Lake Martin Bugs

I am a coward when it comes to some insects, especially those of cockroach variety. In fact, my aversion to them is so great that I shudder when I type the word. So, I will just refer to them as “them.” Unfortunately, here in the woods by Lake Martin, near Dadeville, Alabama, they are very common. In fact, they are everywhere.

I knew we have them back in Florida and they are everywhere there, too. However, my husband puts so many pesticides on our tiny lawn and around our house that someday the EPA may designate it as a Superfund site. So, I don’t have to deal with them at home. But these tiny cabins in the woods are infested.

Wil came up with the perfect solution after our first visit here when I couldn’t sleep because I imagined every knot in the knotty pine walls was crawling toward me. When we arrive at our cabin, the first thing we do is set off several bug foggers inside our cabin. Yes, several. The same way that Wil puts 3 or 4 times the necessary amount of pesticide on our lawn, he puts 3 or 4 foggers in this teeny tiny cabin.

While the foggers are working their magic, we launch our boat and take a cruise, then drive into Dadeville to buy some groceries at the PIggly Wiggly. By the time we return with our perishables, it is time to air out the cabin. Of course, Wil has to pick up the dead ones while I put away the groceries. Then he sprays a bug barrier spray over the thresholds and around baseboards. I put boric acid powder around the porches.

Of course, I am still careful. I leave lights on in the bathroom and kitchen area all night. I leave nothing on the floor. I close up all of our suitcases and bags at night. I seal up every bit of food tightly. But, at least I can sleep without worrying about having an encounter with one of “them.”

I realize my fear really is irrational. But, most phobias are irrational. I have no problems with ants and spiders which can actually bite and cause pain. I enjoy the flitting around of dragonflies and butterflies. I coo over ladybugs and delight in seeing bees on my flowers. Even the overly-friendly carpenter bees on our deck don’t bother me. I do avoid wasps and mosquitoes and yellow flies, but I don’t run screaming like I do when I encounter “them.”

On this trip we encountered a whole different insect problem. We left our boat in the water overnight, docked by the cabin, at the end of a 20-ft dock. This morning, Wil went down to put some stuff in the boat before we headed out. He found hundreds of ants in the boat! Those determined little critters had marched down the 20-ft. dock and across the mooring rope and down into the back of the boat.

I suppose they were after some stray cookie or chip crumb. We do eat in the boat, so I’m sure there are some tiny crumbs in there somewhere. Are the ants really that desperate? Oh well, at least I don’t have to worry about ants in the cabin. The same extreme measures we take to keep out “them” will work on ants, too. 

Now, we are formulating a plan to keep ants out of the boat next time. Meanwhile, Wil killed the ants with regular spray insecticide and sprayed the mooring lines to discourage them from trying it again. We’ll see how effective that is when we head out to the boat in the morning. 

It does kind of make me wonder what is next...a plague of locusts?