Pest Control Fail

 This is my third night of sleep, sleeping at night for about 6 hours which I can supplement with a nap. This a relief. I do believe it is related to taking med in the morning instead of the evening. 

I did get one item that was not in the store that was advertised as bogo--French's Fried Onions. This is for green bean casserole. 

Three pounds of frozen blueberries are on the stove. I cook them with about 1/4th cup of sugar and store them in pint jars to eat with yogurt. I have no idea how bold was turned on. The last time I did this, I really enjoyed the healthy snack. About a month or six weeks after Tommy told me I finished the last pint, he brought a pint that was moldy that was pushed back where neither of us could see it. I was so sad. So was he. There is no room in the freezer, but this time I will make room for at least two pints. I cannot wait to have some later. 

We contracted pest control for the inside and outside of the house. The guy said they would spray the house Wednesday or Thursday. Well, here is is Friday night. I called them about 3 pm to discuss what was happening. No one knows anything about spraying inside the house. They have no record of us calling. However, I caught a bit of a text about spraying the yard for mosquitoes. I was complaining about fleas. FLEAS in the house!

Plus, I emphasized no texts! I get no notification of texts arriving, and they are hard to access. Plus, the screen goes dark and turns off the text when I regain light. I refuse to search for texts! I don't like texts on this phone. My last phone was okay with texts. I ran out of best flea killer I have ever used and forgot to get more. So, I am annoyed that fleas will bite me again. And, they have the cc number and probably have charged us. 

The heavy rain forecasted did not affect us here. Pollen has been tormenting me, but it appears it didn't rain enough to wash it away sufficiently for me. It drizzled on and off. 

I desperately need a new prescription for glasses. The only thing I can read is the laptop with magnification! Books are out of the question. Plus, I cannot stand the sun lately. I have no idea why my eyes are so sensitive to the blaze of the sun. Then, I read that as a person ages, the eyes are more sensitive to the sun. I will get prescription sunglasses! 

As you age, has the sun caused you a problem being too bright?

Happenings Today

 This afternoon, I called the person who was to clean last week when I was still in the doctor's office. The person who answered had an accent and seemed to have no problem understanding me. Then, she said, "Just a moment." The same voice came back without an accent--her daughter, I presume. She had no idea about the cleaning cancelled last week. I was confused. She was confused. I had used Tommy's phone last week. Maybe that is why she said she did not have the address. She will come tomorrow. 

At any rate, I had four fleas bite me last evening. I caught one and drowned it in Tommy's coffee. It was struggling to get away from me as it was trapped under my thumb nail running back and forth. The other hopped away. I was awake all night from the itch! This afternoon, I sprayed again. Tommy vacuumed some but not everywhere I sprayed. 

We finally got my meds that doctor called in. From now on, I will ask for refill when I will be out in ten days. Between primary doctor and pharmacy, I often must go without med for heart or diabetes for a week or more. That is just not right. 

I am so happy that DST will start this weekend. I am utterly sick of the short days. The tulip tree across the street has fully bloomed now, so that is something to cheer me up. 

Finally, Tommy has agreed to replace the storm door. Well, he did not agree to replacing the door. He just acted like it was his idea. I can see light all around it and around the front door, too. Maybe he will agree to replacing that or insulating it. Mosquitoes, flies, and roaches have easy access to indoors right now. I point this out often. 

I need to buy one of those plastic pieces to put on a corner where he rams his walker into it. I don't know if I can put it up, but at least I will have supplies for the person who can. I am glad I don't have any furniture he can hit. He never hits furniture anywhere else, just here! I know there is a less obvious way to protect the corner which could be done correctly with a lot more trouble. But, this will work. 

My mattress and base will be delivered this week. YAY! Sheets will be here beforehand so I can wash them.  I still need a bed. So, storm door and car shopping will commence. Before we buy cars, I need to find out the process and how much room for clearance I need for a scooter to be pulled inside. Tommy cannot lift one. Well, he could if he absolutely had to, but it is too much for him. 

Just now, I had a bowl of Greek yogurt sitting on the table by my chair. I reached for it and saw a speck in it, no larger than a speck of pepper. It was a flea! I suppose the bright light and white yogurt attracted him. 

Right now, I am boiling eggs since I have no bread and no cereal. I do need something to eat...lol--brunch or linner. We won't be shopping before morning. Tomorrow, I will bake chicken and vegetables. We had just enough for a meal tonight. I need to make more slaw and open a can of green beans. 

