Most of the time, I get along really well with the critters of the Bayou. It is almost unheard of for me to wish harm to any one of them....almost. Almost because I really do wish to eradicate one species from the whole place. I have no desire to ever see another nor do I ever wish to see the evidence left behind by these critters. I could definitely do without them.
Termites. Termites are some of the most vile creatures ever to call the Bayou home. I absolutely loathe them Why? Because termites literally eat you out of house and home. In fact, they EAT the home. We have been battling termite damage in the Little Bayou House for several years now. We are making progress but it is slow going. There is nothing like fully believing that your upstairs could become your downstairs at any given moment. I have had that fear. With a lot of hard work and more money than I want to think about, Mark and Son are making great headway against the destruction but, at times, it seems overwhelming. Just about the time I think we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, we find more damage. At this rate, we will soon have a new house.
This afternoon, I was moving a few logs out of the new path when I found thousands of termites crawling on the ground. The critters were not happy with my disturbance. They started scurrying quickly beneath the ground. The bright, hot sun would have meant a quick demise for the critters. Oh, how I wish that would happen! These are the subterranean termites that normally stay underground and come to the surface to destroy any wood that happens to be nearby. They are also the ones that will build small earthen tunnels to reach wood. These tunnels are the key to their moving into homes. The passageway helps the termites to slip in and take over before anyone notices. Once they are detected. it is usually too late. The damage has been done and the house is weakened. Thankfully, (hopefully), we will save the Little Bayou House from this destruction like we have so many other things. It is tiring...so tiring. I hate termites.
In doing major reconstruction on the Little Bayou House, I have learned a multitude of useful things. Along the way, I have also learned a multitude of useless things. One balances out the other so all is well. One of the more useful things is to measure twice and cut once. Pop used to tell me this all of the time but until I started playing with tools, I never realized just how valuable this information is. It sure saves a lot of boards! Miscuts can ruin about as many good planks as the termites do. One of the useless bits of information is that wasps can get through tiny holes. Duh! Everyone should already know this. It never occurred to me how many critters are housed in the same home in which I live. Not to creep anybody out here but your home probably has critters, too. I know, I know....you have a deal with an exterminator but it was one of those fine fellows that told me that inside most walls, critters abound and there is not a lot you can do about it...short of poking holes in between each stud and spraying each month. Critters just have a way of creepy-crawling in and then making themselves at home....just inches from you!
When Son pulled off some of the siding in an attempt to repair damage from some of those critters (termites), he found evidence of other critters. Some tiny...others not so tiny. Here on the Bayou, there is just about every type critter and they all love to be cozy in their nests. Son pointed out gecko egg shells (thankfully, they already hatched. I would have hated to hurt those), spider webs (yay for spiders! They eat termites!) and wasp nests. The most prevalent of all the wasp nests were those of the mud daubers. The long mud nests were everywhere!
The bit of useless information that I gleaned from the wasps' nests is that we have different colored mud around here! Not that having colored mud is important. I just found it interesting. When Son handed me a mud dauber's nest, the bottom clearly showed the layers of different mud. Some was garden mud, some bayou mud and then there was clay. I am not sure where the wasp found red clay but the bottom of the nest showed several layers of gold-colored clay. Nicely done, Mama Mud Dauber, nicely done.
On the other side of the nest, the cells could clearly be seen. Whether the holes in this side were created by the new wasps escaping the confines of their larval home or whether these holes were made by a marauding thief dining on the larvae is not clear. There are numerous other critters that raid the nests to steal the larvae and the preserved spiders that Mama Mud Dauber so carefully stowed for her babies.
What I shall do with the tidbit of information about the clay is wholly uncertain but I have it just in case it is ever needed. Somewhere on this plot of ground there is a spot of red clay. What I do with the useful bit about measuring will surely save us a lot at the lumberyard! Measure twice, cut once and use red clay to make a nest. Sounds logical.
