Monday, September 6, 2010

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Usually I highlight thing that are unique, fun, time-saving, or otherwise really awesome for my Favorite Things posts. But today my favorite thing is going to be somewhat ordinary. Yet, I have to say, it is completely awesome too...





Yes, it's a fly swatter. It's something you take for granted until you really need it and then it just happens to be the best invention EVER.

When we lived at our old house, we didn't have many flies. We had one invasion of little brown ants in the spring. A little ant trap action and that was taken care of. And then this last summer we had an awful earwig infestation. EW. Earwigs might possibly be the grossest bug ever. Or at least they are up there with spiders and centipedes. And they were EVERYWHERE. They were eating my flower blossoms before they even bloomed. They were all over my garden. They were in and under and around every toy and tool and rock and crevice. They even made it into the house a couple of times!!! BARF!!! I have to say, that was one thing I was super glad to leave behind about my wonderful yard there.

And then we moved here. No earwigs! However, living nearby several farms and horse properties (you gotta love when they build neighborhoods into the middle of former farmland), there are flies galore. I wish I had some sort of special robot vision where I could hone in on all the flies buzzing around the house. I'm sure what my robot vision would show me is that every door and window of our house has a couple hundred flies hovering around it at all times. And that they are just waiting for the second that we open a door or window so they can come in and check out my kitchen scraps. I can hardly remember an hour since we moved in that there haven't been flies in the house. We have two fly swatters going at all times, it seems, as well as a fly strip hanging above the island. I get them under control for a little while, but then as soon as I open a door or window, a dozen more show up. It's maddening!

But the good news is, I've majorly honed my fly swatting skills. I almost never miss with the fly swatter. And yesterday I used my son's plastic wiffle ball bat to hit one on the ceiling. KABAM! Gotcha, sucka! First try. I'm telling you, they need to have an event at the State Fair for this or something. I can get a fly with a dish rag, a flip flop, a teddy bear (don't tell Beck), a check book, and a bath robe. But my favorite tool, the one with the most satisfaction and gut-squishing involved, is the fly swatter. God bless whoever invented that thing.

11 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I just realized we never get flies. Yay!

bel said...

The flies at our housed have fly swatter ESP or something because no matter how sneaky I am getting the swatter out, they always seem to know and mysteriously vanish before I can come out swinging!

just call me jo said...

Dang flies!

veronica said...

Do you have cornfields near your new house? Around here, as soon as they cut the corn the flies show up in droves.
Good luck. I feel your pain.

Financial Aid for College said...

Like the old-fashioned mouse trap, nobody seems to invent something better than the old-fashioned fly swatter -- a masterpiece of useful technology! It Works! (Unless you are me and miss every fly by 4 to 10 inches. It takes me 8 swats to get a fly even in the bathroom, where it has no place to go. I think I actually exhaust them to death.)

Bjorge Queen said...

Used to live in a spider infested apartment. Never bugged me. Flys, however, I can't tolerate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORZ00OyKp0I

Now THAT's what I look for in a man.

My swatter goes by the name Matthew. Or "Matthew!!!!"

Anonymous said...

I want to see you in action! :D

Heather said...

I have heard if you hang a ziploc bag of water near your doors, it keeps flies away. Haven't ever tried it personally but it is suppposed to work. Don't know if the movement of the water keeps them away or what.
If you try it you'll have to tell me if it works.

Nicki said...

Was it Darren that had an electric fly swatter? I'm sooo glad we don't have a problem with flies, or mosquitoes for that matter here.

Mia said...

We have them like crazy here. Tone of water in the Spring makes for a cozy breeding ground. I am a master swatter.

Teachinfourth said...

A vacuum works great for flies, too...