Ramblings from the Dizzo household ...

[dizzojay]

I've always prided myself that between us, Mr D and I form a fairly open-minded and tolerant household.  However, this morning, something which contradicts that, and which I'd long since suspected was confirmed ...

Mr D is blatantly and unashamedly insect-ist.

Let me explain.

This morning, Mr D was in the shower, and I came downstairs to the living room to be met by the noise of a deep buzzing drone that sounded like someone was flying a Lancaster Bomber around the room.

I couldn't see the culprit, but whatever it was, it was BIG!

When Mr D came downstairs, and knowing how much he hates the distrraction of buzzing flying bugs in the room, I said, "don't get comfortable, theres a buzzy thing in the living room.  It sounds like a really big bluebottle or something."

"Well, it's going to get it's creepy arse gassed," he replied as he disappeared into the kitchen, returning with the can of Raid, and the usual look of slightly demented glee he normally has when he's about to blast a fly into the next life.

We ascertained that said Lancaster Bomber was behind the curtains, and Mr D shook the can of Raid, grumbling 'you're gonna fry!' to the unfortunate bug.

We pulled the curtain back, to find, not a bluebottle, but the biggest bumblebee I have ever seen tangled in the net curtain.

Suddenly the can of Raid was abandoned on the table, and Mr D is scooping the bumblebee off the curtains oh-so-carefully, and chatting away to it as he carried it out into the front garden and into a flowering bush, where it can have 'lots of yummy pollen'.

So yes, apparently, the open-mindedness of our household doesn't extend to our six-legged friends!

Oh well, no-one's perfect!

Comments

[antrazi.livejournal.com]

As long as he doesn't go after adorable bumblebees you can't say he has something against insects. I'm seeing one nearly every day at work in this weather, we have to help her to find the way to the outside every time.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Nope, Mr D would never harm a bumblebee, we try to put plants in the garden to attract them!

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

This is worlds of cute.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Bumblebees are sooooo cute!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Apparently wearing blue makes bumble bees mad as hell and liable to sting you. There you go, a little insectoid factoid for you! And how funny you should get a bee on the same day I had my bee delivered from Manchester. Bet mine's bigger than your's though. LOL!!!

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Well, there you go - I didn't know that!
I can't remember what we were wearing, butt we didn't get stung, so it can't have been blue ...
Yes, I reckon as big as my bee was, it doesn't compare to yours!

[stir-of-echoes.livejournal.com]

I'm terrified of bees, I put my hand in a crisp packet last summer not knowing there was a bee in it and stung me :( I have been stung so many times it's not funny. I know they're hugely important but I like it when they're important elsewhere.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

The thing with bees is that they only sting when they absolutely have to - they're not like wasps who are bastards and sting people because they enjoy doing it.

[stir-of-echoes.livejournal.com]

Wasps are a nightmare as are hornets, we tend to get lots of them.

[kattrip033.livejournal.com]

...I was just reading an essay called Hunting for Bees.

Adorable story is adorable

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Hunting with Bees? Sounds interesting!
Our bee was rather adorable - big and very fluffy!

[kattrip033.livejournal.com]

It definitely SOUNDED interesting when I went to read it and now I feel like I should write a bee related Cas fic to avenge my eyeballs for being subjected to said essay. It turned out to be about the essay writer's observations of a man who has been studying and tracking a very local bee species for 19 years that they think might have gone extinct. It was very, very dry.

D'aw at least your bee was adorable! I love the fat fluffy ones.

[ennisjackdean.livejournal.com]

AWWW Mr. D, points for awesomeness.

It's really impossible to hate a bumble isn't it?

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Totally impossible to hate bumbles!
Bluebottles on the other hand, it's impossible to like those things!

[supernutjapan.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, bumble bees are precious... but I would not like to be the one to try to pick it up! Other bugs I am better with gently picking up with a tissue and throwing out the door. My son Alex is particularly Buddhist on that regard - he will not kill anything. Julian is scared silly of bees and so is Audrey. Good job Mr. D!

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I'm usually ok at picking bugs up - except spiders; I can't get within a mile of those things.
Mr D hates killing anything, and will usually pick most bugs up and gently evict them.
Except bluebottles - he hunts those things down with glee!

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

LOL!!! Oh bless his heart, Steve would have reacted EXACTLY the same way :D

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

So, we have bumblebees - buzzy, flying insects - Mr D will protect and nurture
Then we have bluebottles - buzzy, flying insects - Mr D will slaughter with absolute glee

As I said, totally insect-ist!

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

LOL! EVIL INSECT KILLER!

[katleept.livejournal.com]

No one's perfect, but that bee was certainly lucky!! There is NO WAY I could ever bring myself to touch a bee, but of course, it doesn't help being highly allergic to them.

I was going to say that what y'all need is a herd like ours until I read that the story turned into a rescue! (I'm proud of Mister D, BTW!) But when we get a bug here, our babies never stop 'til they get 'em! Of course they may well tear down the whole house in the process, but that's another story altogether! ;)

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I can totally see why you steer clear of bees - bee allergy is no joke!
Having bug-eating pets is a great natural method of pest control. I need some brave beastie that eats spiders!

[katleept.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound weird, but try Lysol. There is a super strong Lysol that is hard to find. It's in a kind of pinkish purplish bottle, says Lysol IC Foaming Disinfectant Cleaner. Usually costs about $6 a can, at least around here. The week before the surgery, I found out that it actually kills some non-flying insects with which we've been having major trouble ever since the first time we lived in a rental. Never have been able to get rid of the damn things since. :( As soon as I'm feeling better, I'm going into attack mode.

Even better is that this is perfectly safe for the babes. I was worried about Jasper when I first started using it around the house. He loves to lick up every bit he can, silly boy! But he hasn't hurt him AT ALL.

I don't know about spiders, but it's definitely worth a try! These are other insects are almost impossible to get rid of, but I finally have hope now! And yes, you probably know the ones I'm talking about, but it's embarrassing to admit!

[jj1564.livejournal.com]

Well done Mr D on catching and releasing the bee, lucky for the bee it wasn't a bluebottle!

The bumblebees look HUGE this year, as do the spiders, it's going to be a 'fun' summer...

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I think our bee must have been a young queen, she was HUGE!

Luckily, I haven't come across any mammoth spiders yet - and thankfully we're getting to the time of year when they tend to stay outside.

Yes, Mr D and his can of Raid is a regular feature in the Summer - Bluebottles don't last long in our house!

[metallidean-grl.livejournal.com]

So, forgive my American ignorance, but what is a bluebottle? And is there a difference between bumblebees and regular bees? I would think its the hind end, right? All I ever see are bees, to which I avoid at all possible costs.