Where are the Cicadas?

So you haven't seen any cicadas. Was it the extra rain? The unseasonable cool weather? Well it was actually none of the above. In fact the Cicadas did arrive as expected. 

Some people thought the weather may have delayed the cicadas, but according Professor Mike Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland if you haven't seen any by now, you probably won't unless you take a road trip. But even then time is running out. 

They did come, but not in all the areas where experts were expecting the cicadas to show up. The thing about Cicadas is they don't travel very far, so if they didn't pop up in your neighborhood, it's not likely you would have seen them. 

So why didn't we see them in our areas?

Well there are some theories, but nothing concrete. Some experts say it was the rain and low temperatures. Others say it was an increase in development. When trees are removed, so is the cicada's food source. 

Well after it's all said and done, if you haven't seen the full force of Brood II, you most likely won't. Personally, I would say you were lucky. That's how I feel anyway. I wasn't looking forward to crushing cicada stuff under my shoes. But I will admit there is a part of me that's disappointed. A little left out. But I'll be ok :)

Here are some resources from the web if you wanna read more about where the cicadas are:

• http://www.nbcnews.com/science/dont-see-lots-cicadas-yet-dont-be-surprised-6C10232677
• http://cnnradio.cnn.com/2013/06/05/where-are-the-cicadas-already/
• http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_23477603/so-where-are-cicadas-63
• http://news.msn.com/science-technology/where-have-all-the-cicadas-gone

Preventing Sprickets From Getting Into Your Home

Hey, do you know what would be worse than a huge creepy spider?

One that would uncontrollably jump at your face anytime you were near it and is a thousand times harder to kill

     ....enter the spricket...


Spricket: A most disgusting mix between a spider and a cricket.

If you're reading this I probably don't have to tell you how disgusting these creatures are. I've spent a lot of time thinking about these camel crickets and have had more than enough experience killing them. I recently posted about ridding your home of these jumping terrors. But I thought it would be nice to prevent them all together so here are 3 tips for doing just that.

Tip 1: Stay Dry

Sprickets love dark moist areas. They are also referred to as "Cave Crickets" because that is their preferred habitat. So if you have a basement that has a tendency to get damp, you can bet you'll have some unwelcome guests. Invest in a dehumidifier and dry out the damp areas in your home.

Tip 2: Stay Clean

The problem with these bugs is they can pretty much eat anything. Especially if its deteriorating. They love carpet fibers and dry rot. Keeping your house in order will help keep the sprickets away. Sweep entry ways regularly, clean up your yard and repair any rotting wood.

Tip 3: Stay Away

Keeping away from marshy areas is always a good idea if you can help it. The disaster I encountered was due in large part to the fact that there was a stream and heavily wooded area behind my house. It was pretty much an ideal location for camel spiders. Granted, you can't always avoid this type of location, but doing the other tips should help a lot.

And if after following my guidelines here you still encounter a spricket infestation, you can always use my secret weapon the "Roach Motel"... Seriously! This brand works fantastic. It attracts them because it is dark and they can smell the glue which they apparently find delicious.

How to Get Rid of Sprickets (AKA Camel Crickets, Cave Crickets and Spider Crickets)

UPDATE:

To skip the long (but extremely well written *horn toot*) story and get straight to the solution, read this recent, more condensed post -- The Best Way to Get Rid of Sprickets (3 Steps)

---

Sprickets are given that nickname because they look as if a spider and a cricket decided to have a child. They also go by the names camel cricket, cave cricket and spider cricket. Before I tell you the absolute best way to get rid of these terrifying creatures (without touching them) let me tell you my horror story...

My wife and I recently moved into a small townhome. Spricket season was coming so we were mentally preparing ourselves for the occasional scare...nothing could have prepared us for what was about to happen...

It seemed like there was an endless supply of these vile hoppers and I had no idea where they were all coming from. They seemed to come out mostly at night. One night--as we sat on the couch--one crawled out from under door of our laundry room. My weapon of choice (before I discovered the secret weapon for getting rid of sprickets) was a child's plastic golf club. I sneaked up on the evil spider cricket and swung. Success!

