer

Has anyone else had a particularly buggy summer? This year, more than any in the last decade or two that I can remember, has been the buggiest ever. We had a mosquito outbreak about 6 weeks ago that was so bad, the township had to begin a spraying program. I would rock-scissors-paper with the family to see who would walk the dog, and we were dressing like bee keepers working on the hives, head to toe covering with no skin showing. Any available skin, like ankles or wrists were immediately attacked by mosquitos even during the daylight hours when they're normally less present.

I don't even want to talk about gnats. I grew up in the northeast, and they never really bothered me. Then I spent 20 years in the southeast, and 15 years on the west coast, neither of which have gnat problems. During that time I started wearing progressive glasses full time, and then returned to the northeast. Hmmm, gnats suck. They fly under your glasses. I never had this problem previously. Now I'm coating myself with bug spray just to talk to the neighbors.

The biggest impact this has had is with neighborly meetups. Nobody is spending much time in the back yard. Grass is growing longer before it is mowed, and then the mowing is a quick affair done by almost running with the lawnmower. Dog walks are dog jogs. Everyone is in a hurry because BUGS.

I admit it, I hate bugs.

So that's 2 votes already for the thermacel. Nice, adding to list. Yeah we don't have bats anymore but as a kid, 50 years ago, we sure did. I remember them in the attic of the house, and flying around outside we'd always see a few at dusk. Bats are definitely cool.

Global warming facilitates breeding for mosquitoes. Pretty soon we will all be mosquitoes.

And I, for one, welcome our new blood sucking overlords.