It’s December and once again the holiday season is at our throats. Many people will travel and be forced to stay in hotels, motels and country Inn’s. What better time is there to talk about one of my most ludicrous fears, BUGS!
I love nature and I have learned to respect all living creatures BUT if there’s one thing I can’t stand its bugs. I certainly respect a bug’s right to exist and I understand their importance in the grand scheme of things, just as long as they don’t come in my house. Certain bugs are welcome, like ladybugs and lightning bugs (fireflies) but of course those aren’t the ones that come in my house, the ones that do are ants, spiders and those giant Jersey Mosquitoes that will impale you like a shish-kabob. I don’t even mind ants too much, as long as there isn’t a whole army of them and they aren’t great big mutant ants. I always look forward to first frost because that pretty much ends the bug season and I can once again turn my outdoor lights on without having a swarm of insects flying all around my head.
This past Summer I was mountain bike riding between Woodbury and Bethpage and I was amazed at the number of gnats flying around in the woods during the day. I grew up close to the Bethpage State Park and I certainly understand that there are bugs in the woods BUT, I never had to worry about eating a mouthful of gnats while bike riding! It’s absolutely hopeless, you’re eating gnats no matter what you do. Sure, you can keep your mouth shut but they’ll still go right up your nose. I’m no expert but I always thought gnats only come out at night. I don’t know if there’s been an increase in the gnat population or maybe the bug people just don’t spray pesticides as much as they used to? Either way I’m still going to enjoy nature and riding in the park so I’ll just have to eat the bugs!
Gnats aren’t the only bugs on the rise; the most recent concern around New York is the dreaded bedbug invasion, yuck! It sounds absurd but this latest infestation could end up costing the city millions of dollars in lost revenue. Everyone from vacationing families to corporate convention planners are canceling their trips to Manhattan due to this influx of bedbugs. The problem isn’t limited to lower end motels and theaters either; they have been reported everywhere, from the subway to some of the most exclusive places in town. If you are planning to stay in a hotel this holiday season, as disturbing as it sounds it’s a good idea to pull off the sheets and check the seams of the mattress for bedbugs. You can easily find out more details on the subject (and how to perform a proper inspection) if you simply “Google” it. I’m not going to elaborate here because the whole thing makes me ill.
Many bugs also carry bacteria and disease. One of the most well known bug diseases in this region is Lyme disease. This is a debilitating disease that attacks its victim in many ways. It can virtually settle anywhere in the body and reap all kinds of havoc. Lyme disease is transferred to its victim by the tiny Deer Tick. Many conspiracy theorists believe that Lyme disease was created in a laboratory just off Montauk Point, Long Island on a tiny government research facility known as Plum Island. I recently learned (while watching Jesse Ventura’s “Conspiracy Theory” show) that Nazi Scientist, Dr. Erich Traub was the so called “Godfather of Lyme Disease.” In fact, his specialty was bio-warfare and his research revolved around delivering diseases to the enemy via bugs, more specifically, ticks! Now I don’t hear things on TV and just take them as fact, so I did confirm all this with other sources and the report was accurate. I don’t want my blog to become a hot-spot for conspiracy theories and paranoid hype but I’m already afraid of bugs… the thought of insects being used as a delivery system for diseases is horrifying. Even if they are only being used for scientific experiments there’s always the chance of a containment breech. It may have already happened, who knows?
Another bug that is out of control and seems to completely outnumber people is the wily cockroach. There are billions and billions of these little critters in New York alone. When I used to live in Rego Park, Queens I dealt with the issue first hand. I won’t gross you out with all the disgusting details but in the end I packed my bags, abandoned my apartment (and everything in it) and ran to the hills. I’m not exaggerating; I left my furniture, stereo equipment, clothes… all of it! The building I was living in at the time was in Park City. (The big apartment buildings you can see from the LIE as you pass Junction Blvd). The infestation problem was compounded by the religious beliefs of many of the other tenants. It was against their religion to kill in any way, shape or form. Even calling an exterminator was the same as killing the bugs themselves. I have the utmost respect for religion and completely understand, and even agree with that way of thinking. Even if you do exterminate them, roaches (German Cockroaches specifically) leave tiny egg sacks behind which hatch hundreds of babies and the problem starts all over again. If you aren’t careful you will simply pack them up and move them right into your new home. We all know the ultimate cockroach theory; that the only species to survive a nuclear blast would be the cockroaches. If that’s the case cockroaches might be the next species to evolve on this planet! If there are still any people around, they could end up being the intruders in a cockroach’s apartment, or even a roach motel! Let’s hope that the cockroaches evolve with the same religious beliefs as my former neighbors!
Please forgive me if you feel that this topic is not appropriate for the holiday season. Just remember that this is the time of year the biggest, scariest bugs appear! I’m talking about all the cockroaches that invade your wallet and try to eat up all of your money! These bugs are relentless, but they are also the easiest to avoid.
Thanks for reading…
1 comment:
Now thats funny !!!!
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