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 pair

 

 We’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?”

 

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.

 

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?