Mosquitoes!

June 5, 2014

 

As I sit to write this entry there is (just smashed three before I could get this sentence out) the incessant buzzing of mosquitoes around my ears. The only thing that holds me back from identifying this place as paradise are the swarms, and I mean black clouds, of mosquitoes. They descend on one en mass in the absence of either breeze or movement. Give them 10 seconds on your skin and you will have no doubts whether your blood is red. 

I have to confess there is a ton of beauty to be admired here in Northern Minnesota. But, over the past several days these pesky mosquitoes have tempered my enthusiasm for enjoying it all. I find myself more content to remain indoors behind the protective barrier of a quality screen. They’re so bad that when you come in from the outside you spend the first fifteen minutes killing all of the little buggars that followed you in. I’m still smashing them. What’s quite unpleasant is when you breathe one in and it hits the back of your throat causing you to choke and sputter. They are thick this time of the year.  

Most everybody knows what it means to be bit by a mosquito; the intense urge to itch, the welt that can develop for some. And one is bad enough as you lie awake in the dark hearing it buzzing, not knowing for sure where it is and when it will strike. But when its broad daylight and there are literally hundreds surrounding you looking for any exposed surface they can find. You can kill ten and 30 will take their place. So what to do? Well I definitely wear long sleeves at all times. And sometimes gloves when I’m working. I have a hat. I do have bug repellant. I remember when I was up here earlier in my life I found that the less I would respond to that intense urge to itch it would eventually subside and I was much less irritated by the mosquito bite. Oh, to be young again.

Inevitably there is the question that arises when one is pondering the negative impact of a creature like the mosquito; “Why in the world did God create mosquitoes?” It’s a good question. Not one I can fully answer. It may be a question I ask God when I see the Creator face to face. Of course, what we are asking is really; “Do the benefits of mosquitoes outweigh the negatives of mosquitoes?” And; "Why God, would you create something that didn't have more positives for us, than negatives?" We are a pretty consumer driven culture. This is a line of questioning with which we are all quite familiar. It’s interesting that we find ourselves tempted to ask the sovereign Creator to justify what has been created.  And further, that we act on our cost analysis and feel free to attempt to remove all mosquitoes from the face of the earth.

I could begin to answer the benefits question by talking about the birds and insects that consume mosquitoes as food. I think there are some birds and insects who are quite grateful for an abundance of these blood sucking parasites. And, particularly when they are trying to feed their little peeps, in the case of birds. I love birds. So I guess that’s one positive for mosquitoes. Dragonflies also consume their fair share of mosquitoes. I love dragonflies. A good friend of mine uses the image of a dragonfly on some of his beautiful pottery. And fish, don’t forget the fish who consume mosquito nymphs. I love fish, and frogs too, don't forget the frogs who enjoy mosquitoes. So there are some positives to having mosquitoes around. But is this even the way we should look at mosquitoes. 

If we believe, that God created them in the beginning, then they have value simply because they are alive. There is that scripture “The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Now I’m not suggesting that we need to learn to embrace mosquitoes in all their fullness by allowing them to consume all the blood they need from us. We don’t need to welcome them into our homes and learn to live hand in hand with them. The key is recognizing and honoring whose they are. I believe this keeps our mindset towards mosquitoes and all sorts of creatures in proper perspective. We can adapt in ways that don’t require us to work towards the extinction of all mosquitoes everywhere. 

Today, I compromised. I have never used a head net before in northern Minnesota. I have, in the past, prided myself in being able to endure and remain non-reactive to them. Prior to coming up, I even said no to a friend in Ohio who offered me her head net, saying quite confidently; “No, I don’t need one.”  But today, I borrowed a head net from the camp. And tomorrow, I will travel into Ely and purchase my own. And it will be well worth whatever price. There is something satisfying about standing in a cloud of mosquitoes and knowing there is nothing they can do. I worked outside all day today and at no time did I have any thoughts that I couldn’t stand it any longer. I could relax and enjoy being outside again. I look forward to fishing and canoeing and taking pictures again with that same ability to relax and enjoy where I am, without feeling the passionate desire to kill every mosquito on the planet. And that, I believe, is a good thing.