h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

One hint... NEVER under any circumstances use fruit boxes from the supermarket for moving or storage... In fact, never bring them into your house.

The often contain roaches.

My chemical-free way of killing cockies is to drown them in hot water (from the hot tap), in the bath or sink. Makes me feel feally good!

Annie

Well, during our recent infestation we only found one in the kitchen sink. It was so weird. Noggin had just finished washing up and I was in the kitchen talking to him and *suddenly* there was this massive beast in the sink! At first we thought it had flown in the open window (above the sink) but later we reckoned it had slithered through the water overflow opening. Gaaaaaaa! No time to drown it in boiling hot tap water. Noggin grabbed the washing up sponge and pummelled the thing to death before it could fly out of the sink. And then we had to go out and buy a new sponge.

I hear ya about fruit boxes, Mudhooks. Bear with me if I've already told you all this story . . .

When I first moved to Seville I was living in a small attic flat on the third floor (fourth floor Canadian) with a terrace and railed off patio 'light wells' that went down to the ground floor. Well, the first thing Sunny ever did was race out onto the terrace, straight through the railings and plummeted two stories onto the glass roof of the Chinese restaurant below. Luckily, he only fell two stories, not three, and as he was so small then and didn't weigh much, he mostly got the wind knocked out of him but otherwise he was fine.

After that I tried to make sure that the cats didn't go out onto the terrace, but Lua - that sneaky girl - used to race out between my legs and scurry along a ridge about four inches wide onto the neighbour's terrace. Gaaaaa. Well, one day she escaped and I had to go to work, so I left a tin of tuna out on my terrace to coax her back home. But when I got home . . . no Lua. After much calling and calling I finally heard the most pathetic mieowing coming from the bottom of the neighbour's patio light shaft. Turns out she had fallen off the neighbour's terrace, but unlike Sunny, ended up landing on a metal spiral staircase which broke her hip. I had to crawl through the big stained glass window on the first floor to rescue her and then went into a panic as I didn't know any vets in town (as I'd just recently arrived).

Luckily a friend of mine working nearby knew of a good vet and she phoned him saying I was going to be showing up soon with an emergency case. But I also didn't have a cat cage back then. So I went to the tapa bar next door and asked them for a cardboard box, which they gave me tout suite. So, back home again, gently put Lua in the box on a soft towel and got a taxi to the vets. Sat with the box on my lap trying to console poor Lua, both in the taxi and in the vets waiting room. Finally, after x-rays, etc, the vet said the best thing was to let the hip heal on its own and I was sent home again. So another taxi ride home comforting poor Lua in the box on my lap.

And when we got home and I put the box on the floor a HUGE COCKROACH came scuttling out. Gaaaaaaaaa! I'd been sitting with this box on my lap for most of three hours! Anyhow, I promptly pummelled the monster to death but had serious heebie-jeebies for days afterwards everytime I thought about it.

Have also had cockroaches delivered to the house from the supermarket! We tend to do a big shopping thing every ten days or so and have it delivered. Because better to have a couple of burly guys carry all that heavy stuff up three long flights of stairs (we don't have a lift). Well, one of the things we buy is mineral water that comes in a six-pack of 1.5 litre bottles. And one day I opened up a pack of mineral water and . . . gaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Weird that such a relatively small thing can be so disgustingly scary.


az

I haven't tried home delivery for groceries yet, but (although I'd heard it already) I will definitely bear in mind NEVER to bring any cardboard in the house. *shudder*

(On a similar note, although not as disgusting, I hate opening boxed dry goods, such as flour or farina, and finding boll weevil carcasses! )

Az, having had the box on my lap and then seeing that thing come scuttling out, I'd have had the heebiejeebies for DAYS. Even watching the things on TV and the like makes me feel so buggy I need a shower afterward.

I am feeling so much better; I was under the impression that I was the only one with a debilitating fear of the things. To the point where I wouldn't go out at night, because there were "water bugs" (a roach relative which looks the same to me!) on the sidewalks in my neighborhood.

I once offended my husband's grandparents (who lived in Houston) because they had big water bugs in their house. I could not sleep there. Still feel bad about that; wasn't their fault, you get old it's hard to keep up with the aggressive things -- and anyone who has lived in the southeast Texas area knows which beast I refer to!

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (why is there no extreme-disgust-of-gross-things-smiley? Oh, yeah, it might be used against some posters... )

My parents and sister live in central Florida, and they get those enormous palmetto bugs- giant flying cockroaches. When I was about 19 or so, I went down for a visit, and when I went into a kitchen cabinet one morning for a coffee mug, there was a palmetto bug the size of a saucer sitting on the dinner plates.

I yelled to raise the dead, and my mom and dad washed *every* dish in the house, twice, in the dishwasher before anyone could eat off them again.

If those things were out walking the streets at night, I'd be afraid to go out, too, SpaceCadette!

MoG tells me that the mega-roaches I have recently found in my apartment are called palmetto bugs in Florida. And yes, those f**kers also fly!

Here in Spain they are called American Cockroaches as apparently they were brought over here on ships from the US in the 40's, when they started setting up US navy and army bases here. And now they are everywhere! Gee, thanks guys.

The usual 'in your cupboards' type of smaller roaches are known as German Cockroaches. I've seen a few of them running around at some bars I've been at. And those were the type people tended to have at home in Toronto.

Not really sure which type is worse. Except the big f**kers don't tend to get into one's cupboards.


az

I think the little ones would be worse, for some reason I suspect that there'd likely be more of those f***ers in the house if I saw one, than the palmetto bugs.

