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Patricia McDonald's avatar

Jan, I do not like snakes or spiders either. I appreciated the reasons you gave for avoiding each.

Hope your time in Sicily proves to meet your anticipated expectations.

Blessings to you-continue to enjoy your new ventures. Pat

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Thanks, Pat. 🤍 wishing you a joyful Easter 🕊️

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Jan Peppler's avatar

UPDATE: Got the spider!

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Jan Peppler's avatar

UPDATE: Got the spider!

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Valerie Monroe's avatar

Jan, I was hoping the culmination of your story would be that the gekko ate the spider. Maybe call the spider to his attention? A sign pointing the way? A trail of breadcrumbs? xo

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Jan Peppler's avatar

😆 that WOULD be the perfect ending! Alas no. Still no sign of Dario again. But his younger brother Danny came in for a walk around and I scudded him back out.

How are critters in Japan?

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Valerie Monroe's avatar

Don't see many critters here, except the 7-year-old kind! xo

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Ah well, she is the BEST kind of critter! 💖 Happy Easter, Val! 🕊️

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Switter’s World's avatar

During my Africa years, I found it too exhausting to kill every creature that invaded our home, so I learned to coexist with the the big, docile wall spiders, any gecko, helped sift weevils from the flour (always the lesser of any two weevils), and installed a live-in chameleon perched on a curtain valance to care for the rest.

The line was drawn and held the morning I opened the door and found a malignant Egyptian cobra on the front stoep.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Holy shit!! Yeah, the gecko is no competition to the cobra!! Yikes!!

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Switter’s World's avatar

I shut the door pretty fast when I saw that cobra.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

😂 of course!! And then… you just waited for it to slither away?

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Switter’s World's avatar

The guys cutting grass with slashers dispatched it. A Southern Africa snake guide I used observed that snakes are often difficult to identify after local residents kill them.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Yikes 😬

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Francine Casalino Laura's avatar

As an urban dweller, my technique for killing bugs is to spray (read: soak) them with bug spray (or hairspray which freezes them) and then beat them with a broom. They will stick to the broom and then you can shake them off (outside or down the toilet). Don’t laugh. It works!

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Jan Peppler's avatar

I AM laughing! 😆 of course that works! But I don’t have any bug spray in the house. That being said, I appreciate your comfort when this was happening. It was nice to have someone to talk to

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Francine Casalino Laura's avatar

I always have bug spray! 🕷️🪳

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Well, clearly, I am going to have to stockpile it myself!

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RenoQueen's avatar

This was fun. I can't help but think killing spiders is probably bad in some way for the environment.Spiders eat pesky flies and mosquitoes which are worse in my opinion. But large spiders are frightening.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

True. But then, geckos eat flies and mosquitoes as well. And we have plenty of geckos! And geckos never end up in your bed. The problem with spiders is they just aren’t afraid of humans in my opinion and they get waaaaay too close.

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