Summertime equals Critter time!

Summertime brings all sorts of things out and about here on the Bayou.  Sometimes it feels like you are being invaded by every critter to walk the face of the Earth.  Last night was one of those times. As long as the light of my computer lit the room, I was literally pelted by bugs!  Yes, I have window screens and, yet, many creepy-crawlies found ways to enter.  June Bugs, gnats, mosquitoes and mayflies all flitted about the room.  I have found that there is nothing louder than a mosquito buzzing in your ear at midnight!  Well, almost nothing.

Beetle resting on my lamp shade.

Click!  Click!  Click!  A strange sound emanated from the direction of the kitchen.  Hmmm..that was loud! I was all the way at the other end of the house and could hear this sound!  My first thoughts almost put me in a panic!  Years ago, Mom had a chest-type freezer go bad and this noise sounded similar to what I remembered the freezer making.  Being as I have three such freezers and all are filled to the top, I worried.  Click!  Click!  Click!  I brushed a SkipJack from my laptop screen.  Click!  Click! Click!  I checked the freezers.  They all seemed to be doing fine.  Hmm?

This morning while drinking my coffee, I heard the noise again. It was definitely coming from the utility room that is adjacent to the kitchen.  Once again, I checked the freezers..yep..still going strong!  Nothing wrong there!  Whew!  Click! Click! Click!  Ok..this was getting a tad annoying to say the least!  My day started with me on a hunt!  Since the utility/laundry room needed cleaning anyway, I started pulling out stuff.  Might as well make a clean sweep!

Noisy Click Beetle trapped inside a crock.

Click! Click! Click!  I began to narrow the search!  The noise was definitely on the north side of the room!  Near a freezer..ugh!  Standing as quite as a church mouse, I leaned toward the back of the freezer..Click!  A single click.  The others had always been in a series of three!  And this time..it was closer!  So close, as matter of fact, that it seemed to be right next to me.  Ok..so the only thing on that freezer was an empty gallon jug and a large crock holding cooking utensils.  Click!  The noise came from the utensils!  The crock was lifted and toted to the kitchen table.  One by one, the items were removed.  Nothing!  The last thing in the crock was a strainer from a steamer.  I had no place to store this so I just "layered" the two..strainer inside of the crock.  Click! Click! Click!  Aha!  Between the strainer and crock, there was a Skip-Jack!  A Click Beetle!  One of those aggravating little critters that snap back and forth to right themselves if they are upside down!  It amazes me just how loud these little guys are!  Granted when the thing snapped, it would hit the metal strainer but to be heard four rooms away?  That is some kind of noisy critter!  Still, I was quite relieved to find it was a bug and not a malfunctioning appliance!  NOW, TURN OFF THOSE LIGHTS!!!  Stop attracting bugs!