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The worst critter encounter I ever had was in the garage of our house in CA. I had a BMW convertible that I was not driving much. Another of our vehicles was just more practical at that time. So the convertible sat in the garage with her top down. She sat in there so long that her battery went dead.

Called AAA to come and jump her. As the AAA guy was driving away, I opened the glove compartment to toss the AAA card in. Out ran a mother rat who had decided that my glove compartment was a very cushy place to have her babies. She chewed in from the engine compartment.

When moma rat ran out she ran down the side on top of the door and back over the trunk. My body went into an involuntary contraction to make myself as small as possible. I wanted to get my feet up off the floor and tuck my arms in. For all I knew she could have made a turn at the passenger seat and come after me. After I saw her leap off as I was looking in the rear view mirror, I tried to relax my muscles and resume my normal size. I had contracted so hard that my muscles were sore for 2 days.

I still had the problem of the babies in the glove compartment. I remove those with huge kitchen tongs.

I had a heart to heart talk with my cat about doing her job and not letting this happen again.
 
Snakes, spiders, sharks....we have them all, come and visit Australia! :biggrin:
The Sydney funnel web spider and there's some kind of really poisonous snake. And dingoes. I watch Animal Planet when I'm not getting horrified by the program, Monsters inside Me (it's about parasites of all types). I can't visit Australia (tho many people do) b/c I just stay inside and keep an eye on the tv in case there's anything new I need to know about. :)

Have you ever had encounters with these varmints?
 
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Hello cafe. Popping in but it looks like the wrong time :wtf: Ugh, snakes and spiders and rats!!! Coincidentally, I saw this gadget on TV this morning, on an invention show. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0192MB5R...t=&hvlocphy=9007325&hvtargid=pla-314702872443
I thought it was genius. DH doesn't like to kill the critters so he's always placing them in the garden. I might order it to make the job easier for him. As a kid growing up in New England, wolf spiders were the terror often found in the house. They look like tarantulas but are completely harmless. And boy can they jump. Horrific. I still shudder when I think of them. On a happier note, we currently have a tiny spider living under the window molding in the bathroom. We let him stay because his personal carnage is quite impressive. I would rather have him than all the little guys he eats. He is a sloppy guest though so DH cleans up after him. Sometimes critters can be good for a 200 year old house.
DD wants a pet snake in the worst way. I don't think I'd mind that but since she's off to college next year, I don't want the responsibility when she's gone.
 
The worst critter encounter I ever had was in the garage of our house in CA. I had a BMW convertible that I was not driving much. Another of our vehicles was just more practical at that time. So the convertible sat in the garage with her top down. She sat in there so long that her battery went dead.

Called AAA to come and jump her. As the AAA guy was driving away, I opened the glove compartment to toss the AAA card in. Out ran a mother rat who had decided that my glove compartment was a very cushy place to have her babies. She chewed in from the engine compartment.

When moma rat ran out she ran down the side on top of the door and back over the trunk. My body went into an involuntary contraction to make myself as small as possible. I wanted to get my feet up off the floor and tuck my arms in. For all I knew she could have made a turn at the passenger seat and come after me. After I saw her leap off as I was looking in the rear view mirror, I tried to relax my muscles and resume my normal size. I had contracted so hard that my muscles were sore for 2 days.

I still had the problem of the babies in the glove compartment. I remove those with huge kitchen tongs.

I had a heart to heart talk with my cat about doing her job and not letting this happen again.
Oy, rats in the garage. Been there and done that several times. I am always vigilant! If I see what I think is a dropping i freak. They are so destructive. Had one get into an outside the house water heater closet and it chewed up the wire on the thermostat. I had just replaced this heater so I had to fix it instead of chuck it.
 
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I've read through so many pages, here are random thoughts :smile:
@Pocketbook Pup, I love your lavender rose of Sharon. We have a white one in the yard, this has been the best year for it, ever. The rain and humidity are making it flower like crazy.
@Cordeliere, you are amazing in so many ways
@eagle1002us , fantastic Coach purchase. I got the little spaceship dinky bag for DD for her birthday. She dreams of working for NASA one day, and this odd Coach x NASA collaboration blew her mind. Coach is doing a beautiful job lately, the new store design is gorgeous.
 
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One of the funniest books I've read about the "wildlife" in Australia is Life in a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.
I really enjoyed that book.

The lawn shrimp ate the snakes.
ROTFL! Those are BIG shrimp (they would have to be the size of tiger prawns to do that)!

The Sydney funnel web spider and there's some kind of really poisonous snake. And dingoes. I watch Animal Planet when I'm not getting horrified by the program, Monsters inside Me (it's about parasites of all types). I can't visit Australia (tho many people do) b/c I just stay inside and keep an eye on the tv in case there's anything new I need to know about. :smile:
Have you ever had encounters with these varmints?
Yes, plenty. I grew up in the bush.
My grandmother, who lived in Sydney, used to always make me check for funnel webs before getting into bed. (They like the comfort of a warm bed as much as we do).

A pet mongoose.
Actually, that's a good idea! A friend who lived in an area of tropical jungle (not here) had one to deal with the cobras and the scorpions. It was vey cute. And deadly. I saw it take out a scorpion once. It was like watching a scene out of a Rudyard Kipling book!

I hope to one day, I have several Aussie and Kiwi friends. But I'm afraid I'd be like Eagle, always looking out for critters and sticking to the cities :lol:
Ahh, its not really that bad. :biggrin: You get used to it.
 
I've read through so many pages, here are random thoughts :smile:
@Pocketbook Pup, I love your lavender rose of Sharon. We have a white one in the yard, this has been the best year for it, ever. The rain and humidity are making it flower like crazy.
@Cordeliere, you are amazing in so many ways
@eagle1002us , fantastic Coach purchase. I got the little spaceship dinky bag for DD for her birthday. She dreams of working for NASA one day, and this odd Coach x NASA collaboration blew her mind. Coach is doing a beautiful job lately, the new store design is gorgeous.
Thank you, dharma! I noticed that dinky with the 4 NASA/space appliques -- it was really cute and had I seen a Space Rexy on it I might be owning that one, too! I haven't been in any of the newly designed Coach stores yet, I ordered off the web. I can go ape walking into any space or store that sells any kind of accessories: I want this, I want that!!! I wanted a calm purchase.

Next month I'll probably surface at Coach. Glad to hear your report.

I own some metallic (like antique gold and bronze) Coach swagger bags. I like metallic and that certainly is in a league that doesn't compete with H (Does H even make metallic bags?).
To work for NASA, wow, your daughter must be super-smart in science and math! Way to go:tup:
 
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