Tamara's Tips: Killing Bugs

It's summer. If not able to enjoy the warm weather (on a beach, or poolside perhaps), people tend to hang out indoors in a comfortable air conditioned environment. Apparently bugs are wise to our wise, and do their best to join us in our comfort. Hence, the fun (dread) I endure each summer as I battle the army of insect invaders trying to escape the heat.

When encountering a bug, many would think just squish it with a tissue or whack it with a shoe, and the job is done. I personally am not a fan of this approach. Some bugs are just too crunchy to squish with tissue, and that crunch creeps me out. And whether it is with tissue or a shoe, squishing a bug leaves bug guts behind. Gross.

Here are some of my solutions for ridding your home of insect invaders:

1) Spiders

I don't really like spiders, but I have found they tend to stay out of my way and have little interest in messing with me. The downside to allowing spiders to live is while they are efficient at killing bugs, they're not always good at disposing of the bodies. Yuck.

2) Household Spray Cleaners

Sometimes the spiders get lazy. Like this morning, when a spider just sat there at watched as this bug waltzed around my home. I had to take matters into my own hands. Keep the enemy at arms length. And clean up while you do it! Usually I grab the nearest spray cleaner, and spray the bug until it dies. Some bugs take longer to kick the bucket than others. Just be diligent. Once the target has been eliminated, dispose the body by burial at sea (flush that sucker down the toilet). I have found that hand sanitizer is also effective, and the fact that it's a gel makes it difficult for the bug to escape your attack. The downside is that you have to get closer to the bug.

3) Trap and flush

If you are brave enough to deal with a live bug, get it to crawl onto a tissue and then quickly flush it down the toilet. This is good for slower moving bugs. Anything fast may crawl onto your skin. Don't use this method on fast bugs.

4) Get married

A spouse that is not afraid to kill bugs is the best thing anyone could ask for. I have been blessed in this way. I wouldn't say bug killing was a deal breaker, but it is important to me.