Are you missing the bugs???

[LAS14]

A recent NYT article reported on a decline in the bug population. This caused me to reflect on my own experience and I find I have a lot of anecdotal evidence supporting this. It feels a little scary. Have any of you got similar stories?

Here are mine:

We used to go to an ice cream place (outdoor, soft serve, etc.) when the kids were little, forty years ago. It was a trial waiting for our order because the mosquitoes were so thick. They had a bug zapper working overtime. We went last week with grandchildren and there was nary a mosquito, and no bug zapper. There’s a pond in the back just as there was 40 years ago.

I haven’t had to swat a mosquito all this season. Maybe not last season either. We’re in the country.
There are almost never bugs on our windshield as there used to be when I was a child. But that may be the aerodynamics of modern cars.

This year the black flies almost disappeared by May 28. Normally they’re here till Father’s Day.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/26/opinion/sunday/insects-bugs-naturalists-scientists.html

[jodymarie aimee]

1. Central WI here

and the mosquitoes are worse than ever...started in April this year, yet....you can have ours !!

[Lifelong Protester]

2. and ours!!

[Greybnk48]

4. NE WI. Early mosquitoes and lots of them. June bugs right on time,

maybe a week late, box elder bugs, bumble bees, and bees.

[yallerdawg]

3. I live in a city in the South.

I haven't seen any cockroaches in years.

Rats, yes. Slugs, yes.

Occasional mosquitoes, a lightning bug or two just last night. We have had a lot of rain lately.

I haven't seen 'love bugs' in a couple years?

We heard a frog doing that long annoying croaking for a couple nights, but I don't recall hearing crickets.

Now that you mention it...

[LeftInTX]

10. Come to San Antonio

No shortage of huge roaches inside and out.

[Demovictory9]

19. ''

[tazkcmo]

36. Yuuuuuge roaches!

Lived in San Antonio for about 20 years. Those roaches just get high when you spray them with Raid!

[LAS14]

11. Right! Lightning bugs!

Our back yard used to be dense with lights. Now that I think about it I don't remember seeing any for years except one in the corner of our bedroom last week.

[tblue37]

44. I used to see a lot of grasshoppers in my yard. I hardly ever see one now. nt

[bearsfootball516]

55. I read an article not long ago about how lightning bugs are vanishing.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/grist.org/article/fireflys-are-disappearing-heres-why-and-what-you-can-do-to-help/amp/

[CatWoman]

58. i'm in Georgia

and I saw one -- just one -- night before last.

[Dulcinea]

15. I do too.

We get the odd palmetto bug in the house like everyone does down here.

I get bit by the chiggers in Michigan while visiting there more than I get bit by anything in Georgia!

[backtoblue]

5. The ticks seem worse here in the South this year

I have noticed a drop in daddy longlegs over the past few years though.

[NCTraveler]

6. Head to Florida.

We will cover the front of your car with bugs and send you to the ER because you will get bit by so many.

[Laffy Kat]

8. Florida is unbelievable.

I live in Colorado where we really don't have many bugs. When I visit my sis in Florida, OMG! The air is thick is creepy crawlies and I think I'm allergic to almost all of them. My entire body gets covered in big ol' itchy bites, while my sister just shrugs and has almost no bites.

[fleur-de-lisa]

7. I think all those skeeters relocated to my yard (New Orleans).

I can't do yard work at dawn or dusk or they will work as a team and carry me away.

[SoCalDem]

9. Our bees have become visually impaired...( or stupid)

We have flowers EVERYWHERE, and yet "our" bees apparently are in love with my flowered dresses and our patio furniture upholstery (flowered)..

I have become an expert in the bee avoidance tactic..
close my eyes so I can't see them, and remaining still until they leave..

I will never kill one, but I sure wish they would go after flowers instead of my clothing & patio furniture..

[Blue_true]

24. Maybe something that you or your family use on your clothes or skin attracts the bees.

Those little buggers seem to have an amazing sense of smell. If there is something on your skin or clothes, that comes off on your patio furniture. I actually love honey bees, I too would not kill one.

