Friday Frivolity.

And now the down side of Spring.

A couple of days ago, I looked at the sunny side of life, a/k/a Spring, wherein I extolled the virtues of this season where we, in a four-season state, wait breathlessly for Mother Nature to toss us a bone to reinvigorate our Winter-weary souls.

Flowers are fleeting, because if the rain keeps pelting down on them, the petals will be dilapidated.  The inch of slushy snow that will grace our region tomorrow night (more in the northern ‘burbs and mid-state) and the accompanying chilly temps, just might be enough to knock those magnolia buds right off the branches. 

The rain is a pain and look what’s ahead:

Yes, raining cats and dogs most of the time this upcoming week!

This weather gives me “the willies”.

While Mother Nature is tormenting us with this incessant bad weather, it is more than just these torrential rains tampering with my walking regimen – the rain is bringing forth all the creepy crawlies.

Last weekend I turned on the hall light in the early morning to see a huge brown spider skittering along the ceiling.  For some people, their response is to simply climb on a stepstool with a Kleenex in hand (if they’re brave), or a paper towel (if they’re on the squeamish side or their aim is bad).  My mother would grab her mop to knock a spider or centipede down from the ceiling, but often she was not quick enough to squash them on the floor, and, if they landed on the carpet, chances of mashing them to a pulp were slim to none.  Then they’d be “at large” and that is even worse.  I have always worried that taking a mop or long-handled duster might flip a creepy crawly into my face, or it would land on my hair and I’d likely succumb on the spot. 

So that particular spider made a cocoon in the hall, seemingly a perfect chance for me to ambush it while it was relaxing.  But no, I thought it might stay up there forever.  Of course the next morning it was gone.

That spider, (at least I assume it was the same one), next appeared in the kitchen two days later.  I turned the light on in the morning, and it was sitting in the curtain over the sink grinning at me.  I let out a little scream and jumped back, so my sudden movement caused it to run down the backsplash and behind the toaster and it didn’t come out again.  I guess that’s a snuggly little spot, under the toaster cover.  Right then I made up my mind that I’d never make toast ever again, until I saw its lifeless body.

As you know, I work from home and my work station is right at the kitchen table, so that day I spent some angst-filled moments wondering if it might join me over here.  My eyes kept glancing over to the counter area wondering if it was similarly sneaking a peek at me?

The more rain we have, the more creepy crawlies.  This morning a spider was on the bedroom ceiling and I can only hope this is the same spider traveling around the house.  This time I just KNEW it had to be dealt with.  In the bedroom, well that’s just a big no-no.  Mustering all the bravado that I could, I ran down the hall, grabbed the long-handled duster and unrolled half of the roll of paper towels to attack this beast.  Heart pumping, adrenalin flowing, I ran back into the bedroom only to find it gone.  OMG!  At large in the bedroom!   Hastily, since the long-duster duster was handy, I coated it with peppermint oil and swabbed here, there and everywhere all around the house, hoping that scent would cause it to return outside.  Now it smells like Starlight Mints all around the house. 

It seems the little ants have shown up as well.  I can deal with them, though I don’t like having them around.  I’ve seen about ten so far and put out two low saucers of cornmeal and left a drip at the kitchen sink tap so they can promptly eat, drink and instead of being merry, they’ll explode when the cornmeal plumps up once the water reaches it.  Yes, even me, the nature lover, would be okay with this happening.

Back in the Summer of 2017, I decided to get whole-house insulation.  I was tired of kitchen cabinets that were freezing all Winter and sweltering hot all Summer.  I researched to determine the best type of insulation and decided on a company that uses two kinds of products, and tailors it to different areas of the home.  When the salesman came to the house, I was already sold on the idea of getting insulation, but I let him do his spiel anyway.  At the very end, he said “and I have an added bonus that will make you very happy – I assume you’re like most women and hate bugs, right?” [Well, that was a sexist comment, as fellow blogger Laurie loves bugs.] I emphatically responded “yes – I’m scared to death of centipedes and spiders and consider them the bane of my existence!”  He laughed, then told me the cellulose insulation had special properties that were a natural bug repellent and I’d never see another bug in the house again.  “So where do I sign?” I asked. 

