I bet this looks like just a glass on a piece of cardboard to you, doesn’t it? Well, you’d be wrong; wrong I say. It’s actually a cleverly disguised trap for disgusting creepy crawlies.
I cannot stand to squash, smash, smish, smoosh, squeeze, stomp or or otherwise annihilate insects. It just gives me the icks. Used to be, I’d make Jack deal with them, large or small, but that wasn’t an option when he was sick. I had to suck it up and handle the situation.
For the record, I’m not afraid of spiders or other creepy crawlies. Well, except for the ones that look like they ate Kansas for breakfast. It’s the smashing that I can’t stand.
The idea of picking up a spider in a tissue and flushing it down the toilet makes my skin crawl. WHAT IF IT CAN SWIM? HUH?
What happens when YOU SIT ON THE TOILET? HUH?
I have been known to avoid toilets with suspected swimming spiders for 24 hours or until someone else goes first. If they don’t come running out of the bathroom screaming about spiders up their arse, then I figure I’m probably safe.
We won’t even talk about stepping on them, smacking them with a magazine or using the vacuum. Just don’t go there. I can feel the itch crawling up my spine even thinking about it.
Since I don’t favor ceding the bathrooms to insects, I trap ‘em and throw them outside. A glass and a stiff piece of cardboard or poster board is all it takes. Works on nearly any surface: carpets, walls, counter tops. Once the insect is trapped you can move the glass around to slide the cardboard under and there’s no escaping. Works for moths, mud daubers and hornets that blunder into the house as well. Doesn’t hurt them, doesn’t require touching or squishing them.
I don’t know how long the insects survive when I pitch them outside in the middle of winter, but I figure that’s their problem. If they hadn’t been invading my space, they wouldn’t have ended up in trouble.
I like to think I’m being humane, but deep down I think I’m just neurotic.
For cockroaches, I still call Jack and leave the room. What I don’t know doesn’t make my skin crawl.
Oh, and I do wash the glass before putting it back in the cupboard. Just so you know.
You are just adorable.
Couldn’t you just leave the glasses with bugs under them for your Jack? Then he could deal with the little trespassers as he finds the glasses. ;^)
xo
I do the same thing minus the neurotic piece, but had to laugh at the bathroom scene you conjur up. I actually use a 4×6 index card that works really well in insect entrapment. I eagerly go after hornets- DH’s skin crawls with those and avoids them like the plague. Kind of funny as he’s 6′6″ and the insects are much more afraid of him.
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&p=44895&cat=2,51555
This thing saves us. You can manually close the trap on horizontal surfaces. I agree with you about sending the bug to its chilly fate. I hate bugs.
I can barely deal with anything that has a stinger and spiders are no fun for me either. You have a good system to handle them! At least you can get close to them. ;D
Love your glass!
I can bear to smash most bugs, but draw the line at two of them:
1) Spiders. Because they are actually on my team. They eat the bugs I *don’t* like. The key point is, they have to stay out of my face. Once they’re in my personal space, they gotta go outside.
2) Slugs. Because if I step on them, I’ll never ever ever ever get *all* that slimy gick off the bottom of my shoe and I’ll have to burn it. Erk. Slimy gick. (I usually just beat slugs with a rock. You can throw away a rock.)
Sorry, but the bee that bit me today got slapped and then smushed. Although he left a nasty bite, he did lose the attack. Do Gus or Cleo help at all? Insects don’t last long in our house as they make great pet toys
Sorry but the bee that bit me today got slapped and then smushed. Although he left a nasty bite, he obviously lost the attack. Do Gus or Cleo help at all? Insects don’t last long at our house as they make great pet toys
You do remain strange.