The termite removal people turned up to do their job a few weeks ago. The bloke told me that they’d be here at 7:00 am and I agreed that it was a decent time. I get up at 7:00 am and I figured they’d get here later – it was just a ballpark time. Stupid me! Bang on 7, there was a knock on the door… Luckily, I got up a few minutes earlier, just not early enough to have a cup of coffee, so my conversational skills were not at my best.
They did their thing and left. We’re still waiting on getting the holes fixed but would you believe the real estate agent said we must have disturbed the termites so they went underground. So very sorry for actually cleaning the home we live in. Promise not to do that ever again! (Sarcasm intended)
And then…
A few days ago…
Dad was outside near our BBQ and then he scurried in the house. (Note to Dad - When you’re a big man, scurrying is not a good look and arouses suspicion)
Me: What’s wrong?
Dad: Nothing. You don’t want to know.
Me: Snake!?!
Dad: Yes. A small dead brown snake. They’re really poisonous. I wonder where the Mum and brothers are?
Me : (curled up on a chair) WHAT? Next time don’t tell me!
Dad: I said you didn’t want to know…
No. I don’t want to know but I do now. And I'm sorry I did! I also don’t want to know where the daddy snake is.
PS. Sorry for the peace, quiet and lack of updating but I've been a bit busy lately.
Showing posts with label Bugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bugs. Show all posts
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Saturday, 1 October 2011
A Step Up From Bugs
The termite removal people turned up to do their job. The bloke told me that they’d be here at 7:00 am and I agreed that it was a decent time. I get up at 7:00 am and I figured they’d get here later – it was just a ballpark time. Stupid me! Bang on 7, there was a knock on the door… Luckily, I got up a few minutes earlier, just not early enough to have a cup of coffee, so my conversational skills were not at my best and I won't bore you with the details. Mainly because I can't remember as I wasn't 'technically' awake.
They did their thing and left. We’re still waiting on getting the holes fixed but would you believe the real estate agent said we must have disturbed the termites so they went underground. So very sorry for actually cleaning the home we live in. Promise not to do that ever again! (Sarcasm intended)
And then…
A few days ago…
Dad was outside near our BBQ and then he scurried in the house. Note to Dad - When you’re a big man, scurrying is not a good look and arouses suspicion.
Me: What’s wrong?
Dad: Nothing. You don’t want to know.
Me: Snake!?!
Dad: Yes. A small dead brown snake. They’re really poisonous. I wonder where the Mum and brothers are?
Me : (curled up on a chair) WTF? Next time don’t tell me!
Dad: I said you didn’t want to know…
No. I don’t want to know but I do now. I'm sorry I know but I also don’t want to know where the Dad, Mum and brother snakes are.
They did their thing and left. We’re still waiting on getting the holes fixed but would you believe the real estate agent said we must have disturbed the termites so they went underground. So very sorry for actually cleaning the home we live in. Promise not to do that ever again! (Sarcasm intended)
And then…
A few days ago…
Dad was outside near our BBQ and then he scurried in the house. Note to Dad - When you’re a big man, scurrying is not a good look and arouses suspicion.
Me: What’s wrong?
Dad: Nothing. You don’t want to know.
Me: Snake!?!
Dad: Yes. A small dead brown snake. They’re really poisonous. I wonder where the Mum and brothers are?
Me : (curled up on a chair) WTF? Next time don’t tell me!
Dad: I said you didn’t want to know…
No. I don’t want to know but I do now. I'm sorry I know but I also don’t want to know where the Dad, Mum and brother snakes are.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Another Bug Tale
So we have bugs again. This time, they are not in the boys’ hair. They are just in our home. I don’t even have to feel guilty because I forgot to check the boys’ hair. I just feel bad because I forgot to check the house! Who knew?
We began our spring cleaning a bit early this year and noticed a couple of holes. The first clues were the holes in the door. No, not where the glass bit goes, I mean the wooden bit!
As a responsible tenant, I phoned our real estate agent and explained the situation. Naturally, they doubted my opinion, and asked me, “Would I pop my finger in the hole to see what crawled out?”
I politely declined that offer and asked them to do so instead.
After a quick discussion, the job was delegated to a junior. Luckily, she was in the area and turned up within 20 minutes of my phone call.
She took one look from across the room and promptly fell to her knees.
Bless her!! But she didn’t want to pop her finger in the hole either. She confirmed we did have termites!
We’ve now had headlice, wild mice, cockroaches and termites...
Not everyone can say they have pets that feed themselves! How awesome is that?
We began our spring cleaning a bit early this year and noticed a couple of holes. The first clues were the holes in the door. No, not where the glass bit goes, I mean the wooden bit!
As a responsible tenant, I phoned our real estate agent and explained the situation. Naturally, they doubted my opinion, and asked me, “Would I pop my finger in the hole to see what crawled out?”
I politely declined that offer and asked them to do so instead.
After a quick discussion, the job was delegated to a junior. Luckily, she was in the area and turned up within 20 minutes of my phone call.
She took one look from across the room and promptly fell to her knees.
Bless her!! But she didn’t want to pop her finger in the hole either. She confirmed we did have termites!
We’ve now had headlice, wild mice, cockroaches and termites...
Not everyone can say they have pets that feed themselves! How awesome is that?
Sunday, 10 April 2011
10 things I want a bored scientist to research
Scientists get paid ridiculous amounts of money to research “stuff”. Some projects are worthwhile, some are fantastic and the rest? Well, they’re just a waste of money. Just in case, those scientists run out of potentially stupid projects, Here’s my list of suggestions:
What is the exact purpose of head lice exist? See my previous post.
Why do mosquitos exist? Again, I’d like to know their exact purpose and how they benefit the planet.
