Everyone shares similar memories with fireflies. Going out during the evening with maybe a grandparent or parent, capturing a few, and putting them in a jar to admire. Well now that you’re older you may or may not have noticed that there aren’t as many fireflies anymore. So what happened? Was everyone on the block going out to capture them and ended up with a few more than necessary? Well, not exactly.
What is one thing terrible about living in Georgia? It is so humid, and therefore a breeding ground for what I would consider Satan’s children, mosquitos. Everyone hates mosquitos; some scientists are speculating how they even benefit us on our beautiful planet, but if you’re like me, you just want them gone. There are many ways to deal with these insidious creatures, but most people will choose pesticides. If you go out to the store right now, you will find about 20 different types of pesticides that can get the job done. However, these pesticides are what is helping kill off our little firefly friends as well. So many people who think they have been doing their backyard a service, have actually been contributing the the downfall of one of our favorite friends.
Not only pesticides, but things such as light pollution have been assessed as a factor for why the fireflies will not come out. They see your house lights beaming and can’t see each other’s flashes in order to communicate with one another and mate. Things such as headlights from cars have also been known to disrupt the fireflies’ patterns and get them out of synch for a few minutes. So maybe that floodlight isn't so helpful after all.
Finally, the last reason is a no brainer: land development has taken away the fireflies' homes. Fireflies prefer to live in meadows, forests, and fields. With homes being built, this takes away space for them to live.
So what can we do to get them back? This list is pulled from http://firefly.org, a wonderful site that you can explore if you want to learn more.
- Turn off lights outside at night
- Let litter and logs accumulate
- Avoid using lawn chemicals
- Don’t over-mow your lawn
- Plant native trees
- Use natural fertilizers
- Do NOT let earthworms grow
- Create ponds, or water features (No, your hot tub doesn’t count.)
Doing what is on the list will guarantee 2 things. Aiding in the return of the fireflies, and a good excuse to get out of mowing the lawn.
