What Really Bugs Me

I spent another night hunting. And I’ve been hunting almost every night since I’ve been here.

It all started with a high-pitched sound near my ear, in the middle of the night. I turned on the light, and there, on the stark white wall above me was a bloated mosquito. I didn’t think twice. I just smacked it with my hand and there was blood everywhere. Blood on my hand. Blood on the wall. Looked like he (or she?) just dined.

Now, much of every night is spent killing bugs. I hardly sleep. I just kill. There are flies, mosquitoes, ants, and little beetle thingies. Last time there was this much wildlife in my room was when I visited the tropical island of Dominica and stayed in a jungle hut.

This really makes me wish for window screens. Why aren’t window screens a thing here?

When we were trying to figure out how to keep our cat, Bixby, close to home once he arrives, we asked about screens. Our relocation agent answered simply: “No, we don’t have those.” I partially didn’t believe her. I mean, I don’t remember window screens in Poland either, but it’s been a while since I’ve been there, so surely these are now available everywhere….?

No. They really aren’t. I’ve been looking at windows everywhere I go and haven’t seen even one screen. And today I went to Fog – a Danish Home Depot – and guess what? No screen netting of any kind.

Considering how many bugs I have to hunt down every single night, I’m starting to think there is a promising business opportunity for a screen distributor in Denmark.

UPDATE: My neighbor, Karsten, helped me find netting at a hardware store. It did take some time – we went to a few stores – but I see now that netting does exist on this side of the Atlantic. Now, as soon as Dave arrives maybe he can try to install it…