When bugs get to be a certain size, there's a little bit of a "holy crap, that thing's bizarre!" factor as far as I'm concerned (like the two foot long centipede we saw at the zoo that was as thick around as my forearm! ), whereas the smaller ones would just br gross.

Although finding either one in my house would be grounds for a serious freakout.

The little ones are definitely worse as they end up ABSOLUTELY EVERWHERE. It's quite obvious that the HUGE MUTHAS cannot get into cupboards. They are just way too big!

My first ever experience with cockroaches was when I was 19 in Winnipeg and moved into a glorious old apartment building with balconies and a wonderful interior patio. When we first looked at the apartment I hadn't noticed that the floorboards/skirting boards were covered up with masking tape. Where they had come away from the walls.

Anyhoodle, happily moved in and the next day I opened my bathroom cabinet and a small insect jumped out at me. Weird. Then I saw a few more of them, so I trapped one in a jar and brought it down to the landlord to ask why I had so many of these insects in my apartment. And he said - 'Oh, that's a baby cockroach' - and I said - 'Gaaaaaaa?'

Talk about naïve. I'd never seen a cockroach before then, nor even thought they existed outside of dodgy New York tenement buildings, so I got all up in arms and said I was going to move out immediately and wanted my deposit money refunded as I was not told my new apartment was going to be infested with cockroaches. And the landlord just laughed in my face and said if I wanted to move that was my business but no deposit money would be refunded.



We moved out the next day. I was half hysterical that these cockroaches might have already found their way into our furniture and I wanted it all OUT OUT OUT as soon as possible. Gaaaaaa!

And we lost our deposit. But then ended up in a lovely second floor apartment in an old house in the centre of Winnipeg. And no bugs. Phew!


az

It isn't so much the regular supermarket boxes, but I wouldn't risk it if I didn't have to.

My brother-in-law is the manager of a chain supermarket. He used to be Produce Manager in several large chain-stores and the horror stories of giant cockroaches, tarantulas of all sizes (usually in banana boxes) and other mysterious and possibly poisonous insects (and, once, a lovely little frog which, sadly died before he got it home at the end of the day). He says NEVER, EVER, EVER bring home fruit boxes.

PC has sent in some cute photos of Herman (photos 163-166)

http://public.fotki.com/azahar/gatitos/herman1.html


az

PC, they came in the same both times, like small photos at the top corner of each page, so I cropped them for you.

Thank you very much! Especially as there was extra work involved.

The first and second are "baby" pictures, the third and fourth about seven or eight months old. Since he's moved in here, he's gotten a bit more roly-poly. I wonder who's doing all that spoiling?

Thanks again, Azahar, for doing the work and sharing your page.

Ah, it was approximately five minute's 'extra work', so no pasa nada. My favourite is number 3, where Henry is just standing there looking so cute, with his front legs slightly splayed (typical 'Sunny' pose that one).


az

That's my favorite, too.

I'm going to see if I can get a couple where he's in other cute poses, since he and his daddy moved into my place, he's found new pieces of furniture to have fun with. We have this rocking armchair sort of between the living room and the "dining" room, and he likes to hang over the arm and sleep that way. We call it his "seasick" position.

He also looks really cute sleeping amongst the clean clothes in the dryer.

sleeping on the clean clothes in the dryer...

He must not shed too much, then...I find my tolerance for cute is heavily influenced by how much extra work it'll cost me!


Az, how're the Sunster and Azar doing?

SC

He sheds a bit, although not as much as I'd have thought, for all the fuzz he has. He grooms himself a lot, and I brush him every night, so maybe that helps. But believe me, he still leaves fur on everything. It's just that *if* someone leaves the dryer door open (not me!) and the cat manages to get in there, I can't really get upset with him if the clothes have hair on them. And it's not really worth getting upset with my better half for leaving the door open. My work clothes all require dry cleaning, so it's usually just socks, undies, t-shirts and pajama pants in the dryer... and we could care less. I'm wearing a fleece sweatshirt today, and it looks like the cat wore it last.

Yes, how *are* Sunny and Azar doing?

Lovely photos of Lady in a Tree's Charlie and Tasha today.


Was that photo of Charlie pre or post accident, Lady? Yes, agree with you that the light is gorgeous in that one. And that Tasha is looking *very* smug. Um, does Tasha have opposable thumbs?


As for Azar and the Sunster (like that one, SC ), they are just fine. Happily curled up beside me as I lazily hootoo in bed with a nice hot cup of .

Bank holiday today.


az

Oops, forgot the link.

http://public.fotki.com/azahar/gatitos/charlie01.html

photos 167 and 168



az

The photo of Charlie was pre-accident and before his front left fang came out too (it looks like a little white speck on the photo)

>>Um, does Tasha have opposable thumbs?<<

Not exactly - but she is polydactyly (more toes than normal). She had both her "thumbs" in that photo but unfortunately had to have the left one amputated after a particularly bad scrap with the neighbour's cat. The claw was entirely ripped out and the vet said it wasn't healing so we had to make the decision to lose the "thumb".

She has 5 toes on each back paw (normal is 4). Her nickname is toe-toes.

She still has a boxing glove right paw though. See here http://public.fotki.com/catcollection/tasha/tasha02.html

Hi, nothing new to report here, but the world sucks and I'd just rather talk about cats. They make me smile when everything else doesn't...

We're having the dino wars here...Missy has asserted her rights to play with *her* half of the toy dinos, and Mr. Rocket doesn't like it. He'd put his paw down, but he's such a wuss, sometimes. So for now Missy is having a blast! Interspersed with some chasing, of course.

SC