Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Stop Bugging Me!

        The Lousiana Diares: Surrenders, to the exterminator! (Warning: This post may contain graphic descriptions of insects!). Bugs are the name of the game in these parts. Mary -- great hunter of lizards, tree frogs, toads and garden snakes - actually collects the shed skin of ciccadians (gulp). The constant exposure has eliminated any dislike I had of bugs, including spiders. (This occurred last year... during a trip to a friend's cabin in rural Texas where a very large spider had taken up residence atop the front door. We looked it up and it was harmless. The more I looked at it, the less fearful I became -- this approach seems to be akin to the exposure therapy used to help people overcome phobias).
 
       So it is with relief I now do not get excited about any insect. Now, some, including water beetles -- otherwise known as large cockroaches -- do get killed -- squashed that is, if necessary. But them, like some spiders, leave such a mess that it's easier to grab a pile of papertowel and MOVE offending invader outdoors (fortunately, we rarely find water beetles, unless dead in the morning after the cats have played with it all night). 
 
       We have even taken to gently moving crickets that find their way in and the occasional spider. But the countless spider webs I remove off the back walls of the house and the near constant small spider stomping has gotten to me. I have finally called in an exterminator to spray house and to come back on a quarterly basis. I may not be afraid anymore, but time to boot them all out!