But like every other night shortly after killing one--another would appear. The cave crickets were relentless! Where were they coming from!? And why were there so many!?

The Secret Lair of the Sprickets

One night I had an epiphany-- Behind the wall of the laundry room was a storage room we had yet to go into. The exhaust from the dryer led into that storage room (you see where this is heading?). I walked to the storage room and cracked the door slowly. Light flowed into the room as the door opened revealing a black wall. As more light filled the room I noticed the black wall began to move--revealing a white wall underneath.

Big shocker. There was no "black wall."

No sir. It was in actuality a wall of sprickets!!!! The entire wall was covered. And if you've ever surprised a spricket with bright light you know what happened next...

I started hearing popping noises. The disgusting camel crickets began jumping off the wall trying to escape the light! I slammed the door and ran screaming like a girl--flailing my arms about.

The next logical step was to go buy a case of bug bombs (which is not the secret weapon. That comes later). I rolled two of them into the storage unit like I was a S.W.A.T. team getting ready to take down an armed bank robber. I placed a rolled up towel at the bottom of the door to prevent their escape.

...Then I waited...

No more than 6 minutes later a terrible thing happened-- sprickets began spewing out from underneath the laundry room door! How could I be so stupid? I forgot to block their entry into our home! Huge fail.

I let the bug killer flow taking careful aim at each spricket. When that wasn't enough I grabbed my trusty golf club. I spent hours killing, screaming, getting the willies and offering up prayers.

After a couple hours the flow of sprickets stopped. But I knew I didn't get rid of all of them. I knew they were hiding in my home in far greater numbers than before.

Over the course of the next couple of days we were inundated with sprickets. Every time we turned around one was there. Even when they weren't there, it always felt like one was on my leg or in my hair. My wife and I couldn't even sleep at night.

Finally, The Secret Weapon

Now pay attention, because I am about to reveal my secret weapon for getting rid of sprickets...

My wife and I stumbled on a forum where someone suggested using roach traps-- specifically the brand Roach Motel. We went out and bought them instantly-- and placed them in the laundry room, all corners of the house, behind toilets and a few other places--

--Saying they worked would be an understatement. I literally watched sprickets walk into the traps! Once I opened the laundry room door and startled a spricket (I am more afraid of them then they are of me). It jumped once-- landed and scurried right into the Roach Motel! Checked-in.

We noticed an instant decrease in sightings of camel crickets and within a week it was like we lived in a normal house again. Sure we saw one here and there--but it was nothing like before.

...Then something incredible happened-- after a couple more weeks I stopped seeing the sprickets completely! The roach traps were a miracle. I went from having a large army of these vile creatures to sleeping peacefully at night. Long story short, I retired my trusty golf club.

So if you have a spricket infestation (Probably not as bad as mine) then go pick up some roach motels. Or you can get a good deal on Amazon using the following link: Roach Motel 61009 [Set of 12].


Sincerely,
Your fellow Spricktophobe

Related Articles:

Preventing Sprickets From Getting Into Your Home

3 Ways to Kill Sprickets

What Do Sprickets Eat?

Are Sprickets Poisonous?

The Volkswagen Art Commercial Creates Online Buzz

This campaign done by Red Urban is a fantastic example of branding and buzz creation, showing that advertising is not always about the hard sell. The name of this campaign is "Driving Can Be Beautiful." Photographers used long exposure to capture images created by the lights on the Jetti GLI.

Next, they created make-shift art galleries in random areas around Canada and just let people steal their stuff. The point was to create buzz and that is exactly what happened. As you can see in the video, people were stirring online with excitement. What a great way to get be people talking about your company, and what a great way to associate your brand with style and beauty. Hats off to the creative people involved.

Leave your comments below. I would love to hear about any experiences you may have had with this. And oh yeah, apparently this campaign isn't over, so keep your eyes peeled.

For more info and to see the full credits go here.