Well, that big job was done in early June 2017, and, not only did I have a colossal mess which took me every weekend in June and July to clean up, but I’ve had more creepy crawlies than ever before, including this creature that I found on my bar of gelatin hand soap in the bathroom last Spring.  I almost had a heart attack when I saw it, but still had the presence of mind to photograph it in case it became the subject of a blog post one day.   (Yup, pretty shameful on part.) 

There he was, this big bugger stationed on my soap dish. This was a glycerin soap, and it was messy and broke apart in the dish, but he liked it fine.

I studied this creature, then steeled myself with a wad of paper towel clutched in my now-sweaty palm, but I could not squash that THING to save my life.  Even seeing the photo now just makes me shudder.   So instead, I grabbed a plastic bowl from the kitchen and covered the entire soap dish.  I figured the bowl would suffocate that centipede and I’d dispose of it the next day.

There is the eloquent pheasant under glass and then there is tacky centipede under bowl.

I pushed it to the far corner of the vanity out of my sight (but not out of my mind).  I even weighted down the bowl with a ceramic soap dish.  That centipede lingered not only a day or two, but weeks.  I’d turn the light on in the bathroom and it would scurry around the rim of the bowl like a race horse around the track oval.  I wondered if this was to taunt me? 

The wily centipede is under the bowl and secured by a ceramic dish. I was not taking any chances of it escaping.

Finally it died and I scooped the entire contraption into a garbage bag and ran it outside as soon as possible, lest it was playing possum.

I absolutely hate that this towering human is reduced to hyperventilation by the mere appearance of a critter with multiple legs, that runs faster than she does, but it is what it is. 

I hope the weather improves, and no more torrential rain, just the garden-variety type of rain, so I can (maybe) venture out in my new waterproof walking shoes and walk with the worms.

[Image of raining cats and dogs from Pinterest]

About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and in 2013 I decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things seen on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, so my blog is peppered with folks I meet or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post. I respect and appreciate nature and my interactions with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. I retired in March 2024 after a career in the legal field. I was a legal secretary for almost 45 years, primarily working in downtown Detroit, then working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Mass Communications (print journalism) in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I would like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met, shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. I hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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70 Responses to Friday Frivolity.

  1. I’m with you….bugs have their place and it’s not in my house! My secret to getting rid of bugs on the wall or ceiling is with a lambs wool duster. You put it on the spider or bug and gently twist the duster back and worth like in a twisting motion and the bug gets caught. Then I walk outside and tap the duster until the bug falls off. Works every time.

    Liked by 2 people

    • lindasschaub says:

      I love that idea Diane! I had a long-handled lamb’s wool duster awhile ago and it got flattened out so I had to switch to Swiffer. I used to buy them at a light store for dusting on ceiling fans. I will find another lambs wool duster as I like this method. I can deal with other bugs but not spiders and centipedes – they just rattle my nerves!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. AnnMarie R stevens says:

    Dear Miss Linda……………………………….I truly enjoyed your Friday blog this evening………………..you not only made me smile………………………I was chuckling out loud……………………yes its the season of the spiders in the house……………………I just squashed 2 today but I only used a 1/3 of a roll of paper towels not the WHOLE roll!

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      I know we share our similar disdain, not to mention fear, of spiders and centipedes Ann Marie. I am very uneasy these days and this morning, my eyes were barely open and I walked down the hall and something dark ran along the baseboard. I had on a pair of fllp flops as I keep my moccasins in a box overnight and hadn’t changed into them yet … I have a fear of something running into them then slipping into my shoes. I could not get the bug by stomping on it, it ran too fast and now it, too, is lost somewhere. I am beside myself.

      Like

  3. Laurie says:

    Linda, you know my feelings about spiders. I am definitely in the pro-spider camp. Ants are another thing entirely. I hate seeing ants in my house. I set up boric acid traps and watch gleefully as the ants congregate around the boric acid trap, only to take the tainted treat back to the nest to share it with all their ant-friends. It’s safe and effective. Gets rid of ants with no harmful chemical sprays.

