Happy Bear’s Hideaway is located on the outskirts of one of the most ecologically diverse regions in the nation, home to a fabulous assortment of plant and animal life. Near the bottom of the food chain, insects make up a significant percentage of the fauna, serving as the primary source of nutrition for a variety of birds and small mammals. Even the Smokies’ renowned black bear, normally an herbivore, will claw into a fallen tree to enjoy a meal of grubs when fruits and nuts are in short supply. In short, bugs play an important role in sustaining the higher forms of life that make the Smokies such a magnificent place, and their absence would deprive the region of many of its signature species.

Unfortunately, however, insects cannot distinguish between wilderness and populated areas, and don’t confine themselves within the park boundaries. Wherever conditions are suitable for their life, they move in. Further, they have no concept of “indoors” and “outdoors”… they invade whatever environment they deem to be a suitable habitat. This is where they make the transition from a critical part of the ecosystem into a plain old nuisance.

One of the comments most frequently found in our cabin guest book concerns these bugs, primarily the centipedes, millipedes, and ladybugs that seem to be in the cabin on every guest visit. Nobody wants to share their vacation space with the crawly things. While they aren’t harmful to humans (especially when dead), they are unattractive to look at, and gross to step on, particularly with bare feet!

Our rental management company is engaged in a perpetual battle to keep these pests out of the cabin (I know, because they charge me for it every month!) Despite their best efforts, in the battle of Man vs. Bug, the insects always seem to prevail. Sort of. In fact, the pesticides are quite effective at exterminating these pesky invaders. The problem is, it just kills them, it doesn’t physically remove them from the place. This results in a lot of dead bugs lying around, which tends to give most folks a bad first impression when they walk in the door. Who wants to stay in a vacation home that’s got dead bugs in the TV room? Further, insects are incredibly prolific, and every generation that gets wiped out by insecticide manages to leave enough eggs behind to hatch and create the next wave of pests. The battle never ends.

The bad news is, we don’t expect to win anytime soon. There isn’t a whole lot we can do about the bugs that we aren’t already doing. We spray the house to kill them, and then suck them up with the vacuum cleaner. Over and over again. The cabin is vacuumed after each guest visit, and yet the bugs are back when the next guest arrives.

So what can be done? Pull out the vacuum cleaner and remove the dead critters. Enjoy a bug-free cabin for the next few days, and then do it again. In between, go out on the deck and enjoy the view of the beautiful woods, and the distant mountains. As you admire the natural beauty of the Smokies, I believe that you will agree that the minor annoyance created by a few crawly things is a small price to pay for a truly awesome experience.