Today, we made a quick trip to Bessemer. We passed a man and woman starting a fire at the base of a tall tree, right against the tree on the roots of the tree which was about ten feet from the house. What on earth? We came back by and they had quit, and fire was out, I think. Rain probably caused them to stop. 

So, not much happening today. 

How about at your house? I have not seen ads yet online. Are there any good deals at your stores?

Good News! x 3

 First good news--The reindeer were on the front porch, not a victim of a porch pirate, thankfully. It took both of us, me inside and Tommy outside to get it into the house. I walked it across the living room and put it in the space behind a table that has to be out from the wall for me to use it from my recliner. 

Second good news--Someone is coming tomorrow to help clean. So, she will put together the reindeer. It would be a real struggle for us. If we had an attic, this would be left assembled and stuck there. Well, he does have an attic, but went up there once forty years ago. Neither of us can climb a ladder, anyway. 

Tommy brought in the little flag and the holder that goes into the ground. I took a Dollar Tree scarf I bought for $1 several years ago and tied a big fluffy bow. I have a large, spiky ornament, think six inches across. There is a loop from the cross bar at the vertical rod that goes to ground. He forced the metal loop enough so the ornament is held sturdy. It is not much and did not cost much.

Third good news. If you want Christmas for 75% off, Lowe's is the place for you. I would have bought a little yard flag, but none of the ones left appealed to me. So, I decorated the little flag holder for free. I was shopping to get the reindeer plugged up, so did not pay much attention.

Oh, there was Halloween left over that was available, too. 

I went to the bathroom and there was a mysterious little black speck on the commode seat. I leaned and flicked it into the commode. As I was flicking it, it looked just like a flea. I immediately leaned way down, and it was a flea! Last week, I sat in my chair and as my feet rose up, I saw what looked like two fleas on my foot. I managed to pinch one, put it in a glass of water with a tiny drop of Dawn. It was a flea!!! If you try to look at a flea as you pinch it up, it can escape and it can escape if you put it in the commode or try to drop it into the commode. 

Listen, I am an expert flea catcher and destroyer. I lick my index finger to glue him to me. Then, I immerse my fingers holding the flea into water with soap. It works every time. You are welcome. Now, you will never lose a flea to bite again. The best flea deterrent is an aerosol that on the front states--kills eggs. So, I have it and will spray before the carpet is infested. 

I had Tommy wake me early--11 am. I was exhausted but we left for Tiger Pride. I thought it was Tiger Rag. Tommy said it was that name. Of course, we did not venture to Bama Fever side. He got to pick out his Christmas present. I was disappointed he chose a t-shirt. I wanted him to get another shirt--collar and three button placket. I told him to pick out a jacket. He refused. He said he would rather have a flag or something. He picked out a flag 28" x 40". It is huge. He wants to hang it on the door before football games. I am glad he did not plan it to be living room decor. 

Someone behind me squeaked something. It was a rubber chicken, Roll Tide kind. So, I had them hide as Auburn rubber chicken for me to buy. He left to get the car, so we no longer had to hide it. The woman was so nice, looking for a box so it would not squeak in the car. So, the chicken and flag are wrapped and under the tree. He is going to wash the t-shirt first. Then, he said he wants to wear it new. So, it was dropped into a small gift bag. All done! 

The woman found a box for wind chimes to hold the rubber chicken. She was intent on his not hearing the squeak before Christmas morning. Very nice woman, all smiles at hiding it from him. Tommy will be mystified at wind chimes since he knows I would never purchase wind chimes. 

Tommy was peeling sweet potatoes because these are old--Sept 2022--and they have small black specks inside. I dig them all out, even though most people would eat them. I heard a tremendous noise from the kitchen as the baking pan clattered and potatoes thundered to the floor. I told him I would pick them up. Once he washed them, and I sliced them to encourage them to cook more quickly, he put them in a pot to cook. These will make a sweet potato pie. 

At Lowe's I bought flea killer for adults and eggs, Amdro fire ant bait, 100' extension cord, and a timer. If we did not have a timer, Tommy would have to go outside, down the ramp, around his car, beside mine on a carport off which he could fall, and into the utility room. He has nothing in which to plug anything outdoors! He paid for all this.  At my house, I had an outdoor plug installed at my house. 

Now, I have started to worry that he will accidentally squeak the chicken while I am asleep. 

