Spring has sprung and the insect kingdom is in full gear. I’m told that the tiny little red spiders that are everywhere are called clover mites. Whatever they are, they are lightweights compared to the Florida state bird, the mosquito. It seems that this year is especially “good” for the skeets.

Some folk use sprays and lotions and they do work but you end up smelling like a paper mill. I’m a believer in wearing long pants, long sleeve shirts, and having a mosquito zapper racquet close at hand. These devices look like a tennis racquet but with wires in the place of the strings. There are batteries and a switch in the handle.

You press the switch, and slowly wave the zapper through the air.

When the zapper hits a mosquito, there is a very rewarding “zap” sound, and a little spark. Sometimes you can find these things in local stores or at the flea market or you can get one from Amazon by clicking here.

Zappers won’t help with the clover mites (they’re harmless anyway), but they will do in mosquito’s, yellow flies, and even a flying palmetto bug. We’ve been using them in our neighborhood for several years now and I’m considering organizing teams and a league.

Mosquito zappers: An essential tool for southern living.