Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Invasion of the spiders


I don't know about your backyard, but ours seems to have twice or even 3 times the number of spiders this summer--all sizes, but mainly the small variety.
Every morning, as I travel from pot to pot watering plants, I destroy one web after another or come face to face with a spider daring me to take down his web again. When N and I return from our daily dog walk in the evening, we take turns blazing the trail through the new webs strung across the walkway alongside the house.
And so I've had my share of spider bites. The bites are usually on the calves of my legs or my forearms. I'm thinking it's happening while I sit in the chairs on the deck.
The first of the bites made me look like I had a dreaded pox. I used my usual remedies to stop the inflammation and itching and they help to a certain extent. Or until the sheets rub against the bites and I begin to itch in my sleep.
Then I began to wonder about Tea Tree oil. We have a small bottle left over from when Fran was told to use it on an upper ear piercing giving her problems. Once we could get past the smell, we had to admit it did an efficient job of making her excess scar tissue disappear. (I still can't believe it and wonder just what this stuff does to skin.) I decided to give the oil a try on my latest spider bite. And guess what? It worked! It kept the inflammation to a minimum, stopped the itching and the bite is nearly healed after just 4-5 days.
Plus it's easy for everyone in the house to keep track of me--even in the dark. ;>)

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