    You will think I am crazy, but I usually help those daddy long leggers out of the bathtub when they get caught in there. At worst, I will transport them outside.

    Hope you stay dry this week. As I type this (in Colorado) we are in the middle of a terrific thunder/lightning/hail storm. Very exciting!

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      Hi Laurie – Yes, I know you like spiders and centipedes and I tried to share the link to the post you recently wrote (04/14) about them. For some reason, this new Gutenberg editor had an issue with the link. I liked before how we could embed a link into the post, but when I tried that, it did not work, I left the link in the middle of the sentence and launched the post. I didn’t think to open the link in “preview” and afterward I checked it and it said “oops – no link exists” … I was irritated as I wanted people to see that some people are kind-hearted toward bugs. I had to go back in and edit the link and remove it.
      I’ve already seen one big something scurry down the hall this morning, but I didn’t have shoes on, (I keep them in a plastic box overnight as scared something will run into them), had leather flip flops on, and wasn’t fast enough. The ants … never had them til about 5 years ago and went to bed last night and saw 2 tiny ants on the blanket and so had a fitful night thinking of other ants nearby. I will get some of the boric acid traps then. Wish the spiders and centipedes liked them too. The big storm you are having is a result of the warm weather you were enjoying yesterday when you were at the beach? I hope the weather improves too – all the rain will be frustrating to the walking regimen as well as to the bug situation!

      Liked by 1 person

      • Laurie says:

        The link must have worked eventually. I got a pingback.

        I make the boric acid traps myself, Linda. I mix Borax with some honey and put some out on some wax paper. It’s very effective.

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        Hmm. I retested it a second time after I removed it and replaced it, but the link was still broken. I didn’t understand that at all. I was bummed as I wanted to share that post to show some people like bugs. Well, you know the thought was there Laurie. I went grocery shopping this morning and looked for ant traps, thinking that the little tins were what you used and they had nothing on the shelves. Now I know you make it yourself I will try this. I should have bought some Boric acid as I have honey and wax paper here. Thanks for sharing this idea Laurie. Last night I found two ants on the bed. I was horrified. Yes, they are small but worried about bites and don’t want them in bed for goodness sake. We had carpenter ants years ago. A flying ant built a nest downstairs in the fluorescent light. We had a pest control service for years and had to get rid of three trees. The pest service (Orkin) could not get rid of the carpenter ants (even with the trees removed) and our HVAC guy suggested his pest control service he used on his rental homes (for roaches). They were a small company, came in and found the nest in the light right away and sprayed with marigold dust (non-toxic) and we never had ants again.

        Like

      • Laurie says:

        So glad to read you found a non-toxic effective bug killer. One of my science fair students did a project one time about how effective marigold extract was at killing flour beetles. Very effective, as it turns out!

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        My mom and I wished we found them instead of hiring Orkin. Orkin went through the house and drilled a hole every 18 inches in the baseboard and puffed some strong Diazinon-type powder into each hole. That was every other month and alternate months they used a white milky substance around the perimeter of rooms – all rooms. It did not saturate the carpet nor stain the floor and not as strong a smell as we used to have at the diner (they sprayed for bugs once/month all around the diner – we never had a single bug except fishflies on the outside of the restaurant as it was all white). This company honed in on the nest – I told Orkin I was in the basement and saw a flying ant bopping around the fluorescent light but Orkin never pursued looking there. This guy found the nest in minutes and removed the dropped ceiling and sprayed the marigold dust – ants fell out before he slid the ceiling panel back. I wonder what is in the marigolds? I have heard of using them to plant around annuals to keep squirrels or other critters from getting into the flower bed or planters. They don’t like the strong smell of marigolds evidently.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Laurie says:

        I used to know the active chemicals, but I forget now. There is a website – Dr. Duke Phytobotanical database – where you can look up the active chemicals in any plant. Lots of good info there for my science fair students.

