Kathleen Clary Miller has written 300+ columns and stories for periodicals both local and national, and has authored three books.  She lives in the woods of the Ninemile Valley, thirty miles west of Missoula.

When family arrived for the grand opening of summer and Father’s Day, I rummaged around the back of the bathroom cabinet for bug spray. The father of honor’s request would be an evening meal on the patio, an al fresco event generally populated by mosquitoes despite the table décor consisting of citronella candles.

To my chagrin, since I use natural products exclusively, the spray bottle had long since expired. The best I could do before making the trek to town to purchase a fresh supply was to spray and pray. I’m the target bugs love to bite, so worst-case scenario I’d be the best defense since they would buzz my way and shun the kids.

Even the natural insect repellants blanket the skin with an oily, uncomfortable layer you can’t wait to shower away, but sticky and gummy wins over itchy, so the choice is clear even if unclean.

As we sat while the sun sank and reminisced about father’s foibles, flies and yellow jackets made their presence known. Invisible to the naked eye those pesky mosquitoes couldn’t be far behind.

“What’s that sound?” one of the boys asked. We’d all noticed something coming from the sky that if not a genetically-engineered giant insect had to be a bird. An owl? Not quite the correct call for an owl. Over and over again, more and more frequently the strange noise emanated from above, even as darkness drew nearer. With light still in the sky, however, we could see nothing, no clue as to the identity of this avian mystery.

Google to the rescue. After a little research we discovered the nighthawk accompanied by a u-tube video with sound. What we were hearing was its wings as it pulled them in and dove to snag a bite of bugs.

Despite my bathroom bottle’s expiration date having passed its limit by over two years, that evening none of us were bitten. One might deduce that the natural spray ingredients last longer than the warning note to the consumer.

I vote for the nighthawk,: organic, efficient, at no cost to the consumer, and with an infinite shelf life, by far my new go-to insect repellant.

Finally I can enjoy the outdoors without watching for mosquitoes like a hawk.

(www.amazon.com/author/millerkathleenclary)