Strong flatmate bonds are forged in the fire of battle. When invasion forces come against you, the trials of war and the emotional journey will shortcut months of "getting used to each other". Flatmates united against the terrors of evil.
I speak, of course, of bugs.
At 11 o'clock last night, the new flatty and I confronted an enormous huntsman on the wall between our two bedroom doors. K is phobic. I'm alright with spiders but I'd rather have them out of the house before I go to sleep. As the least frightened, I was the frontline, while K was the tactical support.
There are 3 options. Squash, spray, or capture and release.
Squash is out, because Yuck. Squashed spider is no better than alive spider. Also, what if it's not a clean kill? I might injure or enrage it.
Spray is out, because it seems inhumane to spray larger bugs. Cockroaches I'll spray, but a big spider reminded me of the spider in Harry Potter that gets the Cruciatus Curse on it. All that writhing and pain. Also, all we have is surface spray. Can that be used directly on bugs to kill them? I'm not sure. Again, it might not be a clean kill.
So that left capture and release. K gave me a large 4L, clear decor container. And 2 cans of surface spray for backup. I stood there for 5 minutes moaning about how ugly it was and wishing I didn't have to be the one to do it, while K was moral support from the safety of the kitchen. Eventually logic kicked in: since the spider didn't move with all my screaming and jumping when I first saw it, I decided it probably wouldn't run around if I snuck up on it with the clean container. I covered it successfully, but when I bumped its foot to get it off the corner, it ran all around in the container and I screamed again. (It's interesting: I don't think of myself as the screaming sort, but it's an involuntary reaction I developed in my 20s.)
I got it outside, but in the dark I couldn't see if it was going out of the container. I was shaking it out and it was hanging on. I thought it was gone, picked the box up, and screamed again when I saw it on the box next to my hand. K leapt to my aid, providing backup again with a small book-light so that I could rescue my box in safety.
Such trials build unity and respect. Flatmates united against a common foe will be strengthened to withstand the smaller irritations of flat-sharing.
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Yes, you need someone who can kill bugs and reach high places. Nicole used to be my bug saviour on 2 fronts. She was a catch and release type. I'm a squash and spray type. Phone books and thongs are the weapon of choice. :P
ReplyDeleteYou can use surface spray on a spider but it takes a lot to kill it because it won't kill instantly and it may run off some where. Surface spray typically doesn't do much to deter spiders because it just catches on the hair of their legs. It will only be effective in killing spiders say if one spider eats another spider that has the surface spray on its legs. There's some random general knowledge for ya ;)
That's a handy to know re the surface spray. I had a vague idea that it only hurt their eyes, so you got a blind+angry spider. Plus, hahahahaa!
ReplyDeleteHuntsmen, though scary, are your allies because they eat all the other spiders that you would have to otherwise squash!
ReplyDeleteI forgot that! An alliance... interesting possibility.
ReplyDeleteAargghhh!!! Whar a gory story!!! I'm proud of K (& you) because she managed to at least provide moral support even when she's phobic. I'm super phobic, & I'd run out of the room.
ReplyDelete