The Cameroon Flag and The Togo Flag

Cameroon

The Cameroon flag was established May 20, 1975. This was after Cameroon became a unitary state. It was a part of France until gaining its independence in 1960. The flag is broken up into three main parts. The left third of the flag is a green vertical stripe. The right third is a yellow vertical strip and the middle third is a red vertical stripe with a yellow star in the middle. The green is representative of a of the lush, rich forests and vegetation of the southern region of the country. It is also said to represent the hope of the future. The red represents independence and unity. The yellow stands for the savannas in the north and the sun, which is their source of happiness. The star also represents the country’s unity. The colors are pan-African and Cameroon is only the second modern African state to use them.

Togo

This flag is similar to the Cameroon flag in that it also was established when it gained independence from France. This took place on April 27, 1960. The Togo flag also contains the pan-African colors, but they are arranged differently. There are five stripes alternating with green and yellow. There is a red box in the upper left-hand corner that contains a white star in the middle. The red on the Togo Flag is symbolic of the loyalty and patriotism the people should feel towards their country. The green shows hope, fertility, and agriculture. The yellow is representative of mineral wealth and faith in the ability of hard work and strength to bring prosperity. The white star represents life, purity, peace, dignity, and Togo’s independence. In addition, there are five stripes to show the five distinct geographical regions of the nation.

The Social Network: An Ethical Response

I felt like the movie brings up a clear ethical dilemma. There was a debate about whether or not Mark Zuckerberg stole a portion of his idea from the Winklevoss twins. This is an issue of intellectual property. If somebody comes up with an idea, then they are entitled to that concept and any financial gain that comes from its use. Often times, multiple people will have the same idea and only one implements the idea. If those people never communicated with each other about their idea, there is no moral dilemma. The rule of first come, first serve applies. The problem arises when one individual knowingly uses another individual’s idea.

The Winklevoss twins came up with The Harvard Connection and asked Zuckerberg to partner with them. He never did, but decided to create his own site called The Facebook. The debate revolves around how similar the two sites are, if at all. It is proven that the sites do not share any coding, so from a programming standpoint Zuckerberg is in the clear. But that could be argued as physical property. This is a question of intellectual property. If Jim invents the chair using maple wood, and Alex invents the same chair using oak, it is still the same idea.

So in order to determine if the idea was stolen we have to compare the concept of the two sites. The Harvard Connection was intended to help people connect, as was Facebook, but its purpose was geared more towards dating. Facebook’s intentions were to capture the entire social experience, not just dating. The Harvard Connection wanted to capitalize on the feeling of exclusivity, which is certainly the route Facebook took in its early launching period. We can see that the ideas are both very similar and, at the same, fundamentally different.

I believe Zuckerberg does owe them something. It would appear they were his inspiration and they paved the way for his idea to take hold. I also think the original settlement of $65 million dollars and some stock in Facebook is reasonable considering their apparent contribution. I believe the most ethical scenario would have been for Zuckerberg to approach the Winklevoss twins and explain the direction he wished to go. If they didn’t like it, they could have parted ways and they wouldn’t have had any claim to the Facebook concept.

Morning Glory: An Ethical Review

The ethical issue involved with the movie “Morning Glory” was fluff vs. news. The morning news shows are known for their soft entertainment value and very little for their actual hard news. The debate is whether it is okay for a news program to run stories that are based purely on getting the ratings.

I feel that capitalism gives our society a unique democratic opportunity. Because the success of a television program is based on its ratings, we are, in a way, voting on the programming they put on for us to watch. Meaning, if we thought what they were doing was unethical and chose not to watch, they wouldn’t get the ratings, and advertisers wouldn’t pay for time. In this case, the stations would either have to change or they would go out of business. This means the programming we see on TV is a direct result of what the general population wants to see. It is our own fault.

To me, this is all an issue of labels. Is it wrong to play a program that is just for entertainment? Of course not, but is it okay to do that and call it news? Maybe the real issue is the fact that these shows are labeled morning news. If we started calling them morning gossip, or morning mindless wake up time, maybe there would be less of a debate. There are plenty of opportunities to get hard news, and if that is what we really want than we need to pay more attention to it. One fear I have is hard news becoming so unprofitable it stops being produced. I wouldn’t, however, blame the morning news for this. I would look at myself and my community and wonder why we took good journalism and hard facts for granted.