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        Okay thank you Laurie – it was much safer than what Orkin used and I continued to have spider and centipede sprayings around the perimeter of the basement, garage and the entire perimeter of the house 4X a year and that stuff smelled strong and the guy used heavy gloves to handle it – this was much safer.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. susieshy45 says:

    Linda,
    This is another aspect of spring I never knew about. Oh, I can understand your willies with the creepies. My daughter is like that – with lizards. They come out in the summer too and she screams the place down. The cockroaches are my bane and I can’t stand them but I am not squeamish- so can get rid of them. My husband on the other hand carries them in his bare hands and throws them out.
    Susie

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      We always get bugs in Spring and Summer and some in Fall but not as much and rarely in Winter. They come up the drains and I keep my drains shut except when I use the sink(s) but it doesn’t help – they could come up the registers. I was sprayed for bugs for years in the basement and garage with a strong spray around the perimeter of each, but I stopped when I had birds as it is bad for them. I am terrified of bugs. We had cockroaches at work in the kitchen and I always got there early (as I took the bus to work and had to worry a bus might not show up, so took a bus before what time I needed). I would walk around and turn on all the lights, then go into the kitchen and start the coffee and if I saw a cockroach, which happened every so often, I’d scream. I visited friends of the family in Puerto Rico the year I graduated high school (present from my parents) and they lived in an apartment building- a huge bush or cactus, I can’t remember now, was right outside and every time you walked by it to get to the garage, lizards would run out. I was beside myself. But they ran away, I’m scared the spider or centipede will run onto me. Logically, that will never happen. I’ve already seen something big this morning – not sure what it was, it moved too fast and disappeared into a room before I could get it and likely ran under the couch. I can squish them on the floor. Your husband is brave Susie.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Life On The Patio says:

    Thank you for this post! I share your ‘pain’. And, it sure was nice to read!😊

    Like

    • lindasschaub says:

      Thanks for sharing my pain. I am always like this about bugs, always have been, especially spiders and centipedes, and my angst is doubled in Springtime when they come out in full force, especially given all our rainy days. Ugh to bugs!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Michael says:

    Oh my that’s A downside indeed

    Liked by 2 people

  7. That was a CENTIPEDE? Ugh. I’m never gonna sleep now…

    Liked by 2 people

    • lindasschaub says:

      Yes, and they have a million legs as you can see and they travel at lightning speed. I am very scared of them. I don’t deal with them in the basement well either and though the basement is finished, they are still down there. I scan every room I walk into all year around, but this time of year, I am very worried about them running out over my feet. I turned on the light to walk down the hall this morning and something scurried down the hall and ran into the other room and under the couch. I have every light in the house on right now, hoping it will come out. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      • Eek. I hate bugs… Just the thought of something tiny crawling around in the dark, unknown, unseen, disturbs me to no end. And generally all I have to deal with is spiders! I can’t imagine having a basement haunted by those… Things. You have my sympathies.

        Liked by 2 people

      • lindasschaub says:

        Thank you – I have no words sometimes to describe me when I see a bug … the ants are just an annoyance, but I don’t want an ant bite and they come in every Spring lately, (in fact, never had little ants til 5 years ago — more climate change mischief going on?) and they disappear in a few weeks, The centipedes move too fast, and I’m terrified of them and the spiders as well. There is a spider now that I saw this morning – couldn’t get him and he’s at large in the house … not very big, but there nonetheless and I am uneasy.

        Liked by 2 people

  8. Shelley says:

    OMG – you’re so funny, Linda! I adore your bug catching techniques! I shared this post on my post for the day, I hope you don’t mind. Happy Saturday!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      Thank you – I am flattered Shelley! I am terrified of bugs and this morning I had still another centipede and he was on the carpet. I lost him at first, and he turned up in my room. I can kill them if I stomp on them (this one I ground his guts into the carpet, so had to sponge it off before I left and I used to kill them in the basement by putting full cans of paint over top of them and crushing them – so brave!)

      Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley says:

        LOL – I’m quick to kill the bugs too. I can’t stand creepy crawly little things like centipedes. It’s strange, when I was a little kid, I was fascinated by them and would play with them. I wonder why I’m scared of them now?

