This is a bug warning for all tourists planning a trip to the Emerald Isle. Don’t worry, Ireland is not a paradise for bugs like some tropical tourist destinations. No fear of cockroaches or monster mosquitoes! No need to start anti-malarial medication before your trip but be warned! During the summer months, Ireland is home to the mosquito’s most annoying cousin, albeit a 31st cousin of the "state bird of Texas.
" The insect in question is the infamous Irish “midge.” Last year on our annual pilgrimage to Donegal , we parked our car to let the kids pile out, and watch a small herd of deer bounding across the heather-carpeted hillside. Not thinking, we left all the windows open in the car.
Before we knew what was happening, a swarm of midges surrounded us. “Get back in the car,” I screamed out. The kids looked at me as if I was being attacked by a pack of zombies.
“Hurry, hurry,” I urged, as I flapped my hands in the air, whacking at the midges, shooing the kids in the general direction of the car. They piled in as fast as they could, never before having witnessed Mom in such a frenzy. But the windows at the back were the old fashioned wind-up kind.
We were too late. Lo and behold the car was swarming with little, flying nasties. “Drive! Drive!” I urged my husband, as I stretched my hand back to reopen the rear windows.
“Faster! Faster!” Midges swarm around a street lamp. We drove through Donegal with all four windows open. I flapped a magazine around tr.
