Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Dr. Livingston, I Presume?

We have reached Threat Level Radioactive Killer Insects here in the Zamora household. At this point I'm waiting for the green ooze to start leaking out around the foundation because I'm pretty sure that we're living on top of a subterranean pool of nuclear waste. That's the only logical conclusion I can come to based on the size, variety and sheer number of insects and terrifying creatures that have been invading our house.

It started when I moved Hiccup's dog crate and what I thought was a very small and active worm started making it's way across the floor. Oh, how I wish it was a worm. But as I looked closer, I realized that there was something very, well, snake-y about it. I did what any young, independent, and strong female would do- screamed for Danny. He captured it, and we stared at it in horror for a while as it slithered frantically in the bottom of a glass, slowly realizing the implications of the baby snake. MORE. BABY. SNAKES. I pictured hordes of snakes everywhere we turned. Fortunately we only found one other snake a couple of days later, just as tiny, and also very dead courtesy of our cat. This is the only thing she is really useful for- killing things around the house. Except sometimes she doesn't even bother to kill them because she finds it more entertaining to bat them playfully around the house and then leaving them angry and vengeful.

Okay, so we had the plague of snakes. Then we had the horde of cicadas that spent their day hiding in the plants around the house and making the exact same noise that's in the previews for Texas Chainsaw Massacre (I don't know if that noise is also in the movie because the noise in the preview freaked me out too much to watch the movie. Little did I know I would soon be surrounded by thousands of little horror movie props predicting my imminent demise and transformation into a human skin lamp.)

Once the monsoon rains hit the cicadas migrated back to hell or wherever it is they came from. But the rains brought a far more terrifying creature. We first spotted one in the road, squatting menacingly and waving it's furry legs at us. The tarantula. The next night there was another one the size of a salad plate crouched by the laundry room door. We brought Hiccup inside because if this thing wanted to it would eat Hiccup for a midnight snack. All that would be left is a wagging furry tail hanging out of this things mouth. If spiders have mouths, that is. But I don't actively try to destroy insects as long as they stay outside of my house. And tarantulas are so large and furry that it's kind of like trying to squash a chihuahua, it's almost grosser to kill them than it is to make them leave (correction: have DANNY make them leave). But the worst was about to come:

So, I'm blind. Like, I can't see more than 6 inches away from my face clearly without glasses or contacts. In the morning I wake up and stumble blindly into the shower. Are you already thinking to yourself "No! Mia, don't get into the shower!" It's like the begining of a horror movie when the dumb blond gets into the shower while the creepy man with the axe hides in the bathroom closet. Anyway, I pick up my loofah, wash, then put the loofah down. Which is when I notice a dark blob on the side of the tub, next to the loofah. I immediately become concerned because anything big enough for me to see without my glasses is pretty freaking huge. I bend closer, squinting inquisitively ("Mia! Noooo!") only to find myself face to face with a baby tarantula. By baby, I mean the size of an average human baby. I leap out of the shower and sprint into the living room shrieking "Big spider! Big spider! Danny! Big spider!" (I'm very articulate when I'm naked and panicking)

People, this is getting serious. I feel like I'm in the jungle with vines and spider monkeys slowly creeping through the windows. I'm going to wake up to javelina curled up on the foot of my bed, rattlesnakes under the sink, and tarantulas in my bathtub. Oh, wait THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED.

I'll be at Costco buying Raid in bulk if anyone needs me.

6 comments:

katohater said...

don't kill them! they are necessary. if you kill those ones, you're going to be dealing with an overabundance of other creepy crawlies that might be far worse. those tarantulas are probably keeping the scorpion population under control. tarantulas are virtually harmless to humans.

what kind of snake was it?

you wanted to live out in the desert, and commune with the wildlife. hey, at least they aren't gang bangers, packing heat and dealing drugs. (not yet, anyway.)

Mia McZ said...

We relocated the snake and the tarantula, not to worry. I just object to almost using the tarantula as a loofah. We tried google searching baby snakes of the southwest but didn't come up w/ much....I actually love living in the desert and communing with the wildlife, and much prefer it to the meth-heads and prostitutes that we have had as neighbors before. I am just concerned about them suddenly moving into the guestroom.

chooiegoos said...

yikes!!!! i had this happen to me with a scorpion in my bedroom when I lived with my parents. I had just gotten out of the shower no glasses went back to my room to grab my glasses off the dresser when i noticed a yellowish white blob on my white carpet. I was about to touch the blob with my foot thinking it was lotion or something that had spilled but I decided to grab my glasses first. When I looked down I realized my foot was 3 inches away from a scorpion...i jumped back about 12 feet and screamed for my mom!

katohater said...

please identify:
http://www.reptilesofaz.org/herp-snakes.html

Mia McZ said...

Funny, looked at that website before and couldn't find it. But now I'm pretty sure it was a "western threadsnake" http://www.reptilesofaz.org/Snakes-Subpages/h-l-humilis.html

Its ME said...

love reading this post, thank you.