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        I am totally undone by bugs Shelley – always have been. Yesterday I got a centipede and that’s because it was on the rug. I saw a spider on the wall this morning and I had not changed into moccasins, (keep them covered up at night … yes fear of creepy crawlies going inside them overnight) so I didn’t feel I could step up on the wall (low down) and get it securely. Changed into sturdy soled shoes – it was gone. I am very frustrated.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley says:

        Our cats do most of the bug hunting for us. We live in a rural area, next to a field with lots of bugs around…so you would not like it here!!

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        You’re right – I’d like the rural setting for the deer and the peace and quiet, but not the bugs and/or mice if you have them. But your view and peace and quiet are a real draw.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley says:

        I’ll take the bugs, just to keep the peace and quiet!

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        Our houses are too close together and I have a doberman on the corner who begins barking in the 4:00 o’clock hour most mornings and as late as 11:00 p.m. many nights. The best time for sleeping is on rainy nights as it does not get put outside then, but it is outside all day and I hear it while at work. The houses are very close together in this neighborhood … my neighbor sneezes in her room and I hear it in the kitchen. But I have a fear of bugs – one is in my room again (maybe the same one) and at large. Saw it when I got up this morning … too much angst this early in the morning!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley says:

        Yikes! I know I couldn’t stand living that close to neighbors again. I did when I was young, but once we moved out here in the country, I’m sold on the rural setting. I hope your day gets better!! xx

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Joni says:

    That was funny and informative. I never knew you could get rid of ants with cornmeal. The pictures were priceless too. Luckily all of my bugs which are mostly centipedes seem to confine themselves to the basement so I seldom see them. The odd one which ventures to the kitchen for a snack might find himself disappointed with the lack of food and is soon evicted as I can with a big enough wad of paper towels dispose of them although I don’t like it. I once had a mouse in my house and trying to dispose of that was truly disgusting.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      That is supposed to work Joni, that or cream of wheat as well. I did that post and Laurie (who likes centipedes and spiders but not ants) gave me a recipe for ants:

      I make the boric acid traps myself, Linda. I mix Borax with some honey and put some out on some wax paper. It’s very effective.

      I will try that – I looked for traps today but Meijer had not a single one. I did not like finding two on the bed last night – I’m not scared of ants at all, but I don’t want to get bitten either. I really can’t kill them with paper towels – afraid they’ll get away and run over me. If I had a mouse in the house, I don’t know what I’d do – I don’t like spiders and centipedes as they go so fast, especially centipedes. This one in the bathroom – the look on my face when I saw it. That soap is very soft and I knew I could not use the dish again, let alone the soap. I wish I was not this way, but I can’t see me changing anytime soon.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Joni says:

        With the mouse, I made my grass-cutter bait the traps with cheese and peanut butter (apparently that works best), and then put one in the living room and and one down in the basement. But he doesn’t live near me anymore, so I knew it would be up to me to dispose of the body, so I bought a big cheap plastic Tuperware container at the dollar store and set the whole trap inside it. Then the next morning when it was lying there dead and disgusting, I simply put the top on the container and put the whole thing directly into the outside trash can – so I did not have to handle it at all…..of course I threw the trap out too, but I haven’t seen another mouse since so I haven’t needed it. Many years ago I had a bird in the house (that’s supposed to be a sign of bad luck), which got in through the ashes outlet in the fireplace (no longer used), which I had to chase around with a broom, but not before it crapped all over things. I also had a dead squirrel one year, which got in through the same outlet – it starved to death, in the basement and started to smell. I had set aside some boxes for the Goodwill and was sorting through them and saw/smelt it. That was
        so horrible I made my nephew take it outside on the handle of a shovel. I didn’t want him to touch it either, and he buried it in the backyard for me. The thought of it just made me sick. All these critters belong outside!

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        Oh, that is a horrible series of findings Joni. I hate finding a dead bird in the yard and always am upset it can’t happen to someone like next door who will just pick it up and put it in the yard waste bag and not think anything of it – nope, I get my shirt in the knot about it, picking it up with the shovel, and dealing with the body. I am not good with that stuff either and I would do that with the plastic container as well. Look what I did with the centipede… I was so mad that it did that – it really scared me!

