Oh the heat, and bugs! We have an influx of mosquitoes and earwigs. They are so bad this year, it's hard to get outdoors. I don't have any suggestions for you, the earwig traps of a bit of oil and soya sauce in a small container may be your best bet. For mozzies, a dunk in any water barrels will prevent larvae from hatching, but that doesn't do much for the adults.

August 15 2025

If you have flies, there are a few suggestions on how to kill flies here, but for some reason these traps aren't working as well this year. There are a lot less flies this year, so previous seasons of trapping them is lowering the population.

Sadly, all kinds of insects, such as bees and butterflies, seem to be a lot less in numbers. Worldwide spraying to kill off harmful bugs has affected the ones we like, too. Keep planting pollinator gardens, and hopefully they can rebound. The numbers look pretty dire, with over 40% of all insects in the world being reduced. Our ecology depends on insects, so this is very worrying.

Build yourself a butterfly garden and do your part. If everyone gave up a tiny portion of their garden to pollinator host plants, it would go a long way to encouraging their survival.