Who Needs An Exterminator?

Texas is the land of many, many pests.  Since moving here in 2009, I have grown accustomed to seeing six and eight legged vermin in my house, especially during the warmer months which admittedly can be most of the year.  Fortunately, here in Texas Hill Country we do not get Cockroaches which I would never get used to.  Anyone who owns a cat knows how much fun they have on a good ole bug-hunt. What I never realized is how they also appear to feel responsible for protecting their human companions from the more dangerous intruders.

Back in 2009 while I was busy unpacking from a cross-country move, I noticed that Hermes had positioned himself in one of the guestrooms and refused to leave. Every time I went in to grab another box, he would be sitting there staring at the ceiling at what appeared to be absolutely nothing. After a couple of days of this I noticed movement in the ceiling air conditioning duct and sure enough a centipede was hanging out of the duct wiggling like crazy.  I was stunned at how big this sucker was (at least 8 inches long) and how hideous.  I managed to eventually saturate it with the only spray item available, which was salon quality hairspray, and it crawled off to never be seen again.  Hermes couldn’t get to it, but he certainly maintained a vigil to make sure that if it came down from the ceiling, it was his to battle. Even our elderly cat Boo Boo engaged in a fierce battle with a centipede last year.  Michael noticed her flying across the room beating something savagely and stepped in to finish the job with a fireplace poker lest she get stung.

Interestingly, our female cats appear to be far more aggressive hunters and we have often seen one of the males simply watch a scorpion meander by without even appearing interested. Scorpions are fairly fragile and while their sting is painful, they are easily killed by cats.  Yes, we have had a couple of cats who have been stung, before they realized what they were dealing with.  As predators, they respect their foes and learn quickly that one or two quick baps with a furry paw is all it takes to disable a scorpion.

We are fortunate that we seldom actually see live scorpions and usually find only dismembered remnants of the foul creatures.  We appreciate the efforts of our feline defenders and both praise and treats always follow in thanks for their contribution.