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Mackenzie says:

    Oh man, that weather does not look so promising. I don’t do with spiders either! It’s the worst feeling when you don’t know where it went!

    I cannot believe the centipede lasted as long as it did!! Sheesh!

    I hope the weather improves ASAP to keep the creepy crawlies away. Thanks for sharing, Linda!

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      I had another spider this morning and I don’t know where he went. The centipedes terrify me as they go so fast. I don’t know how that centipede lasted so long – every day I thought I should pick up the whole contraption and take it outside, but I was afraid it would escape. The Midwest was all supposed to get snow … we were slated to get two inches of snow, even up to midnight last night when I went to bed and this morning I woke up and nothing there. Silly weather!

      Liked by 1 person

      • Mackenzie says:

        Ahhhhh!! The centipedes are the worst of them all.

        Wait STILL supposed to get snow?! Oh my gooodness I can hardly believe that! But glad you didn’t end up getting any?! Hopefully it’s not just delayed!

        Like

      • lindasschaub says:

        Yes, and I have a small bite on my forearm this morning, so I’m all aflutter about it. I didn’t have it when I went to bed – ugh and eek! We did not get the predicted snow – it turned from rain to snow overnight, but was warm enough in the early hours of Sunday morning to thwart the snow settling – good. Last night was just a rain event but only 40 degrees and below freezing wind chill/real feel so that predicted snow did not happen either. I’m glad for no snow, but I think the weathermen need new models or to go back to meteorology school!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Mackenzie says:

        Oh no! I hope it’s all resolved and no more bites by now!

        Hahah yes maybe he needs some continuing education credits as we call them in nursing 😆

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Hope the prppermint keeps these unwanted house guests away. I am lucky I can’t see them 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      I hope so too Zena, but what if you felt one running over your foot? I’d have heart palpitations for sure. We are sometimes better off not knowing what is going on, but it sure is worrisome to me to wake up in the morning and see a spider on my bedroom ceiling … gulp! What if he lost his footing during the night. 🙂 And to have it disappear and wonder where it is is just too much to bear. Oh did I mention I am 179 cm. tall (5 ‘ 9″) and afraid of a little bug?

      Like

  12. We get some ants every spring. I just wash them away with a soapy paper towel. Ants bother me, but not spiders. Those I just move outside unless it’s a black widow spider. Those spiders are poisonous, but I don’t see them often. As for the rest of those creepy crawlers, we don’t get many inside. Hopefully you don’t get too many more of them!

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      You are a brave woman Sabine. I had a run for a few days and the action seemed to die down but I saw another spider this morning – that gives me some angst as it was on the ceiling in my room, and I was watching it, went away, came back and it was gone. We’ve had some black widow spiders too – twice in bags of grapes still on the stems, purchased from Kroger and at different times for that and not at the same store. And the produce clerk told me they had a huge, live tarantula-like spider in a box of bunches of bananas.

      Like

  13. Ally Bean says:

    Bugs are icky. I don’t want them near me, but will not faint if I see one. I have no issues with them in general, but do not care for them as individuals. There’s a moral in there, I’m sure.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      Ha ha – I can deal with them better outside where I feel they are in their own domain, however, they the big fat spiders like to make a big web at the garage door on the driver’s side. So at least once a year I have some outside angst on how to deal with the web and spider as I can’t squeeze past it to get to the car. In late August, walking to the Park, there are often spiders who spin these almost invisible webs across the sidewalk overnight – I’m constantly feeling like a cloak of spider webs is descending on me.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. I suffered with you in spirit last year. I hope you find the magic to remove all critters you don’t want.

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      Thank you for your well wishes Anne – that is, of course, the same centipede on the soap that you suffered with me in spirit with last May. I scan each and every room I walk into, all year around, for a bug(s). But especially now with this never-ending rain. A week of rain coming up – the bugs will be seeking a warm and dry spot to hunker down. A spider was in my room this morning – turned on the light and saw it on the ceiling – made me feel ill and thinking what if it lost it’s footing in the middle of the night? He is at large right now and I hope he migrated to another room.

