The BRS

So, I’m minding my own business, doing a little late night computer surfing, when out of the corner of my eye I notice a dark bug crawling over there on the baseboard of the bedroom. Great, I thought, and Mr. Man’s already asleep.

Okay, no problem. There was a junebug in the entry the other day, it’s probably just another one of those. I’ll just go get my can of hairspray, spray him, and leave the can on top of him. That’s my signal to Mr. Man to dispose of the bug in the morning for me.

I agree with Suzanne Sugarbaker, in the TV show, Designing Women, who said, “The man should kill the bugs.” And if he’s not around, at least he gets rid of the ones I’ve already contained.

And I generally use hairspray because it doesn’t smell up the place like bug spray would, but mainly because it’s close by, and I can grab it quicker. Plus, it’s very effective at gumming up their little legs, and slowing them down so I can put the hairspray can on top of them. J

But as I got closer to the baseboard, my heart sank.

I didn’t need the hairspray, I needed the clear packaging tape.

It was a BRS.

BRS is our shorthand for Brown Recluse Spider. And if you don’t know what that is, you are most fortunate. They seem to be extremely common here in Oklahoma, and we’ve had so many run-ins with them, it’s scary.

The night of 9/11 we had one literally run in-between us in bed, on our sheets, and I whapped him with the TV remote. Mr. Man asked, what was that? And I answered, you do not want to know. Needless to say, we slept in the guest room that night. It was a different, but still very effective, kind of terrorist.

Brown recluse spiders are poisonous, and their bite can cause black streaks and the flesh literally starts dying. Cutaneous necrosis. Some people have terrible, terrible scars.

Unfortunately, I have had so much experience with them over the years, that I’ve gotten to where I can recognize them from a distance: their lightweight small body and lacy legs making them almost the size of a quarter.

But even so, I always want to be sure. Was it really an actual BRS, or am I being hyper?

We will need positive identification. I have to know. Thus the clear packaging tape. Scotch tape is too narrow for the catch, so I use the wide packaging type.

I carefully lay it down on the spider, mushing him onto the sticky part, and then I lift and fold over a long piece of clear tape on the backside, trapping him inside a clear envelope, which I carefully seal together on all the edges.

Then it’s off to the bright light with my giga reading glasses.
(my strongest pair)

Yup, there’s the violin on its back.
Darn. Darn and yikes. This was a big one, too.

Why does my head suddenly itch so much??? J

Well, now I know what Mr. Man will be doing this weekend, if I have anything to say about it. It’s gonna be too hot and muggy to do much else anyway. An indoor chore like spraying all the baseboards with bug spray sounds like just the ticket to me. I hope he agrees!!

Now, if I can just get to sleep without being all creeped out. Right...

Where are my little benign june bugs and ladybugs?
They’re much nicer to deal with! Sheesh!!!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