October 6, 2008
Ack! It was on my foot!
I’ve started a list - well several lists, actually. I need a lot of lists on various subjects to get me through this move. The specific list I’m referring to, though, has two columns: Things I’ll Miss When I Leave Hawaii and Things I Won’t Miss. The fellow pictured above is responsible for a new addition to the negative list. Last night I went into the office to check my email one last time before going to bed. As often happens, I stayed online for a while reading tweets and seeing who had visited my blog. I was kind of settled in and comfortable when I felt a tickle on my right foot. It felt just like Lance does - he likes to nap at my feet when I’m in the office, so I thought he had shifted and a whisker had grazed my foot - until I heard a noise behind me and realized that the beagle was sleeping in the hallway. Ulp! I didn’t want to look. I actually said, right out loud: Please, please, please let it be a cockroach! I brushed it off with my other foot before even looking because I had a bad feeling it wouldn’t be a roach. Good thing I did, too, because if I’d seen it first I might have reacted badly & the sucker probably would have bitten me. I have acute allergic reactions to all kinds of things. I don’t want to find out if centipedes need to be added to that list. I freaked out a little when I saw it (big, bad bug lady that I am!) then ran for a can of insecticide I keep in the utility room. I’ve got several half-packed boxes scattered around the office, so I had to play hide-and-seek for a while before I found my invader again - he was under the little rolling cart right next to the desk. Professional that I am, I know that a split-second burst of pesticide would have done the job, but I abandoned thirty years of experience and training - this guy was in my home, after all. If I’d had guns and Nikon rifle scopes handy I might well have blown a hole in the floor making sure that he was well and truely dispatched. Yeah, I get a bit girly about certain types of many-legged critters, centipedes among them. I didn’t quite empty the can, but I gave him a good soaking, then turned off the light and shut the office door (the air was too toxic to work in there anymore.) I had to hunt for him again this morning - he’d crawled behind a box to die. He twitched while I was taking the picture - I use low toxicity pesticides, so they don’t always kill instantly. He’ll die eventually. In the rubbish can outside.
We don’t usually wear shoes inside our homes in Hawaii. I’ll probably forsake that habit once I move. I think I’ll start practicing today, wearing shoes as I continue packing and painting. And maybe coveralls and gloves, too.
Things I Won’t Miss When I Leave Hawaii:
[tags]centipedes, Hawaii, insects[/tags]
Posted by skeet @ 9:43 am • Hawaii
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October 6th, 2008 at 4:23 pm, Megan Reed Says:
hebbie-jebbies indeed, yuck! I can’t believe your leaving the island living. I enjoy hearing and seeing Hawaii through your blog. By the way, the Starbuck’s lady here was amazed by the giftcard you sent me! I look forward to hearing of your next place of residence.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:48 pm, Donna Says:
That thing makes my skin crawl just seeing it in a picture. I can’t stand creepy, crawly things and let me see a spider and I’m a woman on a mission (to get rid of it). Can’t wait to see where you are next. I have enjoyed seeing and reading about Hawaii from a residence point of view.
October 6th, 2008 at 6:40 pm, Muhd Imran Says:
You being girly because of that big, black, nasty insect. I’d have ran a mile away… being the man that I am!
That big thing can give a nasty bite. My Mom was bitten once when she was a teenager and has become phobic of this insect since then… simple because of the pain.
That explains me being the instant woos I will be if I’d encountered with one crawling on my foot. Yes… we too don’t wear shoes in our homes in tropical Singapore.
Your list is good. Leaving the paradise that is Hawaii, but getting nearer to your family. That is wonderful.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:47 am, Jennifer Says:
OKay, they don’t make enough insecticide in the world for me if that thing ever was in my house, much less ON. MY. FOOT. Uh uh… no way. I’d be across town somewhere sending someone ELSE back with the can of Raid.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:13 am, Wendy Says:
Argh! Bugs don’t bother me a bit, but I swear, if I had found that on me I would’ve peeled my skin off in my panic!
We don’t wear shoes either in the house. It’s a lot more sanitary. I picked it up from Thomas, no one in the Philippines wears them inside.
October 7th, 2008 at 10:29 am, sassymonkey Says:
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
October 11th, 2008 at 9:40 pm, Jack Says:
The scariest thing in that picture isn’t the centipede; it’s the ruler confirming how big that thing actually was. Damn..
October 11th, 2008 at 9:48 pm, Handbag blog Says:
That’s horrible!!I hate multiped!
October 11th, 2008 at 10:01 pm, skeet Says:
Sorry to be so slow responding to your comment, Megan. I’ve been working on the house and packing & such every day. I have the option of buying a “standard issue” Starbucks card at our local outlets, but I always buy the local ones when I’m mailing one out becuase I know that folks from other places get a kick out of the art. I’m glad you’re enjoying yours!
October 11th, 2008 at 10:04 pm, skeet Says:
Donna, I’ve been dealing with bugs for thirty years and it takes a lot to put me into a tailspin, but that centipede on my foot did it. I was pushed way beyond my professional limits by that one, lol!
sorry I was so slow to answer. I’m in the process of getting the house ready for my move, so the blog is on the back burner. I did, however, post about where I’m going.
October 11th, 2008 at 10:06 pm, skeet Says:
Sorry I’ve been slow to respond Imran - I’ve been packing!
Yeah, I have a healthy respect for centipedes, but I respect them most when they’re dead!
October 11th, 2008 at 10:08 pm, skeet Says:
Jennifer, I’ve always felt a bit smugly superior to people who dump an entire can of insecticide on a single cockroach, but that centipede gave me a lesson in false pride, lol!
Sorry it took me forever to get back to you - getting ready to move is sucking up all of my time!
October 11th, 2008 at 10:10 pm, skeet Says:
I didn’t keep to my plan to start wearing shoes inside, Wendy, but I’m much more cautious now about turning on the lights before I go into a room. I’ve nearly jumped out of my skin several times lately becuase I felt some little thing and was afraid it was another centipede!
October 11th, 2008 at 10:15 pm, skeet Says:
I get along okay around most inects, but I agree with you - there should be a law against anything with more than six legs!
October 11th, 2008 at 10:19 pm, skeet Says:
Jack, I’ve been doing pest control for thirty years, and in Hawaii for fourteen years. I’ve seen plenty of centipedes, but it’s a totally different story when they invade my own home. I lose all professionalism and go completely girly, lol! Sadly, the one you’ve seen a picture of is not the largest. The first one I ever found in my home came to visit on April Fools Day of 2007. I found it in my kitchen sink that morning. Even that one isn’t the largest I’ve found. There was a dead one in my shed a few days ago that was close to six inches!
October 13th, 2008 at 3:51 pm, krissybee14 Says:
If that happened to me, I would probably acted really foolish. I am scared of every crawling and flying insect… I would really freak out…