Intruders!

Behold, the boxelder bug:

Boisea trivittatus.

Thanks to our recent cold snap, these little f---ers have been making their way inside my home. And, unfortunately, Mad Dog and The Deuce's bedroom window (old and drafty), is the main entryway for the little beasties.

They are especially attracted that side of the house. That side, a southern exposure, gets full sun all day long. The bugs like the warm aluminum siding, where they hang out all day. Then as night falls and the temperature drops, they weasel their way into the house through the shoddy window frame.

The only upside (and I do mean only) is that the bugs are totally harmless. They don't bite or sting and they're easily caught in a tissue. Once trapped, I promptly escort them to the nearest commode for a quick flush.

Whoosh! Gone.

I'm not super squeamish when it comes to bugs. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm about a 6. So I'm pretty okay dealing with these little pests on my own. My ex-husband, however, was totally useless when it came to bug killing. More often than not, I had to rescue him from a creepy-crawly spider, and not the other way around.

I remember telling him that I didn't think it was good for the kids to see and hear him scream every time he saw a bug. I didn't want the kids to grow up afraid of harmless insects and bugs. I wanted them to be able to handle the situation. Not just wait for someone to rescue them. But, it was his honest, knee-jerk reaction and he couldn't help it.

Since I couldn't help him overcome his fear (and subsequent screams) I set out to show the kids the flipside of the same coin - an calmer reaction. So as Dad would scream like a little girl and jump on a chair, they'd see Mom, marching in, kicking ass.

Anyhow... so last night, when the girls told me they found 7 (count them 7!) "icky bugs" (my kid-friendly nickname for the little bastards) crawling around on their walls and ceiling, I wasn't afraid. A little grossed out, but not afraid.

Boxelder, a.k.a Icky Bug or Little Bastard.

So after relocating our gerbil, Stella, to a safer venue, I confidently captured and flushed the intruders. Then I opened the girls' window and doused the screen and window frame with Raid. When I finished fumigating, I sealed up the window as tightly as I could and closed their door, proclaiming the room officially off limits for 24 hours.

When I came back downstairs, Crowbar asked me what I had been doing. I told him I killed the icky bugs.

"I help, Mama!" he said, ready for combat. He ran to the tissue box and grabbed a wad. "I squash those bugs!"

SUCCESS!

Thinking about it now makes me a little misty. That's my boy.