Better living through chemistry. Here in NC, and especially in the salt marshes, we have some vicious bugs. DEET... the 40% to 100% variety.

Fortunately, the new farm homestead, is relatively free from skeeters and gnats. At least, up around the house. My old place in Sims, you could not step outside in warm weather any time of the day or night with out getting swarmed by both. We used to joke about petitioning the town to hold the annual Sims Gnat Festival they were that prevalent. It wasn't that we were friendly towards the neighbors, even thought they though that we were waving at them all the time..... we were shooing the gnats away.
Several times we went camping in the woods near a lake in another part of the state. All weekend long, outside with swim trunks on. Not a single bite. Home for 30 minutes and had 4 skeeters bite me on one leg. Anyway... the new farm is a very pleasant place. I can set on the back deck in the evening, and even at the fireplace at the woods edge and not have to douse myself in Deet to enjoy the fire and the evening. Along the streams.... well that's another issue totally. Mostly good during the day but a bit problematic in the evening. But, we don't often go to the streams at that time of the evening anyway. Our house sets on a hill so that might factor into the lack of skeeters up here.

Back to music and skeeters. So, many years ago.... we had a gig at a club at the beach. The area was a tourist area with a large area around it with salt marshes. The club was large and didn't have air conditioning so in the middle of the summer, it was hot inside. To solve or alleviate that problem.... they had these big ventilation fans up along the peak of the roof.... they would turn these things on and let them blow the cooler night air into the club....along with hundreds of those salt marsh skeeters. When those things bit you, it was downright painful. And they would itch like the dickens afterwards. Most skeeters can bite with almost no notification of the bite.... but not those things. That was one interesting night. No one got out without getting bitten. We didn't think to bring bug spray..... not in a club.

Oh heck..... lets add some more to this post. Just a few miles down the road from that club a few years later.... at the NC Aquarium.... my wife and I decided to do the nature walk to the overlook and just enjoy the walk and scenery in the middle of the day. Wrong....!!!! We forgot about the appetite and determination of those salt marsh skeeters. We ended up running.... well, more like jogging, back out of that swamp walk. They didn't follow us into the open parking lot.... thankfully. We passed several people walking in who looked at us with quizzical faces..... I thought.... yeah, you might think we're crazy for running on such a hot day..... but you'll find out why very shortly.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 06/03/19 03:38 AM.
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