Living in KZN we came across the odd red lipped herald every once in a while and we knew there was a snake of some kind that slept every winter in our swimming pool pump because of the shed skin we would find come summer time...but other than that we weren't exposed to many others. However living here in Gauteng where the temperatures sore and it is extremely dry with very little rain, a number of snakes have crossed my path and I even found one swimming in my bath water one day....lucky I was not in the bath at the time, but I was on my way!!!!!! I have plenty more snake stories but will leave them for another day....
Spiders though are a completely different story and over the years I now sadly admit to having put more than one under my shoe or slipper or what ever I could find at the time. The first year we moved here we were introduced to what are known here as 'Red Romans'. You don't see them during the day, only at night and it is commonly thought that they scurry from the light to shadows. Some say they are family of ants and others say they are spiders, but whatever they are, they are creepy with their long legs, feelers and over size body. One even crept inside Johan's work bag one evening and the following morning when he opened it up in the office to take out his lunch tin, it ran out onto his desk. Needless to say Johan got such a fright, he almost jumped on the chair... Another encounter with a Red Roman was one of the occasions that I decided to clean the carpets in the lounge I moved the bookshelf standing against the back wall and found the biggest Red Roman we had ever seen hiding right against the skirting. While NiQi watched it standing on the chair to be safe, I ran to the kitchen to grab the can of spray then proceeded to douse it until it was white with poison. Hah, it did not deter the blighter it just ran for cover....so I ran to get the hairspray!!!!! Yes the hairspray as I heard from someone once that they sprayed a spider with hairspray till it was stiff and couldn't move. So I sprayed and sprayed until it was covered in hairspray too but it did not go stiff, it did not curl up and it did not stop moving. My next move to save the world of all at Larkwood, was to use the vacuum cleaner and suck it up. Well this monster was much bigger than the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner and as much as it was sucking the Red Roman stayed at the end and could go up the pipe. No problem, NiQi opened the front door and while we kept the cleaner going i picked it up and carried it outside, then when I had it aimed over the wall NiQi turned it off, the suction was gone and the Red Roman fell off into the garden. How much longer it survived with all that poison and hairspray on it I don't know but it did run away once it plopped on the ground.
More recently I have had my eye on a spider and it's mate in our bird room...in the corner right next to where I feed some of the Lovebirds. I have learned the error of my ways since the hairspray episode as I have family who are very nature and creation aware, so I do not want to do anything that may offend them, by ridding this earth of spiders....even if I do find them creepy. Twice a day I ease my way passed the web, watch from the corner of my eye, make sure I don't brush my arm against either the spiders or the web. I have watched the female grow, seen the male arrive, noticed how the male had life sucked out of it and has been left on the web all shriveled and no more, and now the female is sitting in all her glory with a huge big egg sac....I doubt she will survive much longer and I'm not too sure what I will do once I see hundreds of little off spring hatching from that sac....
'Charlotte's' web with her home...
'Charlotte'
Her mate...
With her egg sac...
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