I think everyone who lives in the UP has a pipe dream– something fanciful they would like to happen to make living here even better.
And it wouldn’t surprise me if for a lot of Yoopers that dream involves getting rid of a certain summer pest.
There are a lot of bugs we have to deal with this time of the year: black flies, horse flies, no-see-ums, gnats, mites, ticks, & other various forms of buzzing creatures. But the worst? Hands down, that would be the official state bird of the U.P., the mosquito.
No matter where you go in the UP, you get to deal with mosquitoes. You go to camp? You deal with mosquitoes. Go on a hike? You deal with mosquitoes. Head out to your secret berry picking spot? You deal with mosquitoes.
There are many wonderful things about living in Upper Michigan. I think it’s safe to say that dealing with mosquitoes is not one of them.
Call me elitist if you will, but I prefer my insects to be colorful, quiet, and beneficial to nature.
I mean, name one thing a mosquito is good for aside from making sure SC Johnson & Company meets their quarterly profit margin.
There are scientists who say the world would be better off if certain species of mosquitoes were eradicated. And unless you’re a fan of malaria or dengue fever, I think you might agree, especially if you live in the UP.
I mean, not only is it a pain to perfume yourself with bug spray or to spend the afternoon swatting the pests away, but there’s also this–
I dare– I double dare– anyone in the UP to tell me there’s not a more irritating or aggravating sound than the one you get when you go to bed, turn off the lights, and then hear… *bzzzzzzzzzzzzz*
We’ve ALL had to deal with that.
I wish there was a magical way to box them all up and– I don’t know– send them over the border to Wisconsin. But that’s not gonna happen. I guess in every paradise there’s that one little thing we’d change if we could, but unfortunately, we can’t.
And in the UP, that would be our unwanted official state bird, the mosquito.
I’m Jim Koski, and that’s another slice of “Life in the 906.”