[Lunabell]

12. Where are the lightening bugs?

I have lots of memories of them as a child. Sigh

[LAS14]

18. Do you live in a similar environment as you did as a child?

[cwydro]

21. Plenty where I am in NC.

It’s so beautiful at night.

[Ohiogal]

13. No shortage of bugs in NE Ohio

I got bit up by mosquitoes working in the garden the last few days. Been tossing stink bugs out of the house daily all winter and spring. Now it's time for the ant invasion. I picked up my glasses this morning and put them on and there was an ant on them that I didn't see till I put them on, talk about a weird sensation, seeing that black thing crossing your line of vision!

I remember those bug zappers, they used to have them going full bore at the miniature golf places when I was a kid and you went to play after dinner! And, yes, we sill have fireflies, too.

[Vinca]

14. I don't know about bugs, but my garden is sure weird this year.

It's all fenced in, but something is killing leaves on plants I put in and seeds I planted aren't germinating. I sprayed even though I haven't seen anything other than a few flea beetles and a few slugs, but the situation isn't improving. Acid rain maybe??? Come to think of it, I haven't seen any mosquitoes either. Strange.

[onethatcares]

16. please, don't

spray willy nilly.

Not knowing how old your plants and veggies are, it takes a while to make a "garden" and killing the cultures in it is really against all rules.

grow a bunch of different plants, compost, plant more different plants, compost, put beer trays down for slugs, compost, let a stand of weeds grow, compost, compost pile, compost. Toss a pack or two of wild flowers in the unused spaces of your yard, compost. monoculture is like roundup, it works, too well. Did I mention "compost"?

Peace out

[tazkcmo]

38. They should also

Compost!

Bet you didn't see that coming! You made me laugh, thank you.

[Vinca]

49. Thanks - I do all that stuff. Whatever it is is even going after large marigold plants in bloom.

I usually plant flower seeds in the garden among the plants, but in an act of desperation I shelled out for mature plants. Every year I collect zinnia seeds at the end of the summer and I'll be raking those in around the outside of the garden enclosure this weekend. Maybe that should have been done sooner, but we've had lots of rain this spring so I've been delaying. That's an additional problem. I've replanted some things 2 or 3 times because the beds have washed out. Got them all mulched with straw last weekend so I hope that solves that problem.

[NJCher]

53. bravo, you

no spraying for me unless it's something like soap and water to deter aphids.

All the items mention are important for us all to do!

[Blue_true]

25. Try 3 tablespoons of Neem Oil in a gallon of water.

Spray the ground around your plant trunks till soaked. Then spray all of the plant. Once your plants look healthy, stop because honey bees don't like Neem Oil.

[Vinca]

48. I'll try that. I have Neem Oil, but haven't used it this year.

[Blue_true]

54. Next year you may try planting companion plants and soil conditioning.

One poster described soil conditioning and working the natural chemicals found in some plants into your soil through composting.

There is a lot of information about companion plants for any plant that you want to grow. When I used to grow tomatoes, borage and basil were good companion plants, borage more than basil (you can also scrub the rough exterior off borage stems and use them in salads and sauces, it tastes like cucumber. You can also pickle borage stalks ance the abrasive outer skin is removed. I have never used the borage flowers, but some people do eat them).

[Vinca]

59. Actually, I've been gardening for the better part of 50 years and I told my husband yesterday

that I might be reaching the end of the road ambition-wise. At this point, I think I'd be spending less money going to the farm stand about 5 miles up the road. We'll see . . . I'm just cranky about it all at the moment.

[Blue_true]

60. Yeah, 50 plus years at it is a long time.

I like farm stands for seasonal stuff. It is melon season in this part of Florida, I stop by a farm stand near my house to buy melons from small-scale local farmers. They taste great, much better than the Publix melon chunks that I buy during other times of the year. Take care, after 50 plus years of gardening, maybe taking a break isn't a bad idea.

[chia]

41. My seeds didn't germinate well this year either. May I ask what state you're in?

I live in Southern CA.

