Mosquitos

Here in the south, mosquitoes are a part of every day life, especially in the warmer months, which last about 11 1/2 months out of the year. Google tells me that there are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes, with about 175 of them found in the United States. That means that the southern states have approximately 183 species of mosquitoes because I am convinced that we have them all plus a few that have yet to be discovered.

I live on the coast, which is a nice way of saying semi-swamp, and mosquitoes flock to this part of the state because, word is, that they can live a long and content life here. Fat and sassy, my grandmother would say. I can't prove this scientifically, but I've heard that 5 million mosquitoes can grow in a teaspoon-sized puddle of water. When the humidity is high like it is, I'm pretty sure we are cranking those suckers out by the truck load.

When I was young, I can remember the mosquito truck that used to barrel through my neighborhood releasing a potent cloud of DDT so thick you couldn't see through it. I am surprised that I have lived this long. A friend of mine named Brad once raced the truck for fun, only to run smack dab into the back of a parked pickup truck that he couldn't see in the poisonous fog. He had a pretty good story to tell at the ED that night.

Those trucks don't run anymore, at least not in the more populated cities. So we hired a company to spray our yard every twenty-one days with an Eco-friendly organic mosquito repellent. Apparently it's also mosquito friendly, because I got chewed up earlier today when I was mowing the yard. This company says to call them back if we see any mosquitoes in our yard between sprayings, but we have called so many times that they have stopped answering their phones, so I guess we are going to have to learn to live with them.

Some of my neighbors put up bat boxes in their yards. They heard that bats will eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes per day and that they are much less harmful on the environment. I have maybe seen one bat in my neighborhood over the past couple of years and it's very likely it could have been a confused sparrow. Either way, they aren't doing the job either.

I'm not sure exactly why God created mosquitoes. As they scratch at their many welts, my children continue to ask me this question. I usually respond with something about punishment for sin or to show us what Hell will be like if we don't turn to Jesus, but I'm not sure they always buy those answers. Whatever the reason, mosquitoes continue to stand the test of time and will be probably survive the tribulation as well as being an integral part of it.

My wife has a unique way of attracting every mosquito within a two mile radius. She is so susceptible to mosquito bites that she starts to swell up just thinking about the critters. Thankfully fall is approaching, which means the mosquitoes will go into hiding or wherever it is that they go when the weather gets colder. But every once in a while, when the winds get a little too bitter and we start longing for summer to come back around, one of us will spot a random mosquito flitting along in the breeze, reminding us that sooner or later the whole horde of them will be back.


My Story to Tell

I was hesitant at first to write this blog post. A big reason for that is because so many people have experienced a lot of life-altering eve...