Buggy

Is there a saint to invoke against infestations? Like, insect infestations? Ugh...

Patron saintage. My favorite topic.

Of course there is a patron saint of insect infestation! Is the Pope Catholic?

Flying or walking?

And be careful...you don't want to accidently get a saint who is pro insect, like Pope St. Felix, the patron saint of spiders. In the early days of the Church, Pope St. Felix was running from Roman soldiers. He found a hole to hide in and spiders quickly spun a web over the opening of the hole. Pope St. Felix spent the rest of his days covered in cobwebs and dripping with spiders. He never allowed anyone to kill a spider in his presence. He liked spiders.

City or country? If you're out on a farm you'll want St. Magnus of Fussen, the patron saint against caterpillars and locust type crop killers.

There at the house I think you'll want to go with St. Dominic Silos. You'll be tickled pink, I think.

St. Dominic was in charge of a swell monastery when the king decided he wanted the monastery lands for himself. Poor Dominic was kicked out and landed at the world's most delapidated monastery. It must have looked like my house. (Meaning the house in which I live. Heaven knows it isn't MINE.)There were only six monks there (three up on us!). The place was falling down around their ears. (Been there, done that.)

I'm sure this is why he is that patron saint of insect infestations. The reason is not specifically mentioned. But he lived in Spain. I'm thinking termites, for starters.

He is also the patron saint of having babies (along with St. Gerard and St. Raymond Nonnatus), but he should be the patron saint of fund raisers. Not only did he turn the old monastery into a world class joint that still stands today as a model of architecture and art work, he ransomed folks who were held captive by the Moors (which was also St. Raymond's claim to fame), fed the poor, worked lots of healing miracles and got the monastery up and running with gold and silver art works. He managed all of this by getting rich folks to donate money. Not bad for a former shepherd who became a monk because he liked the quiet life.

He is the patron saint of having babies because a woman once prayed for his intercession one hundred years after his death. She wanted another son. She gave birth to St. Dominic. THE St. Dominic, founder of the Dominicans who made the Rosary a popular item. (Many people think this St. Dominic invented the Rosary, but he didn't.) She named her Dominic after her intercessor, our friend the fund raiser and insect fighter.

Certainly, before you drag out the aerosol can of poisonous bug annihilator, consider the words of St. Isidor, patron saint of Spain, who was adament that we extend the Lord's kindness to bugs. He fed "the ants, too, since they are God's ants, and His royal bounty is for all His household."