Here’s a little Bon Jodi to start your week off. It’s sung to the tune of Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi.
Once upon a time Not so long ago….. Delilah loves to walk in the woods The bugs are bad this year We’re gettin’ eaten up…it’s not good, not good Mama searched the web all day Looking for a way to help keep the bugs at bay, At bay She says we gotta hang in, we must prevail If it gets tough we’ve got to wag our tails They can’t beat us because we’re tough as nails We’ll switch to DEET if all else fails CHORUS Whooah, we will get there Oh oh, we’re one tough pair Grab the leash and we’ll make it I swear Oh oh, we’re one tough pairWe’re being eaten alive
We had a rainy, humid June and the bugs are out of control. Despite spraying the dogs and myself every walk, we still get swarmed by the little……er..buggers.
Last Thursday after our walk I looked at Delilah and said, “WTF is on your face, do you have a tick?”
Sorry for the blurry photo, it’s hard to hold her head and take a photo.
For those of you keeping score at home, she did not answer me.
Instead upon closer inspection I realized she’d been bitten by some kind of bug right in the corner of her eye. I immediately text Jenny Juggs and asked what to do. She suggested Benadryl which I gave to Delilah and within an hour or so you couldn’t see it anymore.
On Friday I made sure to pay special attention to the area on her face and she still came home with bites. I gave her more Benadryl.
I thought maybe the bugs wouldn’t be so bad if we went earlier in the day. Saturday morning instead of using the spray I use, I used bug lotion. I thought I have better control with applying lotion, as opposed to spraying something near her eyes.
Still hard to get a photo.
The bites were smaller this time, but she still had them and I noticed a few more on her nose.
Know Your Adversary
When talking with one of my friends she mentioned no-see-ums. They are also known as midges and they are apparently resistant to most insect sprays.
I spent a lot of time this past weekend reading up on this nasty little pests. Apparently certain people and animals have a chemical make-up that attracts these bugs. Based upon our experiences in our woods, Delilah and I would fall into this category.
I also discovered these little biting bastards are similar to mosquitoes as they love the damp, wet, marshy areas, and when they find a feeding source, they send out a call to their comrades, “dinner’s here.” Because of all the rain we had, some of the lower areas in our woods have bits of standing water and mud. Coincidentally these are the trails where we normally walk.
There have actually been times where Delilah has stopped and used her paw to scrape something bothering her. I felt bad, here I am walking my dog (something she truly enjoys) and yet I’m exposing her to biting bugs and pumping her full of Benadryl when we get home. I set out to change this.
Yesterday I used the bug repellant lotion, Skin so Soft (Avon) and I changed our route. We avoided the low-lying areas where we normally walk and stuck to the field and the trails where there was no water.
Yesterday was the first time in four days where I didn’t have to give her Benadryl when we got home. I couldn’t see any bites on her face. AT ALL.
The problem is, I’m not sure what worked.
So today, we’ll stick to the same trail schedule and I’ll use my bug spray/lotion and see what happens. Fingers crossed we stay bite free today too.
Do you have a problem with bugs where you walk? Are there any natural products you use to help repel the bugs?
Of course, being in winter, we aren’t suffering from little critters but, even in summer, we don’t seem to have as much of a problem. PS – I just love your sense of humour
I had never heard of midges before!
After all this rainy weather, we will be learning how
to protect Splotchy.
We’ve had an unusually big amount of rain/storms here lately. Mosquitoes are always bad here, but they seem to be worse this summer because of all the rain! We get several that fly into our house just in the few seconds we open (then close) the back door to let the dogs out! I killed 5 just the other day–one of which was full of bright red blood…yuck!
I’ve always heard wonderful things about the Skin-So-Soft keeping the bugs at bay. Never realized you could use it on your dog!
As for Daisy–the first 2 hours Highway was gone, she walked repeatedly from the dog door to the front window looking for him. 🙁 She seems to be doing okay without him, but my sister and brother-in-law said that now she feels like she needs to be within 2 or 3 feet of one of them and is really clingy. Today is her first day home alone without him while my sister and her husband are both at work. So, we’ll see how she does.
We have the same problem here with the little biting bastards. Only ours are little green flies…the same ones that like the taste of dog poop. I’m tempted to go up to Lowe’s and buy some of those bug zappers to hang from the support beams of the carport. Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can find a local Avon Lady to buy some Skin-So-Soft from today. I’d forgotten about the stuff. Once upon a time in my former life, I was an Avon Lady (and a Tupperware lady) so you’d think it would be permanently stamped on my brain. He-he.
I sure hope you and Delilah get some relief soon! At least the girls and I can escape by coming back inside right away. Have a tail-wagging day!
Sue–just want to chime in here…we used this fly trap last year in our backyard and it trapped HUNDREDS (if not thousands) of flies! We were pretty much fly free in our yard last summer because of this trap.
http://www.amazon.com/Rescue-FTD-BB24-Disposable-Fly-Trap/dp/B00004TBKM
We got another one for this year, but haven’t set it up yet. One note–it smells horrible if you’re within a few feet of it, so you may not want to put it right by your door or window. 🙂
We have a beach to walk, and a wooded area to walk. We have been avoiding the woods, as the ticks are out of control too. (I imagine the mosquitoes are too)
So, I’m obviously anti-bug, but I am pro-amazing-song-parody. I heart this so much.
