I once read somewhere that there are more insects on this earth than there are people. And lately I’m beginning to believe this theory. Just a week ago this grasshopper spent the best part of the weekend hanging on for dear life on the glass of my living room window.
A photographic attempt
to make an insect look like a design item.
to make an insect look like a design item.
And tonight, when coming home for work, I found another intruder. This one had actually found its way into the apartment and quickly scurried into safety under a small lamp stand by the entrance door. At first, in the penumbra, I mistook it for a dark feather or a dot of dust floating across the floor. Why the darkness, you’ll ask, as it was only half past four when I got home. Well, when the temperatures are really high and the sun is shining at full strength, like it is nowadays, I find that the only way to keep to temperature in the apartment to a reasonable level is by tightly keeping the curtains shut during the day.
But back to my agile intruder. It didn’t take long before I realized that it wasn’t a fluffy dot of dust, but a real, one-inch in diameter black spider; the kind that makes women scream and jump onto chairs. Not me! No, because although heights give me vertigo and the fact that I’m a complete wimp when it comes to driving a car or diving into water, I’m not afraid of spiders. On the contrary! Don't worry, I would never keep a Tarantula as a pet, but I’d rather have one of those creeping over my arm than performing a Benji jump!
How to I explain this? Very simple; my mother has always been a big fan of spiders. For as long as I can remember I’ve never seen my mother jump with fright at the sight of a spider. When she finds a small spider in the house, she usually carefully picks it up between two fingers and puts it back in its natural habitat, the garden. When it’s a bit out of her league, she’ll try chasing it outside, urging it towards the door using a broom. Only if it won’t cooperate, she will kill it.
I guess I take after her. Small spiders are given a second chance. The large ones, I send to spider heaven. I don’t mind having them around as long as I can see them. But the thought of them walking over me while I’m asleep, doesn’t really appeal to me. Especially not since I’ve read somewhere that during our lives, we swallow at least a hundred insects while sleeping.
Regarding today’s visitor, I took out a broom and swiftly moved it around under the lamp stand under which the spider had disappeared. It didn’t take long before it reappeared, slightly stunned. Being lost for directions it gave me an opportunity to kill it. I won’t tell you how, but it was definitely more efficient than the method my friend used in the eighties when we were staying at a hotel in the Lorraine region in North-eastern France.
While I was changing in the bedroom before going down to have dinner, my friend called out to me to see this two-inch spider sitting in the bath tub. Instead of taking a shoe to kill it, he picked up my hair spray and generously sprayed it on the spider, giving it a completely new and spiky hairdo! But I guess 'punk' was in fashion then, wasn't it?
How do you react and act when you find a spider or any other creepy crawler for that matter in your home?
But back to my agile intruder. It didn’t take long before I realized that it wasn’t a fluffy dot of dust, but a real, one-inch in diameter black spider; the kind that makes women scream and jump onto chairs. Not me! No, because although heights give me vertigo and the fact that I’m a complete wimp when it comes to driving a car or diving into water, I’m not afraid of spiders. On the contrary! Don't worry, I would never keep a Tarantula as a pet, but I’d rather have one of those creeping over my arm than performing a Benji jump!
How to I explain this? Very simple; my mother has always been a big fan of spiders. For as long as I can remember I’ve never seen my mother jump with fright at the sight of a spider. When she finds a small spider in the house, she usually carefully picks it up between two fingers and puts it back in its natural habitat, the garden. When it’s a bit out of her league, she’ll try chasing it outside, urging it towards the door using a broom. Only if it won’t cooperate, she will kill it.
I guess I take after her. Small spiders are given a second chance. The large ones, I send to spider heaven. I don’t mind having them around as long as I can see them. But the thought of them walking over me while I’m asleep, doesn’t really appeal to me. Especially not since I’ve read somewhere that during our lives, we swallow at least a hundred insects while sleeping.
Regarding today’s visitor, I took out a broom and swiftly moved it around under the lamp stand under which the spider had disappeared. It didn’t take long before it reappeared, slightly stunned. Being lost for directions it gave me an opportunity to kill it. I won’t tell you how, but it was definitely more efficient than the method my friend used in the eighties when we were staying at a hotel in the Lorraine region in North-eastern France.
While I was changing in the bedroom before going down to have dinner, my friend called out to me to see this two-inch spider sitting in the bath tub. Instead of taking a shoe to kill it, he picked up my hair spray and generously sprayed it on the spider, giving it a completely new and spiky hairdo! But I guess 'punk' was in fashion then, wasn't it?
How do you react and act when you find a spider or any other creepy crawler for that matter in your home?
6 comments:
Hello:
OOOh we do not like creepy crawlies and the thought of your touching spiders made us feel quite queasy. We do not like killing anything and on most occasions we can manage to transport the offending creatures outdoors with the aid of our trusty glass and piece of cardboard trick. However, much as it pains us to tell, what matters become impossible to handle, then only the Dyson will do!!!!
Can't kill anything and have a humane spider catcher which gently sucks them up into a tube to be deposited outside.
SP
Poor spiders!
I always rescue them, even when they are large.
In the bath I catch them in a piece of loo paper or tissue , which i then fold over and shake out of the window. In the rest of the house I let them scurry into corners. When I can reach them, I do what I do with all insects: I put a glass over them, shove a piece of card or something between the opening and the surface and set them free outside. Whether they want to or not.
I am/was a translator/interpreter in days gone by.
Jane and Lance, Aren't you afraid that it might creep out of the Dyson? Okay, it may be a bit dizzy after being swirled around, but I bet it would soon recover ... After all, spiders are though ceatures.
SP, I don't have a humane spider catcher to take care of spiders for me. So I handle the problem the best I can.
Friko, Welcome to my blog and thank you for posting a comment. I admire your patience and spider catching skills. I guess I'm too clumpsy to take care of them effectively without hurting them :)!
P.S. It's always nice to 'meet' a fellow translator!
My most spidery moment was one evening, many years ago, when I was relaxing in a nice bath, reading a book by candlelight, a glass of wine by my side. There was a quiet "plop" as a huge spider descended from the ceiling and was then swimming towards me through the bubbles.
I did what I always do with spiders: scooped it up in my hand and gently dropped it out through the window. They are one of God's creatures and are entitled to be here and (apart from the odd notorious exception) do us no harm, so why kill them?
Jean, Wow, a marine spider! :) Did it have webbed feet? lol ...
I completely agree that spiders are very useful creatures and that we should respect them. But the thought of one crawling over me while I'm asleep is just a bit too hard to bear. However, I didn't expect so many people (well actually five) to react the way they did. I know lots of people who are afraid of spiders and therefore expected more terror stories ...
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