Thursday, August 27, 2009

Why I Shake Out My Clothes Before Dressing...


Eeeewwwwwwww... Doesn't that just give you goose bumps??!!

As I was hanging up one of Son #3's t-shirts last night I spread open a spot to hang it and this guy here caught my eye on one of his other shirts. Yes, we have a problem with brown recluse spiders. We're in the country and we have "stuff"--you know, storage clothing and boxes of stored things that we aren't using right now. We also have a room that we don't use where we store said stuff. A brown recluse haven. Then there's also the barn and the warehouse too that they really love.

I've read that many people live in homes that are heavily infested and never even know that they have a problem with them because the spiders are so carefully hidden. Well, I don't go for that!! Many times I will pray as I enter the "stuff" room--or any other room--that if there are brown recluses in there, the Lord will expose them so that I might end their existence. It's amazing how many I see!! So either we are beyond heavily infested or the Lord honors my prayers. :-)

I also go on "spider hunts" for them. I'll look around and think, "hmmm, I haven't been through that box in a while" and I carefully open it up and I almost always find at least one.

One thing that also works really well are those sticky mouse traps. Tuck them into a corner and stick something in front of it. What's really funny is that sometimes the mice will come to the trap and eat the spiders off of them. And of course we do occasionally catch a mouse on them too. Ah, life in the country.

Most people think, "Just call the exterminator" but that doesn't work so well unless you plan to have them spray inside of all of your boxes and storage things. Those little buggers really do hide well.

We have all sorts of spiders running about. I'm a "live and let live" sort of person. I know that spiders have a vital function in the food chain and capture and release the wolf spiders, jumping spiders, and the other "harmless" ones that accidentally find their way into my home. But the brown recluses must die. Thankfully the black widows keep themselves contained to the barn and warehouse--and yes, those must die too. I have people to worry about!!

Have we ever been bitten by a brown recluse? Son #1 has when he was getting his AirSoft gun out of the box that had been stored under the bed. He saw the spider on his hand and was sure that it bit him. But that is the only time we have known for sure. When we even remotely suspect that someone has been bitten we use Raw Tien Chi powder (mixed with water into a paste) and then put a band-aid over the spot. We use it for any injury that looks like it might be infected or looks serious. Awesome Stuff!! (If you visit the link above, be sure that you read his stories for his own personal use of the Tien Chi powder. Very interesting reading for those of you interested in herbs and natural medicine.)

Just thought I'd share this creepy side of our lives!! And remember, always shake out your clothes before dressing!! :-)

2 comments:

Fruitful Harvest said...

Kris~
I have a award for you!

Blessings,
Georgiann

PS I'm haveing a blog giveaway...I posted it Aug 24....not sure if you wanted to enter?

Nutmeg said...

I HATE those things! We had a horrible infestation a few years back in our old house. They were in our beds! BLECK!

BTW, I LOVED reading through your descriptions of your children. Made me smile b/c I could just hear your mama's heart coming through. :)
~Amy