[Vinca]

47. Southern NH.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

42. Don't spray! That kills bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

You need to know exactly what bugs you've got so you know how to deal with them. Depending on where you are, you might have Japanese beetles or four-lined plant bugs, which you can't really get rid of unless you spray directly on them. Spraying insecticide on plants to kill bugs is usually futile, or worse.

[Pathwalker]

17. Shield(stink)bugs, June bugs, mosquitos, black jumping spiders,

cabbage moths, butterflies and frogs are all flying and jumping at my house in mid-Michigan. Too early for fireflies here, though; they don't make their appearance until July/August.

[cwydro]

20. I live in the country in NC.

Plenty of wasps, bees, flies, mosquitoes, deerflies, noseeums, dragonflies, butterflies, and others too numerous to name.

And my farm is alight with lightning bugs once dusk falls.

[marlakay]

22. Lol plenty of bugs in Southern Oregon

Lots of spiders, bees, flies, some mosquitoes, lots of ants, my house is clean and I had to hire someone to spray for the ants.

[Bettie]

23. Here in Iowa we have

plenty of bugs!

They spray in our town for mosquitoes due to the wetlands on the edge of town, to keep us from being eaten alive, but there are plenty of bugs!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

26. I'm in Santa Fe, NM. Hardly any bugs here.

But I'm seeing the same amounts of the few we have, plus little tiny ants have gone bonkers this year and keep coming into my house. Plus, I get black widow spiders. Those I murder on sight.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

27. Chicago 'burbs near O'Hare: it's been light on bugs this season so far.

Finally ran into some mosquitos a couple days ago. No june bugs yet.

[Glorfindel]

28. No honeybees here in the southern Appalachians of north Georgia

There seem to be plenty of everything else, though - carpenter bees, bumblebees, wasps, dirt daubers, etc., and lightning bugs once the sun goes down.

[Chemisse]

29. There are some places that spray to get rid of mosquitos.

Perhaps that spot is one of them?

[LAS14]

31. I doubt it. They've cut back on lots of things since the glory days. nt

[Chemisse]

43. Maybe there is a surplus of whatever eats mosquitos in that location.

Birds? Fish?

[GregD]

30. we have chickens and had a huge fly problem

we started using https://www.spalding-labs.com/ fly predators a few years ago and it is well worth the investment. I'm not going to say we don't have so many, but we have a LOT LESS of them.

[cwydro]

45. I have chickens too. And geese.

This is something safe to use around them? They’re free range, except for being cooped at night.

[GregD]

50. Yes, I believe it is completely safe.

They are these little tiny bugs that (according to what I was told) have a travel limit of 150 feet. They hunt down fly larva and eat them. And I'm here to tell you that it really made a difference. We still have to use fly traps, but I have renewed my subscription to their monthly deliveries for a couple years now, and will continue to do so.

[MuseRider]

32. NE Kansas and it is odd out there.

Almost no mosquitos. We were talking about that last night. We had snow in May the proceeded to have the warmest May in 136 years with temps 10 degrees warmer than last year. That could be part of it. Lots of June bugs but much earlier than usual. We do have tons of lightning bugs, also earlier but they are here in fantastic numbers. Seeing dragonflies now but it took a while. Not many spiders. Lots of wasps but the scarcest amount of bees I have ever seen. I saw 2 or 3 bumblers early but none since then and not a single honey bee. It is very odd but it does seem to go with the odd weather. We blew through the 70's and 80's and seem to maintain in the 90's almost every day. We hit a heat index of 103 in May. I would bet the bugs got wiped out a lot with the crazy snow to 90 degrees in a couple of weeks. Turtles are scarce, have not seen one single snapper in the ponds but the snakes...my oh my are the water snakes doing well. Wildflowers are scarce and I maintain areas for them in parts of my pastures. Hardly any. Rough start to the season here. Oh yes, the rain. We seem to be in a dry pocket here considering amounts around us but it is just adequate. It seems to only rain at night now. Hard and brief. I hate this but think it is time to accept it, it has been headed this way for some time.

