A Bug's Life

When I first arrived here, many of my friends and housemates were complaining about cockroaches and other pesky bugs they were seeing in their house. Since their houses had been closed up all summer, the bugs had decided to move in. With some cleaning and airing out though typically the bugs leave. However, this isn't always the case. Cockroaches, spiders and tick-tickies (these are little lizards that eat bugs...so we like them) are still a pretty common site, even with all the cleaning and prevention measures we use. I rarely saw any kind of bug, be it spider or cockroach during my first few weeks here. I quickly began to learn, I should be counting my blessings. Yes, I had seen one or two cockroaches in my bathroom, but not enough to gross me out too bad. The one incident that did put me over the edge occurred one night as I was brushing my teeth and felt a tickling on my foot. I looked down to see a cockroach crawling over my foot. I gave a little squeal and flung the cockroach against the wall. Still, one little cockroach crawling on my foot isn't too bad. One of my friends saw so many during her first week that she made a tally sheet to keep on her wall entitled "How many cockroaches will meet their Maker". Well, I think my "bug luck" may have made a turn for the worse. This morning I woke up and walked into my bathroom to see a spider the size of a large tarantula crawling beside my mirror. It was so big that at first I thought it was a tarantula and wasn't too freaked out because tarantulas are good spiders. However, upon closer inspection I noticed it was NOT a tarantula. I ran and grabbed my camera (because everything here is worthy of a picture) and my shoe. After quickly taking a picture, this spider did "meet his Maker". This wasn't the end of my bug visitors. Tonight I got back to my room rather late, after watching Tangled with my friends upstairs. I walked into my room and saw a dark spot on the door that connects my room to my roommates. At first I didn't think much of the spot, but then looked again to see it was a cockroach. Okay....this cockroach was the biggest one I have ever seen. It had to be almost 2 inches long. No joke! I froze in my tracks, not knowing what to do. I couldn't kill the roach with my shoes because it was on the door and my roommate was already asleep and I didn't want to wake her. I decided maybe I could grab the roach with a piece of tissue by it's antenna and then either flush it down the toilet of smash it with my shoe. Of course I took a picture of the roach before I did any of this. Well, my attempt to catch the roach  failed. When I went to grab the roach, it flew towards me and I let out a little shriek (hopefully I didn't wake my roommate). The roach flew behind my little shelf beside my bed. I pulled out the shelf, but then Mr. Roach flew behind my bed. I tried to tap against the wall, hoping he would come in my direction so I could kill him. He was too smart though and waddled under my bed and out of my reach. So tonight he is sleeping soundly under my bed and I am lying here, hoping he stays there until morning and I can get my revenge then.

The spider that greeted me
bright and early this morning.
 

Mr. Cockroach who out smarted me and is sleeping soundly under my bed tonight.