{"id":852,"date":"2012-06-22T10:00:53","date_gmt":"2012-06-22T14:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=852"},"modified":"2014-09-03T21:49:17","modified_gmt":"2014-09-04T01:49:17","slug":"mosquitoes-suck-no-pun-intended","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=852","title":{"rendered":"Mosquitoes Suck (no pun intended)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was told that because it was so warm this winter there was no freeze to kill things off. \u00a0Like bugs for example. \u00a0This meant that this summer would be more buggy than last year. Last year I was eaten alive every night by mosquitoes. \u00a0So what does that mean for this year? \u00a0A lot of cursing.<\/p>\n

I went outside at 9:30 this morning with my coffee to check out my garden. \u00a0By the time I came in 10 minutes later I had bites all over my legs and shoulders. \u00a0To relieve the itching I always follow my gram’s advice to dab some dish or hand soap on the bite. \u00a0It sounds silly but it really does take the itching out right away. \u00a0It’s cheap and not full of chemicals.<\/p>\n

With a mind for solving problems, my TB decided what we needed was a carnivorous plant, which is a plant that eats bugs. \u00a0He went to the store and got a great a pitcher plant.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You will see the “pitcher” thingys that hand down. \u00a0The plant produces a fluid in them that attracts bugs. \u00a0Once the bugs go into the pitcher to see what smells so great, they can’t get a grip on the sides or the red edge and can’t get back out. \u00a0The fluid inside then digests the bugs. \u00a0Gross yes, but also pretty interesting.<\/p>\n

Someone else was also attracted to the pitchers but not for the bug pheromone fluid.<\/p>\n

Someone just likes to play with things that dangle in mid air when no one is playing with him and he is bored.<\/p>\n

This is that someone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now in Opie’s, defense these pitchers are pretty\u00a0irresistible. \u00a0Even TB goes over to them all the time and looks in. \u00a0They are fascinating. \u00a0 The poor guy was really just bored because his crappy parents don’t play with him constantly, every minute, all day as he would prefer. \u00a0And this plant was just asking for it.<\/p>\n

Here is the damage. \u00a0I have added captions to help since the picture has a busy background.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You will notice there is a half of a pitcher missing. \u00a0You will also notice that the other pitcher got knocked around and slightly stretched out so TB performed first aid with a rubber band.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The other half of this pitcher was found clear across the yard and in pieces. \u00a0Opie is not very good at covering his tracks.<\/p>\n

With our bug population we would have needed a forest of these things to make a dent but it was a noble try. \u00a0We are now searching for other options. \u00a0I have read that using a fan on your patio will help since mosquitoes can’t fly in strong winds. \u00a0I have also been looking at natural bug spray. \u00a0I do so much to avoid chemicals in my skin so I don’t want to have DEET all over my everyday.<\/p>\n

If anyone has any ideas on how to not look like I have a terrible rash all summer please speak up in the comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was told that because it was so warm this winter there was no freeze to kill things off. \u00a0Like bugs for example. \u00a0This meant that this summer would be more buggy than last year. Last year I was eaten…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20,21],"tags":[148,46,149],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/opie-pitcher-6-20.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1J4KT-dK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":699,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=699","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":0},"title":"Planting Potatoes in a Box","date":"May 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I read an article awhile back about how you could grow lots of potatoes in a small space by going vertical in a box. \u00a0I thought, \"I like potatoes. I should try it out.\" The basic idea is to plant the spuds in a frame like the one pictured below\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Garden"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/IMG_1162.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":678,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=678","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":1},"title":"A big day for Opie","date":"April 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"So today is one year since we brought Opie home from the Monmouth County SPCA. \u00a0One year since I walked in asking about him (I saw him online) and they tried to show us other dogs. \u00a0One year since we walked through the shelter with all the dogs saying \"pick\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "About Us"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/IMG_1099.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":621,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=621","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":2},"title":"Opie is a bad dog.","date":"March 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night we went out to start our wedding registry at an in store event. \u00a0We followed that by going to a nice dinner where I had a delicious cocktail. \u00a0I was in a great mood on the way home. We walk in the door and Opie is running to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Opie the Mascot"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/IMG_0933.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":344,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=344","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":3},"title":"Merry Christmas!","date":"December 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!\u00a0 Here\u00a0are shots of Opie in his Santa suit last night.\u00a0 After all aren't the holidays a great opportunity to torture the ones we love? \u00a0 Don't worry, he got his share of those presents under the tree!","rel":"","context":"In "Opie the Mascot"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/photo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":134,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=134","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":4},"title":"Thank you for the help Opie","date":"September 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"My dog was made for a bloopers reel. While taking some photos of the dropleaf table he of course had to make sure the lighting was correct. \u00a0 Here Opie is taking part in\u00a0a discussion on green packaging options.\u00a0 In these shots we are debating the benefits of using reusable\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Opie the Mascot"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/opie-packing-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":248,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=248","url_meta":{"origin":852,"position":5},"title":"Happy Halloween from Opie!","date":"October 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This is our first Halloween with Opie.\u00a0 He's not really sure what it all means but it does combine two things he loves - people coming to his house to visit and treats!\u00a0 In between laying still so little kids could pet him, he continually tried to stick his head\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/IMG_0240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=852"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions\/859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}