House dilemmas du jour
I was so careful before my shower last week. I shook out my towel, peered into ever nook of my robe, jiggled the shower curtain and looked inside the shower. I saw no centipedes. Only as I finished and went to draw the curtain, which I HAD jiggled, did a HUGE brown centipede scurry down the edge to the floor, causing me to let out a full-on scream. Then I killed it dead.
So my question for all you experienced home owners out there is how many centipedes are too many? I know they’re “normal” and even supposedly beneficial, but I’m not sure how much more I can take. Do I have to live with them? Do I call an exterminator? I suspect that our drain tile system, which ensures a dry basement, creates an easy in for them. Do I have to suffer centipedes as the price of my dry basement?
The second dilemma isn’t of the house, but of the detached garage. The inspector said last year that the garage roof had one year left in it. Do we dare to push it another year?
Finally, I’m wondering about gutters. We have a high, steep roof, so cleaning them ourselves would be challenging. Do we do it anyway, hire someone, ignore till winter? Ignore at our peril?
Any input from experienced folk would be wildly appreciated. I am SO out of my element as a homeowner. Like parenthood, it demands work, knowledge and practice that I find difficult to adopt in my late thirties.
June 15th, 2005 at 10:15 pm
Girl- These buggers are annoying. They’ve ended up in our bathroom drinking glass a few times - much to the displeasure of the person taking a drink without looking.
We’ve had exterminators come to spray the nooks and crannies of the house with their chemicals. This usually gets rid of them completely for a couple months, and keeps them at a tolerable level for a while. Less than one time a year. They’ve recommended pouring bleach down the drain from time to time. And you could always try the Borax-in-the-nooks trick I learned in college.
Jack
June 19th, 2005 at 5:42 am
For goodness sake hire a professional to clean the roof gutters. It is a big big deal if these get blocked - not worth the risk. Depending on what you keep in the garage, I’d say you can probably risk it. Inspectors usually err on the safe side.