Tag Archives: Bugs

Summer Bites

Backyard barbeques, picnics in the park, swimming, sunning, and swinging with friends until sunset; there’s so much to love about summer—minus the bugs. Despite the use of expensive sprays, fancy candles and other popular pest deterrents, my 8-year-old is covered with bug bites.  Living in northern Wisconsin, which is blanketed with forests and other havens for flying blood suckers, doesn’t help; however, this summer’s battle against the bugs seems to be a bit fiercer than in years past. Currently, my mom radar is set on mass insect detection.  I am on especially high alert for deer ticks, which can spread … Continue reading →

Herbal Insect Repellent

One of my best friends called yesterday and was freaking out a bit. Her two year old son had a tick. I hate ticks. If you read my blog about spiders, know that ticks only fall slightly under spiders because I see fewer of them. She talked about getting an herbal insect repellent for her children and I thought that would make an excellent green living blog. I had actually already bought a herbal insect repellent at Target to send to my husband overseas. If you love Burt’s Bees products, they have an herbal insect repellent that includes oils such … Continue reading →

The Magic School Bus: Creepy, Crawly Fun (1994)

I can’t think of any other children’s television show that illustrates science so creatively as “The Magic School Bus.” You can get most of these awesome episodes on video and DVD to watch whenever you like. Today my children and I took a look at “Creepy, Crawly Fun.” It was creepy. It was crawly. And it was fun. The DVD contains three episodes. In the first, “Inside the Haunted House,” Carlos is trying to invent a new musical instrument that will really knock the socks off the competition at the band tournament. But no matter how he tweaks his invention, … Continue reading →

Making Your Home A Bug-Free Zone

Winter has arrived early here in the Midwest. We’ve had a string of below normal days (we trick-or-treated with wind chills in the teens) and I’ve hated every minute of it. (No matter how many years I reside here, I don’t know that I will ever get used to living in these conditions.) In any event, if there is an upside to living in “the frozen tundra” it is the fact that Mother Nature’s freeze-fest has all but eliminated the insects in our home (save for a few hearty spiders). While it may seem that nature is “bug-proofing” our home, … Continue reading →

A Bug A Day Keeps The Lines Away

I recently blogged about the Halloween festivities planned at various theme parks across the country. At Six Flags Great America—the entire park will be haunted just in time for Halloween. If you are a thrill seeker you won’t want to miss their Halloween-themed Fright Fest. And, if you are a real thrill seeker you may want to take the thrills (and chills) to new heights by taking the amusement park’s Halloween challenge. Six Flags Great America is daring visitors to eat a live Madagascar hissing cockroach in exchange for unlimited line-jumping privileges. Hey, why wait in long lines when you … Continue reading →

Go On A Bug Hunt

No need to travel to Africa to go on a safari. There are plenty of wild animals in your backyard – of the bug variety. Although on this hunt you won’t need to worry about being eaten by a lion you might need some bug spray to keep off the mosquitoes. To prepare for your bug hunt gather the following items: Magnifying glass – to see bugs in detail Insect net – to catch flying insects Clear plastic container – to hold insects on the ground Water – for you to drink Now that you have your gear ready it’s … Continue reading →

“Buzz Off”–A New Way to Ward Off Bugs

It’s the hottest trend in outdoor gear. No, not the “Throw-and-Go” Pup Tent or gourmet MRE’s (Meals Ready To Eat). I’m talking about bug-repellent clothes… and you don’t have to be an avid hiker, fly-fisherman, or bird watcher to appreciate them. We all know that mosquitoes can turn a lovely evening stroll into a running disaster… or, a summer barbeque into a bug buffet. To avoid this from happening many of us douse our children (and ourselves) with insect repellent. But, could the familiar spray soon be a thing of the past? A company that specializes in outdoor apparel seems … Continue reading →

“I’ve Been Killing Spiders Since I Was Thirty”

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I’m not sure why, but in our culture girls are “taught” that bugs are icky. Maybe it’s the Little Miss Muffett story, I don’t know. I think today it’s getting better; indeed there’s an episode of ELMO’S WORLD on bugs where a video clip shows us a young girl who loves bugs and can describe some of her favorites. But since my wife is, shall we say, uncomfortable, at bugs, I’ve been worried that this fear would be passed along to my daughters. Fortunately, since our oldest is into the Magic School Bus stories and videos, she loves to talk … Continue reading →