Spiders

For the past few months I have been very busy trying to rid the basement of spiders. There seems to be a seasonal thing with the amount we have, but this year there is an overabundance. Not only do we have a lot of spiders, but they are growing awfully big. I swear, I heard a couple of them whispering "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty" at the bottom of the stairs the other night. Every time the cat goes downstairs, I'm afraid she will become a midnight snack for the giant crawly things. The spiders and I have had an understanding for quite awhile: they stay out of my space, and out of my sight, and they get to live. As soon as I see even one hairy leg, they are done. And I am very good at stating this fact every time I go downstairs: as I descend into the basement, I, very loudly, let it be know that I am coming, and I warn all spiders of this. I feel I give them enough time to get out of sight and if they aren't fast enough, then I guess it is survival of the fittest!

Now, killing the spiders is not that difficult of a job, usually. However, the ones we have now are much faster than in the past. (I hope this isn't another sign of my "old age!") Once I have managed to demolish the spider, then I am faced with a new problem: what to do with the carcass. I feel it is enough that I actually kill a crawly thing--I don't feel it is my job to throw the remains away. So, the basement usually is littered with dried-up spider corpses. One interesting thing I have observed about leaving the spiders is this: the remains seem to attract more spiders. I have always figured these are the relatives from the surrounding counties coming in for the wake and memorial service. They pay their respects to the immediate family, catch up on the news from other relatives and friends, and end the evening with a feast of flies and centipedes. (The wealthier families have wasps and beetles to offer.) Of course, this just means more spiders to kill, which means more wakes, which means more spiders,.....a never-ending battle. I lead such a full life.