If You Want To Work In The Cranberry Bogs, You Better Be Fine With Wolf Spiders Crawling All Over You
If you are not from Massachusetts or another cranberry-producing region, the word 'bog' may evoke some scary and unpleasant connotations. However, when you hear someone talking about bogs, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are keeping a mummified body in their basement.
Most likely, they are discussing cranberry farming. Cranberries are grown in bogs, and these areas are flooded when harvest time arrives.
This is not the only interesting aspect of cranberries. Bogs are inhabited by fearsome wolf spiders, which help control the pest population. However, many people (most people) aren’t aware of this fact when applying for a job in cranberry bogs...
For some people, 'The Bog' spontaneously invokes images of bog bodies. Not very pleasant… It’s completely different in Massachusetts, though… Thank God.
Cranberries are grown in bogs. When it’s harvest time, the bogs are flooded, and the berries rise to the surface, where they are gathered using these hoops.
Farmers use wolf spiders to keep the pest population under control. It's far better than using pesticides.
This is all very nice until it’s time to flood the bog and collect the berries. There’s a good reason cranberry farmers ask potential employees if they’re okay with spiders...
It doesn’t sound like a pleasant experience, does it? Most of us don’t really mind spiders – when they are far away. That would probably change the minute they get on your face or into your hair. Would you be comfortable with this?
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