Tuesday, September 16, 2008

I Think I Just Threw Up In My Mouth, A Little

We are having a serious problem with bugs that look like this in the basement. It's a finished basement, so we have carpet and everything. I don't know where they're coming from, because we see them on the floor just wherever, so it's not obvious how the little f*ckers are breaking in. Every time I go downstairs I find at least one, though, and I go down multiple times a day. The only saving grace is that they're not fast, so it's easy to take a wad (ie, half the roll) of toilet paper and scoop them up for the Grand Flush. Yuck.

We also seem to have a Giant Cricket Chorus going down there. These aren't just any crickets, either; they seem to be large enough that if if too many more show up, they might just be able to stage a coup and gain control of the main level. Seriously, they're about two inches long, brown, and can jump HIGH. The only up side to this is that Baci thinks they're WONDERFUL. It hops, he hops and pounces. It hops, he hops. It's pretty funny, right up until he actually LANDS on said cricket, smooshing it into the carpet, and then refuses to have any more to do with it. I mean, he could at least EAT it at that point, right? Seriously, get with the program! I do like to watch him do it, though; when he looks down at them, all the loose skin on his forehead falls forward over his eyes and his ears flop forward, so he looks like a big pouncing wrinkle. It's pretty cute, and is his only saving grace when I try to get the *#@$%ing thing out of the rug later.

Lastly, we may also have a mouse. I am in denial about this, and am hoping that the poop I found is cricket poop. I did find it near where I had seen one of them a few times and pretended that I didn't so I could avoid Dealing With It. I remember in the Little House books that the grashopper infestation resulted in them having grasshopper poop everywhere, and these crickets are about the size of grasshoppers, so it could happen, right? RIGHT?!?! Sigh. I bought a have-a-heart trap just in case.

I don't really know what to do about any of this. I can't have poison in the house because of the kids/animals, and they don't really make traps for crickets and gross whatever-the-hell those crawly things are, anyway. Frankly, I'd rather have a mouse than creepy-crawlies any day. As it is, I'm afraid to go down there without shoes on and lights blazing. A few years back I stepped on a slug in my backyard one night, and that feeling has freaked me out enough that I will NEVER forget it. If I stepped on one of those grub things... it makes me throw up in my mouth a little just thinking about it. At least mice have the common decency to stay wherever they hide until you're gone!

10 comments:

AndreAnna said...

I called it PIMMALed (Puked in my mouth a little).

We have mice too. We could kill 10 a day and still, one or two get in every few months. We can't let them go because they'll come right back. They get into the garage and then sneak in the house. We live backed to woods. I figure it's just part of the deal.

The worst? The other day, the cat got a mouse and the poor thing was squeaking. I sent Mike to investigate and the cat had eaten the leg off the thing but it was still alive. I made him take it outside and put the poor thing out of its misery.

Not Your Aunt B said...

The photo looks like grub worms. They turn into june bugs. And they'll kill your lawn. They have 2 life cycles per year. Kill them when they are about to surface- in Texas it is August and April.

I know way too much about this. Sad indeed.

creative kerfuffle said...

ok, first you should have a warning on that picture cos i almost hurled on my keyboard. i HATE wormy things like that. it looks like something bear (man vs. wild) would eat to survive. i would totally hurl and not go to the basement if i had those. and slugs? OMG we had those in our other place and they.were.so.gross. mice, eh, nothing compared to the grub, ew, more throwing up, things.

Kristi said...

EWWW. Gross. Ick.

Kristin.... said...

Yep, grubs. They eat your lawn. They're nasty. Ewwwww.
No mice here, in the woods. Which is odd. I would call a pest control company to come out and give you an estimate.

Deleted said...

Really glad I didn't look at the picture now! :)

Even happier that it wasn't just posted but linked :D

Thanks!

d e v a n said...

ew. ew. ew.

I hope you can get rid of them!

Erin said...

Ooooh. Camel crickets. Or cave crickets as most people call them around here. Folks around St. Louis used to keep turtles in their basements for good luck, but also to eat the crickets. I can't imagine those were very happy turtles, but there you go.

Stimey said...

You made me shiver. Ugh. We get crickets too. It's horrible. Thank God (knock on wood) we haven't seen anything like that photo yet.

Kelsey said...

I don't deal well with critters of any kind, so I'm sorry!!!