Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Hunting Termites with a Lava Lamp

I couldn't sleep.

Up at 2, then again at 4, I decided at 5AM it was pointless for me to lay in bed any longer.

I got up, walked through the house turning on lights in the kitchen and went back to the other side of the house. 

Getting Mrs Dog ready for her walk, I went out leaving the kitchen light on, forgetfully. 

We had our lap of the shops and came home.  While she was off doing her thing I was standing in the kitchen making coffee.  I noticed the usual host of bugs out banging their senseless heads against the glass redundantly.  Thinking not too much more of it, I finished my breakfast, my coffee, turned off the overhead lights, and turned on the Lava Lamp in the kitchen.

I can sit in the big green recliner on the back wall of the Living Room and go about my business while having a view into the kitchen.  The Lava Lamp was a thing of ambience, it is calming to watch red waxy blobs glow and float up and down the amber fluid.  Even from a distance, it can be calming and beautiful.

By the time I was ready to have more coffee, the sun had not risen, it was still gloomy outside, and the back yard was lit only by the two LED solar lamps. 

Walking back into the kitchen, I snapped on the burner under the tea kettle and filled the coffee pot with four scoops of grounds. 

At this time I was standing in front of the kitchen sink looking outside at the back yard when I noticed what was going on in detail.

The senseless bugs banging against the windows were termites.  There were a few mosquitoes mixed in with the more frequent moth, but the majority of that insect cloud were termites.   Apparently they were swarming right outside of my window.  The termites are a constant problem in South Florida and are controlled by many applications of chemicals, tenting your house and turning it into a Circus Tent of Death with Vikane gas.

There are also natural methods.   Much slower and gentle, we have my friends the Geckos.

It turns out I have a little circle of life out back.  The Geckos have decided that my lit window is a great place to hunt.   Since I enjoy watching the little pale creatures climb, I try to create a habitat for them where ever possible.   There are a lot of places for them to hide, since I'm not exactly the best at keeping the yard free of oddball items, and the area under the lanai is sheltered.  It is onto this that the kitchen "bar window" opens.

The Geckos are drawn by the bounty of food that we have inadvertently created.  All those insects are food for the nocturnal Geckos and the glow of the Lava Lamp helps keep them coming.

Since I'm entertained by Geckos and by Lava Lamp alike, I now have an excuse for what some might consider Eccentricity.  I have pet Geckos outside and they can catch what the Lava Lamp brings them.

It's a win-win situation.  I even get to have that Lava Lamp on from Dusk to Dawn.  How about that?  An excuse to burn a night light.  I never knew...

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