J out and about, this picture has nothing to do with the subject matter of this post
Hey All,
Thankfully we don't have a lot of bugs down here in Chile. God blessed the country when He made the Andes and the desert up north, because with the mountains desert and ocean there are very few jungle creatures in Chile. The only pests here? One spider that lives in corners (the looks of which no one really seems to know) and fleas! There is also one big red cricket thing that is kinda creepy, but thankfully that's the extent of the danger. I've only had a few instances when one of these freaked me out - and it was just the surprise factor that got me.
Anyway, a quick prayer request for your Friday evening....we've got a bug issue!! Yep, I did some research, and these little things that are eating us alive aren't in fact fleas, but midges. Well, apparently the name midges just refers to any small fly that has wings and bites. And boy do they bite.
I was at my wits end last night and this morning - sometimes it just feels like a battle I could not possibly win. I brought home fleas from a youth camp-out last summer, and while it was a pain and took a week or two to get rid of them, the fleas eventually ceased their habitation of our stuff.
This time around, it's a bit more difficult being in winter. You see, when I did some research on the fleas last summer, and doing it now on the midges, most of my options are not applicable here in Chile. I do have an insecticide...but do I really want to spray that all over the house with us and the dog? (Who, might I add, is actually way cleaner than us...the flea shampoo has apparently worked wonders, she does not have any sort of critter on her - I even did a "Pet Flea and Bug Check" to make sure!) Back to it, after shying away from all the chemicals I've found many other basic ways of getting rid of bugs. Borax is one way to get fleas outta the home - but alas they don't sell it in Chile. All the websites tell you to vacuum thoroughly....well, we don't have a vacuum, so I'm stuck sweeping the bugs around. (Not that I can see any of these bugs ha! Don't want you to get the idea our floors are covered or something.) Then everyone says to make sure to launder everything in hot water, and dry on high heat. Now, here is where I just don't even know where to begin. 1) We don't have hot water that goes to our washer 2) We don't have a dryer 3) This means I am hang drying everything I am washing in front of the fire for a day or two RIGHT BACK WHERE THE BUG PROBLEM IS! It's driving me nuts, especially because I am a clean freak. Can anyone get on board with where I am coming from?
Well, enough ranting, I'm just expounding my dilemma to all of you. So if you all could be praying that these little buggers could take off, that would be awesome. Their bites itch like crazy and they last a ridiculously long time. We are going to just bite the bullet and buy a vacuum, so that will probably help - but we also know God can do some seriously awesome things (no matter how trivial a bug infestation might be in the whole scheme of things). Have a fabulous weekend all of you and thank you for reading and praying!
Blessings, Missy
A street in Tome, again not related to the subject matter
What are other people in Chile doing with the bug stuff? Do they own washer & dryers? Or most people hang dry? Is there a "laundry mat" type place you can go to or someone in the church that might let you do weekly laundry at their place? Or maybe you could just barrow someone's vacuum once a week in exchange for some yummy american chocolate chip cookies? LOL Just some ideas :)
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