Yuk, Wait Till it Flies

by Jossi Tinga

The average bug is too small to scare an adult. There crawling on the wall or the floor, it is just a nuisance. I would not be in a hurry to swat it to death.

It too has right to life even though not in my abode. I could shoo it out if it was tame. Open the door to let it out or the window if not bug-proofed. Poor little thing, at the slightest touch it takes to flight. It can jump if it is a cricket and shoot from end to end if it is a grasshopper.

Some nights when it rains, a whole air-force of strange flying insects will invade if the door is left ajar for minutes. This is Africa, the night is full of sound. In the dark, insects sing themselves hoarse. At the sight of light, they migrate to dance with the light. All too often theirs is a mortal dance with light. By daybreak, they will be exhausted to death.

A cricket lost in the farthest corner the room shies-off in the glare of daylight. Quietly, it crawls along the corners. It will not venture where it will be seen. It will not make a noise. It is a harmless creature not known to nibble for leftovers or scavenge for food in the pantry. You would not know it was there if it were not for love. Come night, when all is quiet, the lights are off and everyone is snuggling for company the cricket cannot hide its presence.

A poisonous spider: Passersby do not bother it

In the distance, as other lonely bugs call, the lost cricket cannot hide its desires. The shrill calls of a lonely mate melt down any fear or inhibition in the lost bug. The desire for a mate is far too strong to be hidden. On the cold cemented floor where there is no soil to burrow into the cricket will long for its mate. When she calls, the danger of discovery does not deter a response.

The high-octave reply, whose intensity betrays raw desire, will startle the deepest sleeper. Not too naive to be caught on account of desire, the shy cricket will shush at the slightest disturbance. The disturbed sleeper, searching desperately for the noisy bug, has quite a job on his hands. The clever creature will shush only to call for its mate after lights out. It will be caught by chance or by aid of chemical repellent.  Usually that will be after daybreak, or when the heavy hand of sleep is no more.

The mosquito will not hide its presence.  Its hunger for blood is often music in your ears. In your sleep it will scout for blood from head to toe. It hops from place to place looking for soft flesh to bury its needle. Undeterred by endless layers of cloth, the mosquito follows the warmth nibbling at every point it lands. Its favourite landing spots are the arms and legs. These are deaf to its hum. For less than a drop of blood, the mozzie will at times leave you with a lingering fever. Left untreated the mosquito’s kiss is lethal.

For all its danger, few are terrified of a mozzie bite. Its irritating itch is all that we hate. If it bit without the itch few would bother to keep it away. It is likely a malaria-free bite would be rated a nuisance only. Not so for the filthy roach. It does not bite or make irritating sounds. In fact, it is a very shy creature usually out by night only. However, it lacks the discipline of the cricket and the patience of the mozzie.

If there are no crumbs to munch nearby, the roach will scout the whole house for some. In its dark brown cloak it will nibble at anything for food. It has as much liking for paper and cloth as it does starch. If it should find a way into the computer, it will make food out of artificial intelligence.  

It does not matter that it was born and bred in the house just like all of us. Its intrusion into the pantry often arouses revulsion. If it should find its way into the dinner plate, a whole meal is ruined. Its unseemly colour and nasty habit of crawling out of the sewer invites contempt. Shit is what the roach brings to mind.

If in its haste to get around it apes the grasshopper and flies about, it invites instant rage. A stray bee with its nasty sting is tolerated or even respected. The ‘filthy’ roach taking to air invites horror. No one in the room wants a roach landing on their arm. Most would rather a disease-carrying mosquito than a confused, hungry and probably horny roach. Roaches eat and breed with almost equal ferocity. Given the chance, they will eat and mate on your plate.

The poisonous spiders and centipedes are what we should really fear. These often find their way to bed and without a hiss inject a burning poison in the skin. They are not the reason we buy insecticide though. It is the vile roach shown crawling from the sewer to the plate in the ad, which attracts the most revulsion. If it flies, then too flies the revulsion.

Poor roach, insecticides are marketed in your name.