Reset

Grey and I are on the tail end of an infestation. It started 2 months ago when Grey found the cockroaches had returned, which are common to the area. As Grey began his battle to rapidly reduce the population, so too began him finding other things, like the paper wasps nests that under the awnings of the house and the flies that would show up in the evenings. Then I found fleas on Jaxson and Daisy, where we learned that the local population of fleas was resistant to the flea treatment we were using. This was followed by finding the carpenter bees scoping out the backyard awning. The final straw was Grey discovering we had black widows.

The exterminator arrived the next day.

Part of this infestation reset has been a multi-step plan, both with instant eradication and prevention. The exterminator did a great job with spraying and removing any nests in order to deter reinfestation, but we've also been taking measures to flatten the curve. This has included applying cedar chips to the garden beds, being diligent about cleaning, and educating ourselves. The last part is the most frustrating as there's an amazing amount of information out there, some of which is bad, and navigate all of this is a full-time job.

With this infestation, particularly in regards to the fleas (because, seriously, who would have thought that flea prevention medication could be worthless!), I'm been finding commonalities with SARS-CoV-2 and all that we know about COVID-19. Despite months of lockdown in certain regions and promise of initial curve flattening, we're starting to see new clusters emerge as the world reopens. Additionally, there's a ton of information out there, some of it very good which I strongly recommend, but some of it harmfully wrong. Hence people are getting frustrated, wanting to see the end of this invisible force that has turned their lives upside down and frustrated that their efforts aren't being reflected.

It's hard to be in the middle of an infestation, especially when the offending population reemerges and leaves you to battle yet again. For us, the fleas have been the source of most stress with Jaxson and Daisy suffering the insult of being bathed multiple times and me tackling mountains of laundry. It wasn't until we got our hands on this new flea medication that the tide turned (and even then there was a delay), but we're still finding the occasional flea that sends both Grey and me into panic mode as all we want is this to be done.

What has become apparent, both in our work and this battle on the homefront is that there's a need for a reset. For too long fear has been driving our world, both a fear of this disease but also a fear of the unknown. We already know that this virus is going to be with us for the foreseeable future, which has added to that fear given that the end isn't in sight. The problem isn't a community call of reset, which is desperately needed; an acknowledgment of that fear of the unknown due to a pandemic that is causing economic collapse combined with a call for community action to continue taking actions to protect one another. All of which needs to be fueled with education both about this virus, how it spreads (human-to-to through droplets people, hence the need for face coverings), what the models mean and predict, and, finally, how the immune system is playing a role in developing COVID-19.  It's not just a matter of whether or not you become infected.

To date, Grey and I have won our battle against this infestation. But we also know that letting down our guard is unwise given that it could all easily reappear. With the long-game in mind, we're resetting our focus towards prevention. Something we're also doing with SARS-CoV-2.