Dec 09 2008
A Close Encounter with a Cockroach!
After yesterday’s experience with the spider, I was hoping that I would not have any more encounters with insects, but I was wrong…
This afternoon (Tuesday, 9 December 2008), as I was standing at the sink wearing flip flops, I felt something brush against my big toe. I looked down and saw a big cockroach scuttling away. My scream was ear-splitting. Helen looked and screamed too. The cockroach fell over onto his back. They seem to do this when they are distressed. I was hoping that we had scared him to death, but no such luck! He writhed around on his back – he was at least 4cm long and had long antennae. I think it’s the twitching antennae that really give me the creeps!
I went to fetch the cockroach spray and sprayed him twice, but this still wasn’t enough – he was obviously a tough one! I felt quite guilty as I watched him so obviously in distress, so I went and got one of John’s heavy shoes and flattened him!
Cockroaches are very common in Australia, especially during the warmer weather. I didn’t realize that they can fly into the house or come up through the drains. Apparently, they like taking up residence in skirting boards where it is nice and warm. They are harmless, if a bit scary, especially if, like me, you are from a colder climate, where you don’t usually see them. This was the second cockroach I’d seen today – the first one was dead already, thankfully.
Our first house in Australia was much older than this one and we had quite a few cockroaches there. However, this is the first time that I have actually been touched by one! I have heard stories of people waking up with cockroaches crawling over their faces. I dread this happening to the children (and I wouldn’t like it myself either!)
Helen said, “You should wear more protective shoes, Mummy, like I have to wear a sunhat when I go out!” Maybe we should have kept the spider from yesterday so that he could have had a nice feast on this cockroach! He definitely looked as if he was well fed!
Ooh…hate cockroaches! they have flying ones in South Africa where I’m from…and we once had a plague of the non-flying ones in a house I lived in…not pleasant.
They are truly hor-ri-ble! I’ve now bought some more cockroach spray and will spray the skirting boards to hopefully get rid of them before I see them!