      Like

      • I wish you had a different choice of words for a loose spider. “At large” is too threatening. *shiver*

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      • lindasschaub says:

        I don’t like the frequent incidents of spiders and centipedes upstairs Anne. The ants don’t bother me, but I don’t want them scurrying around and though I’ve not seen one since Sunday morning, this morning I woke up with a tiny bite on my forearm. Monday morning I had a spider in my room and as you know it was “at large” – I’m not sure what type of bite it is, but it’s small and not red, but I’m upset about it.

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      • I’d want to sleep in a space suit if that happened to me. Poor you!

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        I’m not looking forward to going to bed to be honest and I found 5 ants altogether today so not happy about that either. A space suit sounds perfect to me or I’ll need to learn how to sleep standing up!

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      • John could sleep standing up in the subway.

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      • lindasschaub says:

        I killed a huger spider in the hall this morning – hope it was the one that’s been following me around.l It was on the wall so I whacked it with a shoe – now I have to wash the hall wall. I got another ant bite – this one is bigger – hopefully not the spider. I’m horrified. We had 3.2 inches of rain and it is still raining – this was just overnight. Everything is flooded – expressways and no school. I was in the subway in NY at rush hour and people are like sardines – I think sleeping is possible. My grandmother took the streetcar from downtown Toronto to the end of her street for years. She fell asleep every night and there was no conductor except the main car, and no one woke her up – half the time she’d end up way past her stop at Lansdowne and Dundas Avenues. 🙂

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      • That is some story about your grandmother. Hope you dry out soon and recover from all your insect infestations.

        Liked by 1 person

      • lindasschaub says:

        Yes, we used to tease her about it – she worked in a cafeteria for years in the prep area getting the food ready. It was in the downtown Toronto business district and she started really early in the morning for the workers who came in for breakfast before they began work. So she’d get finished around 3:30 or so and fall asleep every night. I remember asking why she did not want to sit in the front car where the conductor was and he might call her name and she’d wake up. But she said she just grabbed anything to get home and be off her feet. Our City still has some flooded areas and according to the crime forum that I follow on Facebook, many people lost belongings from the water. We have more rain tonight and tomorrow as well. The lakes/rivers and streams have crested and overflowing. This is unusual – in some cases, these bodies of water have never been so high before. The insects and bites have gotten to me to be honest … especially the last big bite – the little one was okay, just a little hard knob on my arm, but this was open so I wonder who/what bit me and it had to be while sleeping. I’m not liking Spring anymore than I liked Winter!

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      • Surely the bugs will leave soon!

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      • lindasschaub says:

        I hope so Anne – I am beyond squeamish and afraid to go to bed. I was downstairs ensuring there was no water and I felt something on my hand and an ant was running on the top of my hand.

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  15. best way to get rid of spiders,wasps etc is with a vacuum. Vacuums with a detachable wand only work.

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    • lindasschaub says:

      I’m all aflutter this morning because there was a spider in my room Monday morning and he went missing – he was on the ceiling and I lost him and worried he fell into the bed. This morning I woke up with a small bite on my forearm. It’s not red, doesn’t hurt, but I don’t like the idea of bugs upstairs – downstairs I can handle, … well, it is easier to deal with the idea as it is a basement. I have nothing in my laundry room but the washer/dryer/sink and the furnace and the walls are painted light green, floor tiled light green so I can see if bugs are anywhere. The rest of the basement is paneled in a dark wood … that worries me as bugs are easily seen.

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  16. daisydust02 says:

    Bugs are so icky, i don’t want them near me…

    Liked by 1 person

    • lindasschaub says:

      Me neither and I have killed several centipedes and spiders upstairs as we’ve had nothing but rain the last two or three weeks. I hate bugs and am afraid of them. And I still have these baby ants. I never had ants before until about four years ago and got them for a few days in the kitchen … I have had about 10 in the kitchen (nervy too … I work from home and one crawled on my hand while I was typing) and the rest have been in my bedroom, a few in my bed. I am beside myself! I’m not scared of them – I can deal with them but don’t want them in my bed or bedroom. I’ve been bitten twice already!

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