Gross and ick warning….
Living on a ranch… I’ve confronted many an icky situation. The level of manure is high, of course. Afterbirth is slimy. Mud can be deep and greasy. I wrote about pulling huge warts out of cows’ ears back in the day here and here.
Then there’s bugs. Mosquitoes. When the kids were little they tried to pool their money so Vernon would hire an airplane to spray around our house so they could play outside. I’m not talking an occasional slap, I’m talking “wipe the mosquitoes off of you” level. Then there’s miller moths. They’ll buzz you at night as they’re attracted to light. When we first lived at what is now Daniel’s house… they were horrid. You couldn’t read at night, they’d be fluttering all over you.
Sidenote: miller traps are easy to make. Fill a bucket halfway with soapy water, set it in the sink, and place a light over it or close to it. Turn off all the other lights in your house. In the morning you will have a satisfying amount of dead millers in the bucket!
Then there’s Boxelder bugs. Ugh. They crawl on you in your house and they’re just gross. Go outside, be a bug, you don’t need to be inside!
So, I thought I’d seen it all. But when Victoria was here the other night, we’d stayed up late talking… and she and the boys sleep downstairs. We said goodnight, but I hear her say, “come look at this!” On the steps to the basement, there are worms!
Ick!
Not earthworms… like caterpillars. But not big fluffy ones. One inch long. Crawling over the stairs. It’s like a horror movie. Ok, maybe not that bad… but I’m not a fan! We swept them up, went, “Ew!” and “Ick!” and went to bed.
We’ve seen a lot in this ranchlife…
Vernon thinks they’re cutworms, but they don’t look like the cutworms I have in my garden…. They only come out at night.
I’ve noticed a few other places since, not as many as that first night… but… why? Why this year? Is it drought related? Have they been here before, but I don’t go downstairs at night? Yuck. Hey, this house has spiders that would freak people out, but these wormy things have ruined my evening!
Please tell me you have these things at your place, tell me, I’m not alone!
Find me here!
