Bugs and bites

I have decided that the way to tell the difference between a Texan and a foreigner is to look at their legs. We must taste different as nobody else seems to be covered in big red itchy mosquito bites. I have now taken to lathering myself and the kids daily in insect repellent in an attempt to blend in.

On top of the obvious irritation, these little blighters may carry the West Nile Virus, and there are signs up all over the place warning us of this. The local city administration take this virus very seriously, they trap mosquitoes and test them for the virus, then spray the ground with pesticide within a half mile radius of a West Nile-positive sample. Today I received an email from our landlady telling us that they are spraying chemicals over a residential neighbourhood a few streets away from where we live. They issue this advice:

"During spraying residents are encouraged to follow these precautions:

• Avoid being outside during spraying; close windows and keep pets inside.
• If skin or clothes are exposed, wash them with soap and water.
• Rinse homegrown fruits and vegetables with water as a general precautionary measure.
• Cover small ornamental fish ponds.
• Because the chemical breaks down quickly in sunlight and water, no special precautions are suggested for outdoor swimming areas."

To go to these lengths this virus must be some relative of Ebola, and we're all covered in bites! Cue frantic googling. "Most cases of West Nile Virus are not serious and many people have no symptoms or mild flu-like symptoms, such as muscle aches and a fever." (http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/West-Nile-Virus/Pages/what-is-it.aspx). So we're not all going to die after all, unless we happen to walk into the pesticide spraying. I'll be eating my words when I catch this thing now.

I just call it "repellent" as it seems to work on humans and dogs too.

The mosquitoes are just regular mosquitoes, but other creepy crawlies seem to come in one size: big.

The "medium-sized" Differential Grasshopper
I found hanging around in the garden.

Grasshoppers are numerous and everywhere, you can't walk across grass without them leaping out of your way. And don't get me started on the cicadas, they also fit the bill of 'big' and have the added feature of 'loud'.

This looks like a peaceful evening stroll with the dog, but the cicadas are
making a noise in the trees overhead akin to someone strimming their lawn.

Here's a cicada doing an impressive "dying fly" routine.
His body is over and inch long and half an inch wide.