We are fortunate to live in a region of a rich biota. Besides placid cows, noble horses, wonderful songbirds and soaring white egrets, we have the Dark Side of biology as well. Out in the rock pile in the back yard, and now scuttling along the base of the wall surrounding our compound, a fat lizard makes his or her way, searching for prey. I have no issues with the lizards, as long as they stay outside. Fat and shiny horned black beetles creep slowly under the burden of their carapace out on the "porch". Sometimes we find them inside. They seem to spend a lot of time on their backs.
The baño is especially congenial to creepers, owning to the moist environment and the floor drain that connects to the general drainage to the septic tank in the back yard. The concrete slab covered septic tank has two PVC pipes that serve to vent off miasmic effluvia, but look like periscopes on a land locked submarine.
The prevalent bathroom denizens are the pill bugs. They are small and harmless and make only a slight crackle when you squash them. Sometimes there are ferocious looking spiders of considerable girth. I would like to leave them unmolested so that they can devour the insects. In the end, I can't bear the thought of a nocturnal encounter with one of them.
Only once have I seen a scorpion. It was an itsy-bitsy baby, on the bathroom floor. I whammed the living crap out of it with my shower shoes. Last night, as I prepared for bed, I spotted a large, ferocious spider, camouflaged to match the brown curtain (near MY side of the bed) on which he/she was lurking. Its liquidation was a challenge, as I had to apply sufficient force to kill it without breaking the window glass. I used a paper napkin to delicately complete the shuddery task.
I made sure I inspected the bedclothes before slipping into bed, and spending a restless night.
3 comments:
Yeh, it's true Mexico sure has some interesting creepy creatures. I can't believe you don't see more alacrans, guess we have more here in the Sonoran desert. In an attempt to foil the dren creatures I keep those large, flat type stoppers over the shower drains and don't laugh a rock on top of that. I keeps 'em at bay. Another thing I've noticed I get more bites at night and that doesn't happen in the USA.
Just spent a few days in Morelia and "enjoyed" the infestation of tijerias. The locals seemed ok with them so we had to just accept them as a harmless pest and enjoy the city.
I'm not sure what tijerías are, but there's a picturesque callejón in Pátzcuaro by that name. Maybe the street's actually called Tejerías.
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