Living in New England our winters can feel really long. Cold. Snow. Ice. Nor’easters. Short days. We spend the season feeling like we are continually stuck indoors.
So, nothing brings us more joy then when the clocks spring forward and the temperatures rise. We begin to venture back outdoors blissfully enjoying the longer days and the sun on our faces.
But low and behold…no sooner are we out in the yard all the creepy crawly critters find us.
It starts with the “May flies”. Those little black bugs that have absolutely no regard for your personal space.
Then there is the common “Housefly” who seems to think that any meal you grilled was made just for them.
And then…dun…dun…dun…the mosquito whose sole mission is to make a meal out of you. (We won’t even get into their attraction for buzzing around our ears!)
What to do?!?!
Well, we start by having an exterminator come out two times per year to spray around the foundation. This is to protect our home from any of those pests who want to chomp through it.
We also have a company that comes out every few weeks to spray our yard for mosquitoes and ticks. They use ego friendly products and will only come out before the bees do. It is also safe for small children and pets.
Even with the investment of these services, it does not eliminate and make an afternoon in your backyard bug free.
Here we have rounded up some products to help fight the good bug fight.
Zap it! Electric Bug Zapping Racket. We found these a few years ago and they work great! Any pest that comes near you or sneaks into the house this will take care of them. They are a handheld bug zapper that you can charge and have ready to accompany you outdoors. They are not harmful, so if you touch the racket, it will not harm your skin.
Treva Chemical Free Bug Fan. This is great for entertaining. You can put this beside your food and the motion of the fan will deter flies from landing on your table. The best part is that it will stop running momentarily (and does not hurt) if a hand touches the blade.
The Bamboo Woven Food Tent. This may look like some relic that your grandmother would have used at a cookout. Trust us, it is a necessity for outdoor entertaining. Put a plate of goodies in and close the screened top and no pesky critters can get inside. Now don’t get us wrong, there is a chance a little fly may try to sneak in while it is open. It is still a proven winner in the cookout tablescape.
Citronella Candles. We all know that these are a necessity when it comes to keeping mosquitoes at bay. Now they come in so many options that they are not the citronella candles of old. You cannot go wrong with these, and the lovely garden designs won’t be an eye sore.
Raid Essentials Flying Insect Light Trap. This is a new player on the field against bugs. These plug into an outlet to power a light that will attract the bugs and then there is a removable fly paper that gets inserted behind the light to trap them. Now we’re not a fan of having these inside our home. We did, however, add this to our three-season room this year. There is an outlet that is next to the door that we put it in so that if any little buggers sneak in, they will hopefully go to this rather than venture on into the house.
Pic Insect Killer. This is one that we found this year and have not yet used so the results are out. It is a dual-purpose bug zapper and LED light. Essentially you remove an existing outdoor light bulb and replace it with this. We were thinking of putting this outside the door that goes to our patio. Since we have not used it, we are unsure of how loud it will be when it zaps the bugs. Another concern is how quickly it will fill up and/or how often it will need to be emptied.
Mt. Esty Manor 