I'm a bug magnet. Bugs love me and my blood. If there's a mosquito, spider or flea, trust me - they find me and drink their fill.
So last week at the shore, I noticed the first day I was scratching a bug bite. I didn't pay much attention because I'm used to bug bites. However, by Thursday morning, I was going crazy with scratching and scratching. So I counted and had about 5 or 6 bites on one foot alone. Hmmm. Are these really mosquito bites? Usually mosquito bites don't itch after 2-3 days. It seems like the itch is lasting longer than usual.
Then I remembered the day before Amy had asked me if the little brown spot on her hand was a tick. It looked too thin to be a tick and when I touched it with my finger, it jumped. Oh no - we have fleas!
I voiced my concern out loud to Amy and Dawn who were with me at the time, which set off alarm bells for all of us. After all, on our floor were 3 children, including Kira - only 8 weeks old. We started conjuring all sorts of scenarios, one of which was Tommy insisting that Dawn and Kira leave immediately. Well, as often happens when women get to talking, the emotions were running high and we were getting more and more anxious. Where was Andy? We needed him to bring some direction and non-emotionalism to our dilemma. But we couldn't find him. When I tried calling his cell phone, it rang on the kitchen counter! So he was gone and no way to contact him.
Well, he eventually did return from a bike ride he had taken with Grace & Aiden. (What a nice PopPop!) When he entered the house, we all pounced on him with our problem, as well as upbraiding him for not being there for us when we needed him. Poor Andy. He was able to calm us down, then called the realtor who handles the property we were renting. They sent someone out to spray for the fleas.
We left the house for a couple of hours. That was the day we went to the aquarium. When we returned, we spent the rest of the day, laundering the sheets, bedspreads and mattress pads. Andy vacuumed the floors and the beds and the couches. What a nice way to spend your vacation - doing thorough cleaning.
So along with the good times and memories of our 2009 vacation, we also have the drama of dealing with fleas. Exciting!
The best way for anyone to avoid being bitten by bugs is to hang around me. Bugs are guaranteed to bite me and leave everyone else alone. In contrast to all the flea bites I got, Andy got none.
6 comments:
I was wondering if anyone would detail what happened with the fleas. You do always seem to get bit. When I got home, I noticed I had a lot on my feet as well. Then of course they started itching like crazy. I guess I was having too much fun to notice them.
you recounted the take very well. I laughed, I cried and I felt itchy :)
If I would have been there with you, there would have been another feast for the fleas! I always get bit by mosquitoes, so I'm sure the fleas would have gotten me. I just got finished mowing my lawn, and something bit me. I have some itchy spots. The lawn really needed done. It was too windy and cold earlier in the week.
I noticed some bites too after I got home and hoped that we hadn't brought the fleas home but I don't think we did.
Have you ever seen any research on why some people get bit more than others?
Some say those biters are attracted to either sweet blood or - I don't know how to say this -- manure?! The biters always find me too - must be a family thang!
We had a dog in our house for about 11 years and I was the only one who ever had bites. There were a few occasions when we had to battle the fleas. None of the guys ever got bit nor did Rod. Must be the Yoder in us.
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