Some people are bothered by the bugs that congregate from time to time on their window screens,
but I have found a way to have fun with these insects. The method involves a garden spray-bottle filled with water, and a little marksmanship skill.
The best time is when midge season is in full swing, and there are dozens of these guys on the screen. It should be noted that the bugs are on the outside of the screen, and the person doing the spraying is inside the home, on the other side of the screen. This is especially important to remember if you are like me, and live in a third floor apartment.
I start by adjusting the nozzle on the sprayer to the “jet stream” setting to get a powerful narrow stream. Then I stand about two feet away and take aim.
Midges aren't very bright, and when I say this I'm not comparing them to lightning bugs. If you zap one of them, his neighbor an inch away won't budge. Then you zap the neighbor, and laugh at him for not budging. You can zap a screenful, and not have to wait too long for a new group to take their place.
This year, for the first time, a giant mayfly landed on the screen.
I held a video camera in my left hand and the sprayer in my right. I zapped the bug, but couldn't knock him off. I zapped him again with little effect. I thought he made an obscene gesture but I wasn't sure. Then I got closer and squeezed the trigger twice in rapid succession. He was gone, in a spray of water molecules.
Unfortunately the video camera malfunctioned, and I didn't get the incident on tape. I had thoughts of a YouTube video going viral, maybe even bacterial.
