I love my new house, but it came with one problem I wasn’t expecting - spiders! Since I moved in, I’ve found several large spiders inside the house. I was dealing with them just fine until I found a very large wolf spider in the garage a few weeks ago. I immediately called the Orkin Man.
Orkin came out for the first treatment a few days later. They sprayed every room of the house - all the cracks and crevices, closets, around all the doors and windows. They paid special attention to the garage, both spraying and putting down glue boards at the gaps of the garage door. They left a large stack of glue boards with me so that I could replace them as necessary. You’d be surprised to see just how many spiders and other bugs have tried to get into my garage since I started putting out the glue boards!
Tonight I checked the glue boards and found a small lizard stuck to one. It broke my heart. I figured I’d never be able to get the poor thing off the board without killing it. I vaguely remember my friend Chris mentioning that oil would remove anything from glue boards, so I gave it a try. I poured some vegetable oil all around the lizard, and I pulled out my handy dandy butter knife. I slid it underneath the lizard and carefully worked the lizard loose. It was actually quite easy, and I didn’t hurt the lizard at all!
I picked up the lizard, carried it outside into the grass, and let it go. I am happy to say that it scurried away without a moment’s hesitation!
July 7th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Nice trick didn’t know that! As for wolf spiders I went to bed one night and remember I forgot to turn the coffee pot off, frustrated I flipped on the light with a very lazy get out of bed type move looked up and at the corner of my ceiling I swear there was a wolf spider the size of the base of a coffee cup. Those are the ugliest spiders yet! We have them everywhere! Good luck with your extermination!
July 7th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Thanks for freeing the lizzard…they eat bugs ya know–so in a way you helped solve your problem. I have had a few spiders in my shower recently…they really creep me out. We live in a rental, I think I should call the landlord and ask him to spray for bugs now after reading this.
July 7th, 2007 at 9:49 am
I completely understand what you’re dealing with. We caught a snake on one of those glueboards once, IN OUR BEDROOM CLOSET. Scott tried to remove it using oil, but he wasn’t as patient and gentle as you were with your lizard. The snake didn’t make it… the oil, did, however, work well when I gently removed the arm of an inquisitive toddler a few weeks later.
July 8th, 2007 at 12:59 am
Yikes! Spiders freak me out! I’m really glad you could save the lizard. He was probably making snacks out of the spiders, anyway.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:31 am
Kat - Thanks for stopping by! Very nice blog you’ve got! I think I’ll stay away from Wisconsin. One wolf spider is way too much for me!
Flat Coke - I’ve found a few in my shower too. Hopefully the Orkin Man will get rid of them all eventually. You should definitely get the landlord to call the exterminator!
Geneva - I would have freaked out if I found a snake inside my house. It’s sad that it didn’t make it. Even though I hate snakes, I hate to see any animal suffer. Glad the oil did the trick with the toddler!
Tiffany - Hopefully he will continue to make snacks out of the spiders!
July 8th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
I love that you saved the lizard! Very cool.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:06 am
JC - Thanks! Hopefully it will thank me by eating a few spiders. hehe.
July 9th, 2007 at 3:21 am
bless your little heart! for saving him…I was really sad as I was reading that post….until I saw that…….. =)
July 9th, 2007 at 10:49 am
And now he has a story to tell all his lizard buddies…..
July 9th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Doc - No worries! You know how much I love animals! Glad I was able to save the little guy!
Michael - Haha! Exactly!
July 11th, 2007 at 3:34 am
LOL Geneva.
Ok. I’ve been bitchin’ a lot about the mosquitos here in Saskatchewan. After reading about your wolf spiders (of which I am not even going to google image tonight because I’m sure I won’t be able to sleep) I promise I won’t complain about the mosquitos so much.
Shudder.
July 14th, 2007 at 12:14 am
Fracas - My place seems to be mosquito free - probably because the spiders eat them. Oy.