Lori Dueck, Calgary, AB

What bugs me? “Bugs bug me!” Over the years I’ve been invaded by insects of all sizes, shapes and types.

One past year the critters won due to their high population in my living space.

First were the mosquitoes. They taught me a new dance. It started by the swat at the ankles, followed by waving madly in the air, then repeat. I thought I had the brilliant idea of creating the mosquito dance. Not a chance! There is already a hit by Danny and Gerry on Youtube. It was fun to sing and dance along to.

Next on the scene were the ants. In the house, on the patio and in the garden. It was when I felt a bite, I looked down, my legs were covered. I screamed before doing the ant dance. I avoided weeding for a few days, then I was careful where I stood.

Then came the wasps. It was horrible. They held me hostage in my home for two months. I wasn’t even allowed to sit on my porch. They had control over me due to my allergies. I pruned one too many branches, ruffled the leaves in an effort to clean up the yard bit by bit. The beginning of August they decided they didn’t want me anywhere near them.

Did you know that wasps can mark you; letting other wasps know you are there? I couldn’t be outside my front door for any length of time without a horrific chase. Yes, I screamed a few times again.

Now that I had extra time inside, I decided to do some early fall cleaning. I was off to a great start; almost done in fact. However, this year’s biggest bug problem ever … had just begun.

I would like to focus on the ground beetle. It started off as what looked like a speck of dust. Upon further inspection, after taking a close-up photo, zooming in on it, I realized it was a beetle.

If only it had stayed as one, not inviting all his relatives inside. If I wasn’t grossed out before this… I now had the ‘heebie geebie itch’ caused by the “teeny, tiny beetles”. They are challenging to see; hiding behind, in and under many items. It was like finding a needle in a hay stack except they moved. I learned hunting skills using my cell phone light to spot them. My cat thought I was a giant chew toy playing a game with him.

I soon found out this was not going to be an easy task to solve. I like to learn and grow from experience, to see the positives. They inspired me to clean, exercise and read.

My home is clean, organized and clutter free. Everything was washed, put in containers and some items donated.

Ground beetles need food and water to survive. I caught them eating and drinking from my cat’s bowls. I changed Caleb’s water bowl more frequently.

They can’t get into glass or hard plastic containers. I bought new seal-tight bins. This all helped eliminate their food source.

They like to hide. The less clutter I have, the less places for them to hide. The built in bonus of cleaning is the automatic exercise you gain.

Exercise is great for both my mental and my physical health. Usually I bug-out with spiders. I didn’t see too many spiders this year. The beetles challenged my mental health instead. However, they did not win the marathon. The different actions helped expand my usual work capabilities. It is good to have a variety of movement, stretches or cardio in my daily activities.

I didn’t want to be forever stuck in the same old routine. I decided I would research what I was dealing with. I read everything I could find on beetles, from others experiencing the same situation; exterminators and websites with facts. I found out that they were ground beetles.

Did you know that our beloved lady bug in Canada is an Asian lady beetle? There are more than 800 species of ground beetle in Canada. Thankfully they only reproduce outside. I secretly hoped for winter in the middle of summer. Bugs know how to survive many circumstances. They don’t give up easily.

The first snowfall and cold weather in October did not kill off any of the bugs I endured this year. Thankfully, after a few storms, I am mostly free of all unwelcomed pests.

Despite being squeamish about most insects, I have overcome many challenges with them this past year.

I have a cleaner home. I exercise both inside and outdoors. I read topics I didn’t care to know about in great detail. Above all I have learned to co-exist with these little creatures.

However … “Bugs bug me!”