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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Invasion of Disgusting Bugs!

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.
~ Victor Hugo
So there I was, getting ready to go to sleep in peace after my first, full day of being “up and at ‘em” since getting sick. I thought, “Just a quick glance at the basil pots, see if I’ve missed any snails.” So out to the patio I shuffled in my slippers, flashlight in hand.

A strange sheen on the leaves of the potted plants underneath the crepe myrtle tree greeted me. Hm. I reached out and rubbed a finger on a leaf, an act that met with sticky resistance. Oh, dear. I got a bad feeling about this. I aimed the flashlight up into the crepe myrtle, and OMG! An infestation of something insectoid, adults and eggs all over the underside of leaves, dripping with bug juice.

There went my desire for sleep. I wish to don my black leather killing gear and launch an all-out assault on the crepe myrtle. If those bugs travel to my dahlias, it’s over. But reality chimed in: It’s late and you’re tired, Chrissie-poo. You don’t know what they are or what treatment will destroy them. And no, you may not grab the axe and chop down the tree.

So there I am, hitting Google, sleuthing with anxiety. So there God is, awake as promised by Victor Hugo. God is a gardener, did you know? The original gardener. My sorrow ranks among the small ones, so I ask him please keep an eye on things. I’m going to have to let this go until tomorrow. I will wade into the insect army single-handed at dawn, Backyard Ramba with both barrels firing!


About the photo: Not copyrighted, not taken by me, not even the insect that infests my tree, but something similar is afoot.

10 comments:

Andrew said...

Aw shit, it just never ends, does it?

Good luck with that.

Brian Miller said...

ugh...i wish you hearty battle today and victor over the vile oppressor...smiles.

Anonymous said...

The finger and the sticky goo would have stayed with me all night. I wouldn't have been able to shake that one.

I'm interested to hear what you find out.

Marion said...

Good luck with the identification of your bugs...they look a little like aphids in the photo, which I realize aren't your bugs...

If you notice ants around, they will farm aphids for the sweetness they produce.

You have left me with an impression of you in my mind as the Backyard Ramba, haha! xx

e said...

Thank you for the recent comment on my story, more is afoot there. Best of luck dealing with this problem. I'm curious to know what that infestation is.

Katherine Krige said...

yuck. I hope you can get some sleep without dreaming of your invading buggies.

Anonymous said...

You know I never saw any bugs while in California except for a few in the garden. You would not believe this insect jungle here in Oklahoma! Every 2-3 days Ortho girl is out there screaming and spraying the windows and doors. Otherwise, if I don't they sneak inside and many of them are poisonous. So you see Ramba, you are not alone.

Linda
http://blueskiescloudydays.blogspot.com/

my comment thing is broke

steveroni said...

Hello, 'Ramba'-of-the-backyard! Somehow I know, that with you and God working together, those plants are in Good Hands!

PEACE!

Syd said...

We have so many insects here in the South that it is hard to imagine waging war on them. But we do our best to try to keep the vegetable garden in good shape.

Magpie said...

As I'm playing catchup, you hopefully have already defeated this dragon. Hope all is well.