A middle-of-the-night phone call got me thinking about the most effective way to kill bugs. Yes, that is weird, but bear with me.

My cell phone sits on a cabinet by the back door at night because I have a landline for emergencies. However, around 1:30 a.m. last week. I woke up. Hearing the faint ring of my cell, I decided to check it. Panic erupted! My eighteen-year-old grandson had called. His message indicated a spider in his bathroom terrified him. Pictures were included as well as links to spider information on the web. Was it a black widow? A brown widow?

After returning his call and reassuring him the spider was not poisonous, I tried to get back to sleep.

Later, in speaking with his mother, who was home at the time and involved in eliminating the frightening creature, I asked why they had sprayed the spider rather than killing it with a shoe. The spider’s position, she replied, did not lend itself to employing that implement.

A shoe? Of course. Growing up, my mother always killed roaches and other creatures in our house with a shoe. On the wall or on the floor, the device is effective and chemical-free. Amazingly, this method was not mentioned on the internet.

KEEP BUGS OUT RATHER THAN KILL BUGS

You must be saying by now, why not practice prevention? Uh, because it’s a lot of work? Ortho’s suggestions include sealing up cracks and openings, scouring the kitchen, and cleaning and sweeping regularly. And, of course, using their product to create a barrier to keep the critters out. Sealing up cracks for mice and energy conservation has been ongoing, but I’ve run out of steam. An ant is so small, that their point of entry can be minute.

CHEMICALS TO KILL BUGS

We all know about the chemicals and sprays. And yes, I confess, I do use these, mainly to control ants. Shoe warfare is not an effective way to approach these irritants.

NATURAL WAYS TO KILL BUGS

My personal experience makes me skeptical of using natural methods for pest control. When battling mice, they were ineffective. Basil for flies? Dish soap for ants? Citrus for spiders? Salt for fleas? Hmmm.

HIGH-TECH WAYS TO KILL BUGS

Now the high-tech methodologies to resolve the problem resonate with me. We own two electric fly swatters. This device is perfect for killing invading wasps. When they land on the picture window, I sneak up, push the button, and listen with delight as they sizzle, pop, and smoke from jolts of electric current. A shoe would probably break the window.

For flies, my go-to for them is the old-fashioned fly swatter.

The most intriguing high-tech tool is the Bug-A-Salt gun for eliminating soft-bodied insects such as houseflies, mosquitos, pest/poisonous spiders, medium to small roaches, earwigs, lantern flies, cabbage worms, and moths. Using table salt, it is said to be accurate within three feet. Who knew?

KILL BUGS LAST THOUGHT

Bugs will be with us forever. The idea that you can live without them invading your space is unrealistic. Upon opening the door the other afternoon, a scorpion scurried in. Bizarre. Something was on its back. I ran to get my shoe, as I was barefooted. But alas, it had disappeared. A quick internet search revealed the scorpion had babies on its back! The trusty shoe is now positioned near the door.

What do you use to kill bugs?

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