I remember hiding Santa gifts with children with me while I shopped. That was fun. When the two older were about ten or thereabouts, I knew they would look for their Santa loot, so I put it all in the trunk of the car. That meant for about a month I had to carry three kids in the back seat of a two-door car AND many bags of groceries. They would complain. I told them Daddy had not gotten the lawn chairs from the trunk so there was no room. They complained to him. One day, the older, a boy said, "Just give me the keys and I will remove the chairs!" I had to make excuses--too dark, raining, never mind. It was fun. Twenty years or more later, my daughter asked me where I hid their Santa presents. "In the trunk of the car." She remembered that year when they had to sit crowded with brown grocery bags. 

Dinner tonight will be either chicken, sweet potatoes, and salad or loose ground beef, salad and sweet potatoes. Who knows. Maybe spaghetti, salad. 

Tommy does not know it, but he is making roux for my giblet gravy. I will not be denied. 

What kind of subterfuge happened when you hid gifts from children or spouse or someone else? I think we all have had to hide gifts from someone, especially as children grew up and realized toys might be around the house. 

I know you all have funny stories. 

Solutions

 When it is hot, I do not want much to eat. But, when I am hungry, I do not want to cook. Plus, I was having a reaction to med that upset my stomach. So, what did I do? Spend money I should not.

In the meantime, mosquitoes are getting in somewhere. I was puzzled and horrified. I sat up after sleeping and a cloud of mosquitoes rose up from my sheet-covered body. Plus, fleas attacked me. Fleas attack me all the time! All this leads to uncontrolled itching and scratching. I was still bloodying my legs with toenails, scratching in my sleep or just when I itch. I was a mess. This has been going on for at least two months this year.

I have bad reactions to bites!

Putting Vicks Vaporub on itchy places no longer works as there are too many bites. I can have one mosquito bite on my arm and end up a bloody mess. My sheets are bloody , too! I tried Chiggerex with 10% Benzocaine. Initially, it worked. Well, it still did, just not as strong as I needed. However, it does work very fast.

Finally, I called my allergist, requesting something strong for the itches. He called me and talked for 20 minutes. He suggested Benadryl cream which I do have. I have too much itchiness from bites.  Besides, I have tried the Benadryl cream and it is not sufficient. I won't take Benadryl tablets because it makes me too sleepy and out of it.

Surprisingly, he suggested Zyrtex and Allegra. I take Zyrtec and did not realize it would help with itching bites. Since I take one and have not noticed any relief from itching and am not drowsy at all, He told me to take two each day, one at a time twelve hours apart.

Plus, I am using, at his suggestion Gold Bond cream with 4 % lidocaine. It is a miracle. After one day, the sores on my legs and ankles and arms and hands are no longer messy looking. I don't rub it in much, just sort of glob it there, so I have a white film on the many bites and the scabs. However, it does not bother me, and it is better than the messy, bloody scabbed skin I had before. It is in a bottle with screw-on top and a tiny pinhole to squirt it out. It is neat and I don't have to poke my finger in a pot of cream as with the Chiggerex.

Other than for the looks of my skin, this has lowered the possibility of infections--two good things. The infected sores have since lost their angry look. They are practically unnoticeable now.

If anyone is having problems with itchy bites and scratching, everything I used worked. But, since there were so many, only the Gold Bond has has met the test and passed.  I think that is because there are so many bites. The other things worked for a few bites.

This has not been a frugal journey. However, most of the solutions have only been around $7. Being hot and itchy has been miserable. Plus, I broke out in hives at one point. The hives went away before I got the Chiggerex and Gold Bond cream. Gold Bond that I purchased can be used for sunburn, cuts and scrapes.

When I was a child and scraped myself, the only thing my mother used was mercurochrome.  And, it stung so badly! I hated it turned my skin orange. Mercurochrome and calamine lotion were all we had for skin boo boos. I don't recall using anything other than calamine lotion for itches.  Right now, I have my own little pharmacy of itch creams and antibiotic creams!

I remember sitting looking at the mercurochrome bottle and learning to spell the name long before I should have learned to spell a word that long.

This has been expensive. But, Zyrtec from Sam's Club costs $16 for 640 capsules. That last for two years. So, exbf will get me a package of those before he comes up. We checked prices, and this is the cheapest place per pill. When he worked at Sam's, he always bought this for me, cheaper than WM or other places.

The hot spoon and cold spoon thing does not work on this many bites, I would take about 80 minutes to heat or cool bites on my body. I got to itchy to continue.