We have some midges in the park but it is not bad here but our problem is snails and slugs with all the rain and the increase of the chances of catching lung worm. Our worming is up to date. Good luck. Have a marvellous Monday.
Best wishes Molly
We don’t have killing frosts so I thought we had every insect in existence, but I’ve never heard of these. Our town has waged war against the mosquito and it is really working. Maybe you could encase Delilah in mosquito netting, but I think no see ums might get through the barrier.
Poor Delilah! At least you are figuring out how to stop the bites! I also love the song parody!
Mom says that drinking lots of alcohol keeps the bugs from biting, but she wouldn’t recommend that as a good solution. I guess before I knew her, she was the wild type and never had bites, not that she doesn’t drink, she is eaten alive, so she says alcohol keeps the bites away. I had a tick in the corner of my eye last year, we had a heck of a time getting it out!
I DEET myself often. Thankfully, Blueberry isn’t harassed by little bugs. Although one day I came home from work and she had this huge lump on her head. It was so weird. I gave her some Benadryl and in the morning it had finally gone down. I still have no clue as to what caused it.
You know – they have these screen-type “shirts” that you can wear that protect you from bugs. I wonder if they make them for dogs too? I cannot stand little things landing on me. Hence, the DEET. I know it isn’t exactly environmentally friendly, but it sure beats me waving my arms around frantically while hiking and actually yelling at flies to “please get away from me or I will punch you!”.
Last summer I got a sample from Pet Friendly of some bug spray that works for no-see ums – and it’s all natural. I can’t remember the name of it, maybe Amy can remember what it was?? Poor Delilah – I have 4 spider bites right now that are driving me mad!!!
I feel badly I didn’t mention Skin So Soft before! I prefer it over the stuff with more chemicals. Not only do I use the lotion, I take the bath “oil” version and dilute it with water for a spray for the horses. Those midgies are awful!! Poor Delilah. Poor you!
Poor Delilah! Oh gosh this time of year is bad…besides the mosquitos there’s yellow flies and horseflies (those bites hurt) and the dreaded no-see-ums and worst of all to me are the chiggers…I won’t use deet and Skin So Soft hasn’t really worked for us…It’s worst here in the early evening and not so bad in the mornings…Hope your experiment was a success and Delilah remains bite free
I’ve heard from several sources that people eventually gain immunity to bug reactions. For example, regular residents of the Adirondacks are less subject to black flies than tourists.
So cheer up, in a few more years you’ll be invincible.
BTW, Bon Jodi and must better than Bon Jovi!
So sorry about the bugs, I absolutely hate ticks. The ticks are so bad we have pretty much stopped walking in the woods
urban hounds
Wicked bugs! Around here, I am more the victim than Cupcake. I’m out there being swarmed like I’m the last ham sandwich in HungryTown, and she’s sniffing every blade of grass, completely unfazed. GAH!
Have you tried that Off thing that you hook onto your pants. It’s supposed to keep the bugs away. You use one for Delliah and out it on her collar.
Terri le here on long island,,new strain of tiger mosquitos, come out during the day and are very aggressive…even after spraying off on us. My dogs cant fo into their back area either.too many bites. In pa we get swarmed with little back gnats, that give a heck of a bite…..i call them june bugs…because by mid july they are go e
No bugs here. 🙂
Love the song lyrics!
Great song!!! I love it!!!! Poor Delilah. Glory also got bit by something in the corner of her eye and had a swelling. Bugs are nasty. I don’t use natural products so I can’t help you with what works. I use Vectra 2D which is a vet topical flea, tick, mosquito and other bug repellent. I have started using vinegar, water, dawn, peppermint oil and lemon grass oil all mixed up and put in a spray bottle to keep bugs (ticks) off of me and it seems to work when I use it. I used to use Avon skin so soft then it stopped working and I got hammered by mosquito’s.
Love the song! You’re a great song writer!
Sorry about the bites, that’s no fun and I feel your pain. The bugs here are out of control and only getting worse before of all the rain. The boys just sit outside and the small little bug, gnats, or whatever just swam to them and I feel bad. The other day I spritzed Sherman with some OFF because I couldn’t the stand the bugs flying around him and it did work, for about and hour. I’m thinking about getting some citronella plants and other plants that I read deter mosquitoes and hope that it works on these other little bugs!
Oh poor Delilah. That first photo looks like the bite was huge. I hope you get a good routine figured out before you both get eaten alive.
Freighter does not yet have a real thick coat underneath yet. The bugs love him. I think it might be his color. He has welts similar to the ones I have. The mosquitoes were very bad up at our cabin last weekend. Some got into the house. They bit me and him. This is why I do not camp! lol
Almost forgot to submit this comment. And so my day goes….
I use Dr. Mercola’s Natural Flea and Tick Defense and…so far, so good. However, Taylor lives in a more urban environment, which could play a factor. I would highly recommend this product!
Horrid things midges – can drive you inside the house or home from a camping trip at their worst 🙁
Love the song Jodi. While we don’t have midges, the mosquitoes have invaded our area and are eating us alive, night and day. I feel for you and the dogs. 🙁