I have not had a single bug hit my windshield and I do a lot of driving. I had not thought of that until I read your post over again. We are in the country too and that is simply amazing.

[LAS14]

33. It's possible the lack of bugs on windshields....

... has to do with modern aerodynamics. When is the last time you had lots of bugs on your windshield?

[MuseRider]

46. Certainly possible.

I do not remember too many last year either.

Our house sits on a large pond. This year we can sit on our deck and not need citronella or anything and not get bitten. Ticks were not too bad either but the late snow and cold weather may have slowed them down. I certainly hope this is a fluke here because of the odd weather. The fish and the birds are also acting oddly.

Being a person who lives outdoors mostly and works outdoors mostly I am feeling very off kilter this year. It has changed greatly over the last 10 years. It makes me feel strange. Ya know?

[LeftInTX]

61. For me it was early May this year

I assume it was mayflies. (I drove from San Antonio to Houston) The mayflies probably originated towards Houston.

We also get these migrating fall moths around here in San Antonio. Sometimes they are kind of plaguey and mess up windshields.

[tazkcmo]

34. Nope

Mosquitoes, lightning bugs, June bugs, gnats and flies as numerous as usual. Where there's bugs there's usually birds, too. How is the bird population in the area?

[smirkymonkey]

35. I wouldn't say I'm "missing" them. I hate bugs.

Here in the city, Boston, I hardly ever see any. Either outside or in my apartment. I leave my windows open if it's cool out w/ out screens and every once in a while I will get some kind of flying insect in, but it's usually like one and that's only every now and then.

However, when I go to visit my sister on the southern Maine coast, I don't even like being outside, especially at night because they are just everywhere.

[LAS14]

37. How high up is your apartment? We get almost none on the 9th floor near Boston. nt

[smirkymonkey]

39. I'm on the 8th floor. That probably explains it. I am also right near the river and we get

quite a breeze so that could have something to do with it as well. But I don't really see many when I am walking around on the ground either.

[chillfactor]

40. I live in New Mexico....

in the mountains.......For the past three summers I have not seen a fly or a mosquito......very strange.

[Drahthaardogs]

51. No fireflies this year

It's weird

[SWBTATTReg]

52. No. Normally have a lot of carpenter bees, ants, and mosquitoes...

Bees were very busy this year drilling into a sideboard of one side of my garage, so try to kill them every year to keep them from doing this damage, somewhat successful this year (glue boards, I can't use chemicals because of my 3 dogs).

Ants, I leave traps for them all of the time, because if I remove the traps, the ants are back! Hate them.

The mosquitoes, usually don't show up until my neighbor puts up their small pool (metal, 10' in diameter, about 2.5 feet in height). Once pool is in, mosquitoes are right behind.

Seen a few june bugs, lightning bugs, about right time of year.

Thank goodness I don't have the ticks (really bad in the Ozarks this time of year already)...ticks are the worst, lyme desease (my dog and I both had), the dog we took to the vet and got stuff for her for the lyme desease and me, they discovered the antibodies in my system after my annual blood tests and asked me if I was aware of (I wasn't, not surprised being that the dog had).

Mice has been my big problem this year and we've finally got the situation under control but it took lots and lots of glue traps (again, w/ dogs, no poison was used).

[Bayard]

56. It would not hurt my feelings a bit

If all the ticks, squash bugs, and mosquitoes disappeared completely here in hot humid south central KY. Ticks started early this year, and they love me. Squash bugs go after everything, both vege and flower gardens. Still plenty of wasps and carpenter bees. They love log homes. Already dealing with tons of flies at the barn. Had a big horse fly bite me in the middle of the back last night. They HURT!

Still have our lightening bugs (though not as many), and my favorite, dragonflies, on the pond. Not seeing many butterflies yet. Weird thing, not seeing any hummingbirds at all, on feeders or flowers.

[LAS14]

57. This makes me think of more anecdotal evidence...

... For the first time in memory we had no squash bugs last year. Too early this year to know.