Okay, I solved the mosquito problem, where they came from.

What works for you when you have a bite that itches forever and scratching it makes it worse? Do you ever bloody yourself scratching? Have you tried Chiggerex or Gold Bond with lidocaine? Did anyone ever get mercurochrome dabbed on your cuts and scrapes by your mother? Or Calamine lotion on itches?

What do you use?

Numerous flea and mosquito bites are plaguing me. I itch. I claw. I bleed.  I don't want to take Benadryl because I would be too sleepy all the time.

I have tried Benadryl cream and a hydrocortisone 10% to no avail. Finally, the pharmacist suggested Chiggerex. I still itch. In the night I use toenails on one foot to bloody the other foot.

This is not just a maddening itching and bleeding. Some places where I have dug into my skin have gotten infected. Last year, I had to get an oral antibiotic and topical antibiotic so I would not develop sepsis in the open sores that had become red and swollen two inches across beyond the smaller edge.

What do you use for itch that is otc? If you use a prescription for itches, I can get that prescribed.

One particular itch was between my toenail and first joint. Chiggerex barely eased the itch at all.

Monday, I can get a prescription, but Sunday, I can get an otc. This anti-itch does not have to be an anti-itch application. I use Vicks Vaporub to stop itch, but I have so many bites so close together that I need something stronger. I won't use anything with ammonia because I am allergic/sensitive to ammonia and won't be able to breathe. My lungs will become congested.

Today, it was 94 F at 4 pm. Monday, I have to start the process of buying a new ac. It's too hot for the crockpot, and no, I cannot put it outdoors.

Right outside the backdoor, there is a wasp nest. Someone offered to knock it off. No, they would just want to sting me. And, I am allergic! So, I have to buy wasp spray.  It's always something!

Your turn
Remedies for itch that does not involve oils or something exotic? I don't care it is weird right now. I don't need advice on getting rid of mosquitoes and fleas. Well, Anne, I forgot about the branches of hickory trees, but I will get those tomorrow. I hope no one sees the limbs and thinks I am a little crazy.

Yellow kitty and Fleas

The little yellow kitten has decided the items on my back porch make a nice perch from which to view the world. Since it is a little wild, you know it has fleas. I have found two fleas on me and have gotten quite a few other flea bites. It is time to spray the back porch, all the things there and the door mat!

Fleas just love me. When I had a chair with a cushion on the back porch, the cats appropriated it and got fleas on the cushion so that I did not dare sit or even walk near it. I removed the cushion and sprayed the wooden chair with flea spray. About that time, I started trapping cats. Most of the cats that come here now belong to someone.

You may not remember, but a few months ago, I heard plaintive meowing. Finally, I opened the door and a gray and white cat sat there, wanting to come in. I put my foot in her way and declined her entrance. She sat, meowing for a long time. Anytime I was/am in the yard, he follows me, meowing every step. I finally saw that cat at my neighbor's house and we talked about it.

I thought all along it belonged to him. Well, it was hanging out at my house for several months and at his only a few weeks. He put a plate of food out for the gray and white cat they call Tic Tac. The cat goes with me when I feed Dominique and meows the whole way, so I suppose it smells the meat and hopes someday I will feed him, too. NOPE, won't happen. Actually, it meows anytime I am not in the house and walking to mailbox or car.

It seems I have less ground squirrels, so I tolerate the cats instead of chasing them away. I cannot tolerate fleas! The Benadryl cream keeps them from itching so I scratch until I draw blood.

Fleas are selective. I know a doctor who moved into a new house with a newborn baby. The baby was covered with fleas and flea bites. Not one of the other three children, he or his wife ever had a bite. They evacuated the house to have it treated.

That is my chore right now--spray for fleas. RAID Flea--Carpet and Room kills the eggs, too. If the eggs are not killed, there will shortly be a new infestation. No. I will not use bombs.

I had finished this post when I went out to feed Dominique. I heard rustling in the tree I pass near her pen. It was too late for squirrels and too early for raccoons. Dodging the rustling in the tree, I was surprised to see the little yellow kitty climbing down the tree and dropping from about 8 feet to the ground. She ran like the wind to hide in a weedy place. My heart rate did accelerate. I suppose she lives here. I wonder if she was trying to access the pen's cage from the top.

Your turn
Do fleas love you or a certain member of your family? Do stray or feral cats ever bring fleas to your porch? Have you ever had a cat adopt you?