With all this talk about bugs, wouldn't you know it, the kitties have gotten fleas.
I spent all day yesterday washing bedding, towels, etc... I vacuumed all the carpet, the cat trees, the furniture, and last night two very unhappy cats got flea baths.
Golde really hated it, and both Marc and I got pretty tore up by her claws (which I had just trimmed). Tevye took the bath a little better, but then far worse happened. We applied some spot treatment (Zodiac was the brand), and he completely freaked out - tearing uncontrollably around the house, couldn't walk properly, was twitching, so we washed it out. He's doing fine now, but that reaction has made us see that we are limited with chemical products.
They were scratching a lot again last night, so I need to do the bedding and re-vacuum. This morning I got a flea comb, and some carpet spray with a different (and small amount), of insecticide in it, as the larvae won't be picked up in a vacuum (and will hatch and re-infest). I also sprayed the outside of the house with an insecticide and need to rake up all the leaves.
This is depressing and exhausting. The cats seem to be doing well, but I can't stand the thought of new fleas hatching.
Upon closer look, the above bug is definitely a wheel bug, and I've seen (and killed) two more. On the downside - they have a horrible bite which takes a long time to heal. On the upside, they don't usually prey on humans (unlike some assassin bugs, which _do_ prey on humans, in some very grotesque ways I won't go into). They are supposed to be very beneficial in a garden setting. I have a feeling they are getting on the porch because there have been so many caterpillars there (they have been known to attack tomato horn worms by sucking them dry). I believe they're in the yard because the trunk of the locust tree is one of their favored habitats. (Locust Tree - I think those thorny trees are a type of locust now, not hawthorn).
**Special Update** - As if this week couldn't get any worse, I just now lost part of a filling.
Sigh. I think I'm just going to go back to bed.
