Ah how quickly that ‘just back from holiday’ feeling changes
from euphoria to deflated balloon. I’ve
only been back 3 days and am already facing the countdown to Christmas, a host
family inspection visit from Anglo Continental and the prospect of having to
face up to the spider issue. This last
challenge is something I’ve tried to deny for the past couple of months but has
now been thrust to the fore thanks to the impending inspection on Wednesday.
In my book, anything with eight legs is definitely not a good
thing. For starters, any creature that
has 6 legs more than I do is to be pitied rather than admired. Must be a nightmare shopping for trousers or
tights! If it lives in a web and dines
on fat, juicy bluebottles then approach with caution and a rolled up newspaper
I say.
At this time of year, I guess it’s pretty normal to find
spiders creeping indoors when you’re not looking. Most are just seeking a sheltered spot in which
to sit out the winter. Our spider
appears to have moved in on a short term tenancy agreement. The thing has spun an enormous web across the
kitchen window on which it squats every night in defiance.
Perhaps you think I am fussing too much over a poor,
defenceless spider but if you saw the
monster up close, I'm sure you'd also find it a disgustingly hideous creature. OK, I’ll admit that at first I didn’t seem to mind it. One
of God’s creatures I told myself so the thought of squishing it seemed cruel
but after several months, I can’t help feeling its taking the piss a bit. Just how long do spiders live anyway? And what sort of spider is this? Could it be one of those false widows you
hear about that give people nasty bites?
It certainly doesn’t look like your average black hairy scary sort of
spider. It’s shiny, brown in colour,
doesn’t seem hairy and has most definitely out-stayed its welcome.
 |
| It's no good, you've got to go! |
Secretly I had hoped it might have died whilst we were in
Istanbul but no such luck. Now like a house-keeping Emperor Nero, I’m going to
have to give it the thumbs up or down to settle its fate. Imagine the horror on the Student
Accommodation Officer’s face if she saw it on the window. Oh the shame!
There’s no getting round it, I’ve procrastinated long enough
over the spider issue. I shall have to finally decide in the morning over a cup
of tea on whether the spider gets its eviction orders or a blast of insecticide. We shall see …
MORE ABOUT:
False widow spiders - http://wiki.britishspiders.org.uk/index.php5?title=False_Widow_Spiders
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