Why do mosquitos make that sound? You know, when they’re about to launch an attack. They'd be more successful if they were quiet.
How can one cicada sit outside my window and make so much noise? If it is to drive me crazy, it’s working.
Why does a 2 cm wide spider think it can take me on and win? Especially when I am actually trying to relocate it and it starts jumping at me. I have a shoe and will use it.
Why do spiders spin their web in a walkway? After the 10th person has walked through the web, doing the spider web dance, the spider should work out that maybe it should move.
Why do ants think they are welcome to set up home in my bathroom? There is no food in there, just water and cleaning stuff.
Why do flies appear as soon as human food appears? There aren’t any here yet but as soon as I start dinner, they’ll turn up, begging to come in.
Why don’t flies get the hint until the fly spray shows up? I just have to put the can on the counter and they disappear.
Why am I pre-occupied with bugs? Again, see my previous post…
What is the exact purpose of head lice exist? See my previous post.
Why do mosquitos exist? Again, I’d like to know their exact purpose and how they benefit the planet.
Why do mosquitos make that sound? You know, when they’re about to launch an attack. They'd be more successful if they were quiet.
How can one cicada sit outside my window and make so much noise? If it is to drive me crazy, it’s working.
Why does a 2 cm wide spider think it can take me on and win? Especially when I am actually trying to relocate it and it starts jumping at me. I have a shoe and will use it.
Why do spiders spin their web in a walkway? After the 10th person has walked through the web, doing the spider web dance, the spider should work out that maybe it should move.
Why do ants think they are welcome to set up home in my bathroom? There is no food in there, just water and cleaning stuff.
Why do flies appear as soon as human food appears? There aren’t any here yet but as soon as I start dinner, they’ll turn up, begging to come in.
Why don’t flies get the hint until the fly spray shows up? I just have to put the can on the counter and they disappear.
Why am I pre-occupied with bugs? Again, see my previous post…
Saturday, 9 April 2011
War on Bugs!
So… What did you do today? Even if it was watching paint dry, or the grass grow, I bet it was more fun than what I did. I had the wonderful maternal task of delousing the boys. (Why is it the mum’s job? Because it’s the dad’s job to polish the car.)
It always starts with the note sent home from school. You know, the one that starts, “Dear Parent / Caregiver, The presence of head lice has been detected in your child’s class…” I’m normally pretty diligent but with the weather cooling down, I figured I could take a break. And in my defence, I hadn’t seen any for quite a few months.
According to the information, there’s no need to rush around vacuuming and washing bedding because they don’t live for long but nobody seemed to know exactly how long. Do you know how long lice can survive away from the warmth of its host? I do because I did an experiment a few years back. I managed to ‘rescue a pair’ who were too busy playing with each other to notice that they had been relocated to a plastic cup. They survived for at least 24 hours. I reckon that’s more than enough time to hide and wait on pillows, chairs, hairbrushes and hats!
With the eldest being in school and day-care for over a decade, I am not a stranger to these bugs. And naturally, I’ve tried nearly every product that is available. Countless shampoos (both natural and chemical), that really cool zapper comb that promises to zap any bug it comes into contact with (until it choked on Pup’s hair and promptly quit its day job), and of course the conditioner and comb method. The conditioner and comb method are my preferred method of declaring war on those things. (Why do they even exist? They don’t seem to serve any purpose at all.)
I have often been tempted to just shave their heads, but, for some reason, they aren't to keen on that idea. (Something to do with image and how silly they would look.) So, for what it’s worth, here are my tips.
It always starts with the note sent home from school. You know, the one that starts, “Dear Parent / Caregiver, The presence of head lice has been detected in your child’s class…” I’m normally pretty diligent but with the weather cooling down, I figured I could take a break. And in my defence, I hadn’t seen any for quite a few months.
According to the information, there’s no need to rush around vacuuming and washing bedding because they don’t live for long but nobody seemed to know exactly how long. Do you know how long lice can survive away from the warmth of its host? I do because I did an experiment a few years back. I managed to ‘rescue a pair’ who were too busy playing with each other to notice that they had been relocated to a plastic cup. They survived for at least 24 hours. I reckon that’s more than enough time to hide and wait on pillows, chairs, hairbrushes and hats!
With the eldest being in school and day-care for over a decade, I am not a stranger to these bugs. And naturally, I’ve tried nearly every product that is available. Countless shampoos (both natural and chemical), that really cool zapper comb that promises to zap any bug it comes into contact with (until it choked on Pup’s hair and promptly quit its day job), and of course the conditioner and comb method. The conditioner and comb method are my preferred method of declaring war on those things. (Why do they even exist? They don’t seem to serve any purpose at all.)
I have often been tempted to just shave their heads, but, for some reason, they aren't to keen on that idea. (Something to do with image and how silly they would look.) So, for what it’s worth, here are my tips.
- Use a really good quality comb.
- Any conditioner will do, and make sure to cover all the hair. It slows the bugs down so you can actually catch them.
- Get rid of all the nits you find. If you don’t they will hatch and you will have wasted the day.
- Make sure you have a really strong light source. The sun cannot be relied on to stay shining bright. Just as soon as you spot something, the sun will disappear behind a cloud.
- Even if you think that speck is dirt, remove it. Rather safe than sorry because if you think those nits are small, wait until you see baby lice.
- Add some tea tree oil to shampoo and wash out the conditioner. Then comb the hair again thoroughly.
- Add some tea tree oil to a spray bottle of water and douse the child’s head with it before and after school. I also recommend combing the hair when the child gets back from school. Early detection never hurt anyone, except the bugs.
- Keep checking their heads and don’t make plans for rest of the week or guess what you’ll be doing in about two weeks time.
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