Anonymous wrote:Gnats...in my eyes, ears, nose, mouth.. Do I have to just use a net over my head?

i read somewhere they hate the smell of tea tree oil. maybe geranium oil too? not sure but that should smell ok.

Ha! OP, are you me? I swatted an enormous fly in my office the other day and nearly hyperventilated until I physically stepped out of the room and just BREATHED long enough to calm down to pick up its dead body and put it in a trash can. I was mortified! I am the same way about bugs but I am trying to do the same as you - get into our yard and plant some things and do a raised bed for veggies/herbs - but I am also terrified of bugs. I feel your pain!

Oh my gosh in the same way! I love the idea of gardening but the bugs freak me out!!

If you recognize and understand the bugs, then they won't be so scary. I think part of the scariness comes from wondering what horrid evil creature you just encountered and will it sting/bite/get in your hair. When really it could be some happy dead-leaf eating bug, or a bug that eats aphids or mosquitos--i.e. your friend.

Remember (with a few exceptions like mosquitos), almost all those bugs are not interested in YOU. They are interested in other things in the garden: The leaves, the pollen in the flowers, the other bugs, the soil.

Anonymous wrote:Gnats...in my eyes, ears, nose, mouth.. Do I have to just use a net over my head?

Gnat season is awful. Hat, sunglasses, and Herbal Armor. This too shall pass.

^^^Another idea is to go with your children to the introduce-children-to-nature programs at the parks in the area. You would say you're doing it for them.

Gnats...in my eyes, ears, nose, mouth.. Do I have to just use a net over my head?

If you mainly just want to be out in the yard with the kids, then maybe a hat, long sleeves, sunglasses, and gloves would help? As the PP suggests. Meanwhile the yard guys could keep doing the yard stuff.

As for how we grow things, if you have a deck, you could put some pots of herbs on the deck -- to ease into it. Maybe even a pepper plant or two. Don't skimp on the watering, though.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a total wimp in the garden. I wear gardening gloves and it makes me a lot more comfortable. Good luck!

Thanks! I'm really going to give it a shot (bought gloves) but I just feel so silly running away from bugs. Glad to know other people do it too. It's not like anyone will be watching and laughing (well, maybe my neighbors) but I'll just pretend I need to get my rake over there really really quickly.

I'm a total wimp in the garden. I wear gardening gloves and it makes me a lot more comfortable. Good luck!

OP here. Ah, good question. We have always had yard guys do everything. We are not yard people. Now I SAH and my kids are at the age where they love it out there but I need to be with them. So I want to get out there and do some things too. And show them how we grow things Or how we try.

What problem are you trying to solve? Do you want to be less fearful of the yard? Do you want the shrubs tidied? Do you want garden-grown peppers and tomatoes? Do you want to grow plants? The solution depends on the problem.

Just moved and we have a pretty great yard, but I need to get out there and tidy up the shrubs and I want a simple raised bed for tomatoes and peppers. But when I go out there, it's like a scene from "The Birds". I'm checking the sky constantly and if anything brushes me, I freak out. We have ground bees too which aren't aggressive but I'm just so spooked. By nature. I have to run in and check my kids from the window until I calm down. I play sports outside and go to playgrounds, but my yard is like a horror movie Amazon jungle to me. Is there any hope?