Saturday, March 29, 2014

le retour des bestioles

The bugs are back—mosquitoes, fruit flies, and gnats—now that things have warmed up. (We were almost at 80ºF [27ºC] yesterday, dammit.) My vinegar traps are out, and I've got Windex—the best insect killer—ever at the ready next to my computer's keyboard. Once again, nature is my enemy. It is impossible to live in blissful harmony with creatures that insist on invading your body's holes.


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5 comments:

Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

Could you explain how to fight mosquitoes? We'll have a problem again soon, too.

Jeffery Hodges

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Kevin Kim said...

Jeff,

Alas, I don't have a foolproof method for fighting the skeeters. My weapon of choice, these days, is Windex, which is easily the most effective mosquito-killer around.

My runner-up would be the Korean spray called F-Killer. F-Killer comes in several varieties; the blue-can version isn't very effective on mosquitoes, but the original white-can version (with a red top) dispatches the bugs quickly. F-Killer also leaves little residue on the surfaces of desks and computer keyboards.

Otherwise, once the weather warms up, just keep the windows closed and rely on air conditioning. Your A/C will cool your place down, which has the side effect of making insects sluggish and easier to kill.

Electric fans can also be a good way to keep the bugs off your person: studies have shown that a breeze of only one mile an hour is enough to drive mosquitoes away. Just beware, beware of fan death.

Kevin Kim said...

Jeff,

For your delectation:

The "how-to" of mosquito traps.

Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

But what is a vinegar trap? How does trapping vinegar help fight mosquitoes?

Jeffery Hodges

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Kevin Kim said...

Vinegar traps.