[Oabs] Something that bugs me.

[Emily Pennington via Oabs]

Hi, everyone.

With the summer season very much in evidence, I think it a very appropriate
time for this post.

Let me give a preface. I am a well-functioning, mostly happy college kid. I
can do laundry, and I am slowly but surely mastering the culinary arts. In
short, I can't wait to live independently.

However, I have always had one huge phobia which causes me to regress into a
helpless, quivering child: insects. I hate them all; even butterflies
landing on me scare the crap out of me. I know that bugs have a very
important place on this earth, and as long as they keep to themselves
outside, I am completely fine with that. What freaks me out is when they
appear in my house, on my desk, or worse, on my flesh. The hornet's nest
incident of '07 - about which most of you have heard in great detail - has
only increased my fear. The stinkbugs love my room in the winter, and many a
wasp turns up in our upstairs bathroom during the summer. I hate them, and I
feel helpless when they're around. How do I kill something that I can't
find, let alone something with a painful stinger? My paralyzing fear of bugs
also leads me to worry about what I'll do in the future when I have to kill
the inevitable rodent in my house. I always joke that I'll marry somebody
who will kill all of the vermin, but I know that won't always work. More
importantly, I need to come up with a system for being able to detect,
locate, and safely and successfully exterminate unwanted insects when I'm by
myself. After all, I won't live with my bug-killing parents forever.

So, my fellow blind brethren, I ask you: What do you do in these situations?
I know that not everyone has lived on their own in a non-dorm setting yet,
but in any case, how have you - or how would you - handle it? I'm sure
Deborah and Eric are veteran exterminators and have some great tips as well.
I'm anxious to hear your thoughts and war stories - not only to get some
good laughs, but also to give me some good ideas on how to work with my
phobia.

Thanks, everyone, and have a great week. Enjoy the sun!

 

Emily