Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid.

When the weather gets warmer here in Australia, it generally brings some form of environmental phenomenon with it. And sadly for the paranoid freaks among us, there are inevitably bugs that come along for the ride as well.

In Summer, out come the flies. Sticky, annoying, dirty flies. And even worse, are the baby flies, the ones that land on you and are practically impossible to shake off. The little buggers have the ability to get inside your house, even if your back door was only open for a split second. Also in Summer, come the Christmas Beetles. They are completely harmless beetles, but I've had a thing with them for years now, ever since we had our first pool. I remember swimming at night, and seeing them hightail it for the lights around the pool; subsequently getting stuck in my wet hair and making horrible buzzing noises.

Now I'm not a girly girl by any means, but I'm also not a fan of bugs. I don't make a sport of it or anything, but if an average sized cockroach ran out in front of me and I happened to have a shoe handy, I would be able to dispose of it. (Letting out a few girly shrieks along the way, of course.) Same with tiny spiders, I know I can stomp on them if the need arises.

But what I cannot stand, are bugs that are unpredictable. Like crickets or grasshoppers, who jump in any random direction; they freak me out. Like bees, who are able to aim their stingers at you should you get in their way. Same thing goes for those dratted Christmas Beetles, who always end up landing on you somehow. Keep 'em away, because I don't cope.

(Just ask Kirby, who just the other day was left in my kitchen when a bee had somehow gotten inside the house. Where was I, you ask? I'd ran outside flailing my arms & refused to come back in until she'd disposed of it for me.)

It isn't Summer yet, so I can hide out from those critters a little while longer. Things aren't all fine and dandy though, as Eastern Australia gets to experience another seasonal activity with bugs involved; the dreaded Bogong Moths. They can't hurt you. They don't bite. But they too, like the lights and have the bizarre habit of somehow ending up inside your house when every door and window is tightly closed.

Usually the moths don't bother me, they're just a bit of a pain when you're outside at night. But this year, they seem to have gone mental. I was bringing in washing from out on the clothesline, and no less than eight of them appeared out of the clothes as I was folding them. (Yes, feel free to imagine more girly shrieks here.)

They seem to be everywhere, and what's worse? They've gotten mean.

Instead of crazily bouncing around the walls staying near the lights, the moths have taken up dive bombing and purposely attacking humans. In the past few nights, I've had to close the bedroom door the minute that I see one is inside, for fear of being dive bombed. By a moth. I know, it's crazy. But I've heard stories, and it seems like this year the moths are going nuts. Something about their furry bodies and the gross noise that their wings make, is enough to have me scouring my room before I go to bed. Blech.

So tell me, does your region have any strange bug populations? Feel free to share your stories, if you aren't too squicked out already.