Undoubtedly, mosquitoes have preferences. People do differ, and in any group of ten, one person will be fed on more than others. ~Jerry Butler
I have several reminders of this all over my legs since we began doing some serious gardening, particularly last weekend. I took no notice of the mosquitoes with my preoccupation of wrestling with some impressively invasive roots and vines that have been creeping out of the woods and claiming more of our lawn along the fence. I have no idea what the name of one of these towering weeds is but it can grow taller than I am and spread roots in all directions fifteen feet and more away but close to the surface so that they can grow more from those roots and this plant is not a vine! Fortunately, it breaks up the soil and pulls up easily, even in Georgia's clay, and that is about the only thing I can say good about it. So intend was I on removing these plants that mosquito bites happened without me noticing, until I was showering off the day's work and then the itchy bumps could not be ignored.
It is a very familiar sensation. When I was a child we lived very close to a lake. Had it not been for the blessing of winter, I don't think I would ever have enjoyed even one minute without itching. Throughout the summer my legs and arms were dotted so that no two-inch circle was without a scab. Now, yet again, it is the season for the little pests to breed and feed!
I keep hoping to see mosquitoes on the endangered species list. Would anyone mourn their possible loss? I rarely question why God made many of the creatures He did—I mean, as much as I hate to admit it even cockroaches seem to have a benefit to the ecology that I can understand, although I am sure I would not miss them either—but I just don't get the benefit of mosquitoes. Certainly fish, dragonflies, birds, and bats can find plenty of other pests to eat, I would think.
Oh, just in case you are also a mosquito magnet, as I am, the best treatment for the bites I have found is simply hydrogen peroxide. It neutralizes the itch and I have seen it do the same for allergic reactions in others. We keep ours handy in a spray bottle and rub it onto the skin. I have yet to find a repellent (that I would actually consider putting on my skin) that really works for me. Suggestions are appreciated.
~ My Lord, of all the things in Your creation, I do not understand why these little bloodsuckers were necessary, but I trust that, even if I don't understand the reason, You made them for some good purpose. All I ask is, if there are mosquitoes in heaven, that they will not be as irritating as they are here. ~
