Today there was a news story on BBC World News. Scientists have discovered a new species of lizard in the lush Western Ghats mountain range in the Indian state of Maharashtra. They're not alone. I've discovered a new lizard species living in my fusebox, just outside my front door. I just haven't got around to letting the BBC know yet. The lizards are geckoes really, a couple of inches long and almost translucent. I don't mind them living in my fusebox. I only have to go to the fusebox when we need to reset one of the fuses, which, because of the reliability of the power supply and the quality of the electrical work, only happens a couple of times a day! So we have a fusebox routine, which goes:
1..Open fusebox with one hand.
2..Keep other hand close to your body while geckoes run for cover.
3..Visually identify flipped fuse.
4..Quickly reset fuse and close fusebox.
The geckoes don't bother me there. They can have a party in my fusebox for all I care, as long as the Bhangra's not too loud, they put their empties in a neat pile, and scatter when I perform fusebox routine stage 4. However, some of the geckoes have started to get a bit familiar, and have begun coming into the house. I haven't invited them...they just waltz in under our ill-fitting (but by Indian standards, probably top quality) front door. While I wish they wouldn't I can't get rid of them. I tried. They move much faster than I do. However, they eat bugs, so at least they have their uses.
It's not just the geckoes that seem to have found my home much more inviting than I had intended it to be. We also have teeny tiny brown ants who like congregating on my kitchen worksurface. In the past it's been really hard to see them, because the worksurface is dark. But Rod washed the kettle the other day and they have been attracted to its now gleaming whiteness. They may be small, but I can see them very clearly now. I can even see them when they fall in to the water and boil to death. While I don't want them inside my house, I don't need them to suffer that much. I wonder if I can convince the geckoes to eat the ants...
And if you're wondering, why, when we have a maid, did Rod wash the kettle? It's like this, Santoss is not the best maid in the world, and sometimes she struggles to see the dirt we can so clearly see. Or maybe she does see the dirt, but doesn't think she needs to do anything about it?
3 comments:
There are things you plug in and they buzz, they got rid of all our ants for us. I have issues with ants in my house. It's my turf and they aren't welcome. I don't know if the buzzing things would get rid of lizards but they are supposed to remove rodents.
I had geckoes in the Filippines and in Okinawa. I don't mind them near as much as the ants! My friend Carmen in Oki had a gecko that talked to her daily...so she said.... she talked back to it too.
And is Carmen all right? I mean, Thomas just runs when he sees us. When he starts talking to us I'll raise the subject of rent...
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