It's Creepy crawler fest all right.

It’s Creepy Crawler fest

.. As a rule I do not have a problem with all those critters, six, eight or whatever legs or none at all... In the rainy season of course they tend to move inside, as like everybody else, they do not relish getting wet. Most of the time a can of spray will do the job. This year is particularly good for spiders, small and big, they weave their nets, and weave and then some. spider webs everywhere, so, I do take a broom several times a day to them, and manage to keep those at bay. Not so the newly homeless spiders that skitter and scatter everywhere in search of a safer spot for their nets.

Most of the other critters do get taken care of by Caruso the monstrous gecko- about a foot tall, tail not counting. He is a noisy fellow who lives in the roof, and is only very rarely to be seen-mostly at night in the half dark to scare the wits out of anybody to come across him. Caruso is at perpetual war with the cat; so far it’s a draw.

There is one little critter I do have a problem with, and sure enough I met one yesterday.

Our bathrooms are open air, quite romantic provided it does not rain.

I even have a bathtub and a water heater. Although it does not work: we do not seem to have enough power to run it. Every time I tried to use it so far I knocked out the power in the entire neighborhood. Not quite an option. So I heat water on the stove like everybody else, or shower- cold. A few sunny moments, made me lust for a bath. Leaves and debris had accumulated in the tub, so I set to clean it… and there it was: a red and black millipede, stinger poised. Aww, I hate and fear those. Although their sting will not kill you, you might wish it would, the pain is excruciating. This one, well not the biggest I have ever seen, but still. As they are not the strongest swimmers, I plugged the tub, and put the faucet on. That did the job- after a while. Fine or it would have been were it not that on closer inspection, all the leaves drifting in the tub had come to life. aww!! Leaches, hundreds of those nasty little heat seeking bloodsuckers, like weaving like little needles.  I have not too big a problem with them, but I hate to give them a free meal!!! (And pretty they are not. A tourist on a trek once asked me: how do leaches mate??? Normally we would have looked that one up, but then decided we could very well live without any knowledge of the secret sex life of leeches. Ehem).

 

Now the question is how do I get the leeches out of the tub?? Not even gloves will keep them away; they will just climb and suck on and climb some more until they find a nice piece of skin and get to work…

 In the end I left the tub for what it was and took a shower….the leeches? Still floating on leaves in the tub.

 

 

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