MOSQUITOES

This was, among other things the year of the MOSQUITOES. That is in addition to the year of the Flood and the year of the Drought, all this Summer.

Early in the Summer, we had endless rain to the extent that our garden was pretty much ruined and drowned out. This was followed by about 6 weeks without a drop of rain and we had our very own dustbowl.

But the real corker was the absolute plague of mosquitoes brought about by the rain. If you can visualize a low fog, a foot or two off the ground, this what our yard looked like on hot days. On cool days this layer spread upwards to about face height.

Not only did this take all the fun out of the outdoors but it was the death knell of the garden. Even when the rain stopped, we could not work in it at all.

We decided to take the plunge and buy one of those very expensive Mosquito Magnets. This gallon pickle jar full of mosquitoes represents about 6 weeks of collecting.

Here is the view from the top with a closeup inset.

Each time we emptied the net on the machine, I weighed the contents and multiplied the weight in grams times 5000. I had a hard time coming up with a firm number per gram and was not inclined to count them so I picked the number that was convenient as I couldn't get any more into the jar.

In spite of the Million Mosquitoes, this is in no way to be taken as an endorsement of the Mosquito Magnet. It is a great device for collecting them for academic purposes but the idea that it can clear an acre of mosquitoes within 6 weeks is pure hype. Perhaps if the acre was enclosed in a glass bubble. However, that is not the real world which is like bailing out a river with a bucket.

The machine had not the slightest effect on the mosquito plague other than the feeling of satisfaction that this million and their billions of offspring will not be able to spoil next Summer.

ASTRONOMY BEER CHEESE FIBER CRAFTS GEMS INSECTS PRESERVED FOOD RADIO SILVER VIDEO