Taping Bugs to the Ceiling

As it is now summer weather, it is hot and more and more humid in Kansas City. This means the ACs are blowing if the windows are not open. This also means that I have a record number of insects in my house and more specifically in my room. It's quite disturbing.

Some of the bugs are small and only annoying as they flit into your face repeatedly or walk around the tv screen while you are trying to watch a movie. Others are much larger and fly at you when you try to kill them. Others are unknown what they'll do- fly, jump, squish, leak, smell... and so they are left alone.

Yet, last summer I found some inspiration of attacking this insect dilemma. Late one night, I happened to look up at the light in my room and noticed an alarming amount of insects and gnats flying around the dim dome. I did not know how to mass attack, so I set some longer term traps. I had some packing tape which I strung loosely across the light several times in different directions. By morning, no bugs were flying; they were all stuck. And in seeing how effective this tool was, I kept them there and continued to catch a variety of size and types of bugs.

Well, I have not gone extreme taping on the light dome in my room, yet the tape solution has remained with me. Early one morning a large pinching looking bug was on my mirror. I tried to catch/kill it, but it fell and then flew away. I tried to find it a LONG time because I did not want to find it later at an inconvenient/scary time. Sadly, it was gone... UNTIL later that night it was on my ceiling. I did not want to risk losing it again. I could not catch it in a cup; that failed that morning. I did not want to smash it with my shoe- not only because the draft of the coming doom might alert it but any falling parts would fall directly onto my bed. Thus, I looked for what else was around me... and there I found my trusty packing tape.

I ripped off a long piece. I crouched on top of my bed, slowly extending my legs moving closer to the winged creature. I then surprised it and stuck it to the ceiling enclosing off any bubbled exit routes. And so it remained.

I did not want to take it off the ceiling right away because I did not know its life expectancy, and so it remained alone. UNTIL tonight... Nearby was a bug that looked similarly close to a stink bug, and you certainly do not want to mess with those. And so in even better precision, it also met the same fate.

And so now, I lie in my bed at peace knowing at least two larger bugs will not be threatening me this slumber, for they are taped onto my ceiling. (which is ok because I live in the ghetto and do not have super high standards) :) May they remain (for a short time) as a warning to all other insects out there; there is a low tolerance of crittering in this bedroom!!!