Japan Top 10

It happened again this morning: I almost ran into the car in front because I was chasing a mosquito.

The hot (and relatively dry) summer has kept bugs at bay. The cicadas were late this year, and even if there have been insects, it was only in September that they came out in full force. Not that it makes anyone happier, because with the heat likely to continue through October, the bug season will also be extended.

Bugs in houses are a nuisance, but they become more than that in the car. While you usually can catch them or keep them out of the house with a combination of insect repellent and screen doors and windows, nobody has started selling screen windows for cars yet.

And when you have a bug in the car, especially if it is a mosquito, you want to catch it. That is what is dangerous. Focusing on the mosquito rather than traffic makes you prone to accidents – especially if you are not used to the direction cars are coming from.

And then, you can not reach it. You keep flailing around. The most irritating thing is if the mosquito gets into the space between the steering wheel and the windshield. You can not reach it to catch it, and even turning up the fan does not bring it out.

My kids often panic at bugs in the car, and try to chase them outside instead of squashing them. Having a car full of screaming and flailing kids is even more dangerous than chasing the mosquito yourself. I do not even want to contemplate what might happen if there was a wasp or something else dangerous in the car.

The best thing to do, if you have time, is probably to wait a few minutes before starting off, so you can chase any bugs outside. If you have time.