Thursday, June 26, 2008

I might be up late

I've written about spiders before, and how much I dislike them. I don't like to, but I am perfectly willing to squish any spider that I find in my house. And for a while I was also willing to let the spider living behind the kitchen sink stay - so I could throw any ants I found into it's web. It was serving a purpose. I may hate ants in my kitchen more than I hate spiders. Or maybe not.


But the big spiders, the ones that are furry and run
faster than fast - are always a problem. If I'm not fast enough they are gone and I sit and keep checking my arms, my feet, where ever I feel the slightest itch - because I just KNOW that spider wants nothing more than to climb on ME. Uh huh.


If I AM fast enough, then what? These spiders are too big to squish with a Kleenex, and smacking them
with something is gross because they crunch. Not to mention that they leave a big splotch if they are on a wall.


Recently when I spot
ted a can of something that was supposed to kill spiders and things like scorpions on contact, I knew the stuff was for me. I bought it without hesitation, and put it on the floor next to the couch within easy reach so I would be armed when the moment arose. Except somehow, the can of stuff got put away! Go figure!


Which is why tonight when I caught the flash of something running across the carpet I was caught without anything to use against the varmint. The first thing that occurred to me was - containment! I jumped off the couch and grabbed a small plastic
container from the bookcase, because I may put the bug spray away but Lord knows Rubbermaid can dress up a living room like nobodies business!


I thunked the container over the spider and sat for a minute with my finger pushing down on the bottom, now top, of the plastic container. What to do, what to do? Knowing the spider had Herculean strength I plopped a stone coaster on it to hold it down and ran into the kitchen, got the magic spray, and gave it a test spray onto a paper towel held over the sink. Click. Click? A spray can isn't supposed to click when you push down on the button. NOTHING came out. Click click click. Wha-a-a.


Now I have a spider under a small Rubbermaid container with coasters (I added another for weight), sitting in my living room. I actually feel bad for the spider, seeing him go round and round and I picture him in there gasping for air as he dies a slow and agonizing death. Yeah, I should BE so lucky.


Spider is very much alive, although he has stopped moving around a lot, I think he finally figured out he's not going anywhere. And me? I am sitting in a way that I can keep my eye
on him, making sure the cats don't tip the container over, and reassuring myself that he has not escaped and crawling up my leg as I write.


Let the cats have him you say? Did I hear that? Um, no. These cats might chase him a bit, even try to take a whack at him. But the spider would get away and I would be dealing with it anyway.


Enjoy the really bad photographs, I'll be right here. Watching the spider. *yawn* I might be up late tonight.


What am I waiting for? I'm waiting for my daughter to get home. She has decided everything has a right to live, and regularly captures and releases spiders back out into the wild that is our front yard. This is right up her alley. Gah-h!


~You can always click on the pictures to see them bigger but the photos are so bad it probably won't help. Yuk.


**Edited to add - Dani came home and, never taking the phone from her ear - she slid a piece of paper beneath the cup and deftly moved the spider to freedom. And glad to do it too. Now I can leave the room and get ready for bed. Nite all!





8 comments:

  1. I do the same thing, release the spiders back into the wild. The flies, however, don't get equal treatment. I usually swat them. With cows and donkeys nearby, flies are a never ending supply in the house so drastic measures have to be taken.

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  2. I know people who catch and release bugs from their house. UHHHHH if it is unfortunate to find it's way into my house, it is dead dead dead!!!

    I know how you feel about the crunch factor and sometimes you look at the size of the bug and think "anything I try to hit it with will now become it's weapon against me!".

    Here's my tip for fast critters that try to get away. Hairspray. If you spray em with hairspray the tiny hairs on their legs gets stiff and slows those suckers down long enough for you to find your can o' bugs be dead.

    I know it sounds awful and I leave bugs alone when they're outside but inside is my domain and the only kinda bug in my house is a dead bug!

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  3. i am exactly the same way. i would have done pretty much the same thing you did. :-P

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  4. I am all for the idea that if a bug comes into my house it us subject to the consequences. I usually dispose of them quickly. But - but - sometimes the spiders are just too creepy.

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  5. I can so relate to your very well told story there.. I hate spiders and dread seeing them in my home!

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  6. Oh god, this had me in stitches! I HATE spiders, HATE them.....I can sort of put up with em in the garden but not in my house! You would think living in an all male household one of the guys would have been brave enough to KILL it....................not on your life. My eldest is scared senseless, big strapping 18 year old and youngest and hubby no better so its left to me to suck up hoover and then leave it running for an hour, its a dyson, so hopefully if its still alive it will have no bloody legs with which to run!

    xxx

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  7. HA HA HA, oh that was a funny post. I can't stand spiders either. I have a friend that will pick them up and take them outside, I just scream for a husband or kid to come step on it. Oh, I hate it when I'm girly, but spiders are icky.

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  8. I really do kill most of them, but if my daughter is around she gets offended if I kill anything. So I let her rescue them. But those nasty fast big spiders - yuk. Not good with those. And last time this kind of spider ran by me I sprayed him with a good 5 pumps of hairspray and I never did see where he went. I think that works on the smaller less muscular spiders. Blech!

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