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Blood suckers in Minnesota :(We have now personally met most of the blood-sucking types of varmints that can be found in Minnesota. Shortly after moving here three months ago, my youngest itched the back of her scalp and to her horror found a lump which turned out to be a tick. She bravely grabbed it, pulled it out, looked at it long enough to notice its wiggling legs, threw it on the ground and immediately reported to Mommy and Daddy in a rather excited, yet horrified tone, I might add. Ticks were our first blood-sucking encounter. Remembering something I'd read about garlic repelling ticks, I did some research. Yes, raw garlic can repell ticks. So, daily we eat a clove of raw garlic with our meals and haven't had any tick problems. It isn't unusual for the girls to remind me to get the garlic out daily. They don't mind removing ticks from the dogs daily, but don't relish pulling them off their own bodies.Encounter number two with blood-sucking critters in Minnesota is one that was no surprise. The mosquitos quickly followed the tick incidents. They are pretty much relentless. What is a blessing, however, is that we are on top of a hill which gives us a pretty good breeze which deter the mosquitos somewhat. Due to the nature of our work, farming, we are outside most, if not all, day. This gives us plenty of exposure to mosquitos. In the pole barn, the woods, or down at Grandpa and Grandma's or prior to a storm or during breezeless days, we are targets. It is not unusual to see us working outside with a cloud of black bugs around each of us with us swatting and swinging our arms around our bodies while trying to do jobs (such as putting up electric fencing, weeding the garden, baling hay, feeding our animals, you name it - it's called multi-tasking). We have found it is pretty much impossible to multi-task (swat mosquitos AND get something else worthwhile done) after the sun goes down. Occasionally, the pests manage to sneak into our home only to show up in the middle of the night once we hit a deep, much-needed sleep. A mosquito buzz close to your ear in the dead of night is not a comforting sound to the bone-tired. Our one clove of garlic a day is not enough to deter them. However, I did discover a natural, chemical-free alternative that works and has been a worthy investment. Herbal Armour is very effective for four hours and is on supply in our household and has occasionally been used prior to bed time. Blood-sucker number 3 is one we have heard of and read of, yet have not experienced. Grandma and Daddy told us of their experiences with leaches after swimming in lakes in Minnesota. You know, the slimy worm-like creatures that stick to your body and, well, make a meal out of your blood? We also read of Laura and Nelly's experience with leaches when they waded in stagnant Minnesota waters in "On the Banks of Plum Creek" and were pretty much grossed out. Not sure if these things can be repelled. We'll just stay away from stagnant waters. Blood-sucker number 4 is what wiped out 92 of our meat chicks and we have yet to catch the weasly, persistent, sneaky slaughterer. Mink are common here in Minnesota and are not friends with poultry farmers. Mink are not on our admiration list currently. There you have it - blood sucking critters from the land of 10,000 lakes. Anyone want to come visit???? :) The Farmer's Wife 03:55 - 2006-Jun-27 - post comment
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Description Sharing our thoughts, events, ups and downs, as we restore a once profitable farm to its former greatness as a Christian agrarian family. Home User Profile Archives Friends Lighthouse Farm Our DVD's for homesteader's Homestead Series e-books Lighthouse Farm Podcasts No NAIS Recent Entries - Pig-headed or chicken-hearted???? - Health care - the way it used to be - The Egg Hog - Back in blogdom after chasing sheep - Ode to Winter 2007 - Chicken and Hog DVD's are now finished!! - Video clip of the birth of a piglet - News about Haitian friends!!!!! - Authentic AgricultureTM - Welcome! - A Peaceful Night in the Pasture - Big Sale at The Old Schoolhouse!! - Rendering Lard - Hog Butchering Time - John Ray - Founder of Biology - A Breath-taking Field Trip - Fat and Sassy - Real Men Eat Quiche - Green Tomato Recipes - Harvest - Two Cents Worth on Pinching Pennies... - Cockle burrs and stinging nettle a blessing? - Gourmet Meals At The Farm Table - Seeds Worth Saving - Sweet cartoon - Commercial rice supply has been contaminated - Spermicidal Corn - Agricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth? - SImple Entertainment - "Gardening is like a treasure hunt!" - Pigs don't stink - Diggin' For Gold!! - Rain - a Blessing or a Curse? - My Sheep Know My Voice - er - Chain Saw... - The Old Farm Dog - An Alarming Nightime Visitor - Farming Magazine - A Pig's Nest - Meager chicken harvest - Bacon + Garlic = Piglets? - A Rare July 4th Tribute to Farmers - Fencing in more pasture - Three months on our new place.... - Blood suckers in Minnesota :( - Miss Bacon and Rocky Mountain Oysters - Sheep without a shepherd - Haying with my man! - Mink solutions, anyone? - Goat meets pig... - I Smell a Skunk... - URGENT!! Please forward!!!! - Did Adam Smell Like That? - Minnesota!!!!! - Problem solved - God is good - The Rat Trap and One Happy Girl - New Podcast - Farm Restoration - The Beginning - An Honorable Gentleman Has Died - Why teach our children about agriculture? - Cheap, Safe Food??? - New NAIS links worth reading - Old Tractors Never Die - A Lawyer comments on Constitutional Rights and NAIS - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks - Big Bellies and Big Bags - Hosting Haitians on the Homestead - Minnesota, Here We Come (after we sell our house) and "the Chip" - And God saw that it was good - Greetings |