Scariest thing you’ve found in your house

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I was hoping on of you would have had a gator or a croc

At our old place we had rats in the roof most winters
we just opened the trap door in the wardrobe ceiling and chucked bait up there
But one year it rained maggots in the bathroom
i couldn't cope
After work id stay outside till Gary went in and delt to it and in the morning i wouldn't get out of bed till he had checked there were none in there
i think we let of a bug bomb to get rid of them
We used way more disinfectant that week than we have with our covid 19 precautions

 

[Bron357]

Ah, Australia the Land of things that want to kill you!
We have plenty of the most dangerous spiders, the Funnel Web. Bite can be fatal. We also have Red Back spiders, bite is nasty but not fatal. Even in suburban gardens. No snakes, need more bush for them.
As a kid we used to catch Funnel Web spiders in a jar, shake them up to make them angry then put a stick in the jar and giggle as the spider attacked the stick. Funnel Webs rear up and plunge.
Sometimes I wonder how I survived my own childhood.
Fell off a cliff too, was covered in huge bruises and scratches, had to wear jeans and a skivy (long sleeve cotton top) during summer to conceal the injuries from Mum. She would have killed me ha ha.
So actually nothing in the house causes me concern or shock, except perhaps the bank statement after an eBay splurge.

 

[Ally T]

Thankfully here in the UK there isn't very much that can terrify you. We occasionally get rats in the loft but keep a pot of poison topped up at all times, and big brown house spiders in the autumn that can have a leg span of 3-4 inches where we are in the middle of nowhere.

The cats regularly bring in birds & mice, letting them go so we run around like loons. I'm quite skilled at catching both with bare hands, otherwise you miss your opportunity. We once had a teeny field mouse living with us for 5 days, as between 4 sofas too heavy to move & a piano, it had plenty of hiding spots. Caught it in the end by putting Cadbury's chocolate in my mouse trap. It's humane - when they nudge the food it releases the trap door, so then you can take them out, open the door & let them go. But yeah, I learned that chocolate does the trick every time. Mice after my own heart

 

[Austina]

One of my dogs brought in a dead wood pigeon, great big thing and he was pleased as punch with his new found treasure!

 

[Slickk]

@StephanieLynn A few years ago our cat passed away and we have had mice occasionally too, though I think they were always there, but after kitty died they got more brazen.
We found one literally electrocuted in the controls behind our stove. He got stuck between some wires and connections and was sizzled right there.
The stove would not work as well so we removed the glass cook top to investigate under it and found his nest in there. He used the insulation material in there to make a nice little bed. It was gross!! Hopefully, the pest control took care of that and we sealed up everything after that!!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I had a nest of yellow jackets inside one of the walls. I neutralized them.

 

[yssie]

Oh dear god.
Okay, @Gussie, I'm never ever moving to Houston.
@GliderPoss @LisaRN Where do you live? I need to extend my list

 

[missy]

Oh dear god.
Okay, I'm never ever moving to Houston.
@GliderPoss @LisaRN Where do you live? I need to extend my list

Yeah the bugs are BIG in Texas. Almost everything is big in Texas.

 

[elle_71125]

Same, big big spiders, poisonous spiders, and in our previous house we got home from eating out walked in the door and I almost stepped on a snake that I didn't see in the kitchen on the floor....

We also have rats, mice, possums that like to thump across the roof at 2:00 and 3:00am on a regular basis.... The possums themselves are not scary but they sound like a human breaking into your house. In fact if someone was to actually break into my house in the middle of the night I'd probably just assume it was a possum....

Every time I dream of visiting Australia, I see stuff like this. The huge spiders alone are more than enough to keep me away.

 

[Arcadian]

Palmetto Bug I do not like big flying, hissing bugs....

 

[missy]

Palmetto Bug I do not like big flying, hissing bugs....

Oh those are horrible. No exaggeration when I last visited Florida a palmetto the size of my hand was way too close to me. I do not like palmettos or water bugs or roaches. All part of the same family I think.
Add flying to the mix and

 

[rainydaze]

This thread... my stomach is in knots. If I ever came across any of these critters posted I would have a heart attack. I guess I'm fortunate to live where I live as we don't have giant spiders or poisonous snakes. Or crazy huge bugs. OMG, shivers.

We vacationed to St. John once and my DH called to me while taking a shower. There was a tarantula in there with him!! Granted it was in the window, behind a screen, so it wasn't the worst case scenario. Needless to say, I never used that shower.

 

[tyty333]

Same as @Gussie a coral snake. Luckily it was not in the house but swimming in the pool. My, at the time, 2 year old son kept saying "nake, nake"
while pointing to the pool. I had no idea what he meant because the snake was up against the pool wall where I couldnt see him. I got closer and
looked over the edge and sure enough there he was. My husband was not home so I called animal control. They sent a guy out and he got him.
It was a little nerve wracking and I even like snakes.

That thing you posted @House Cat bothers me more than a coral snake. It gives me that shiver up my back that you get
when you see something that freaks you out!

 

[1ofakind]

Eryone in my family k

Palmetto Bug I do not like big flying, hissing bugs....

When we lived in TX hubby knew that an upside down cup, box or bowl on the floor meant that I had trapped one of those horrible flying roaches and he would dispose of it. Probably not recommended but I kept the 20ft wasp spray in the house to use When absolutely necessary. Who could sleep knowing one of those in the house?!?!?

 

[lyra]

Nothing as scary as any of the things in this thread! I'm glad I live in a part of Canada that freezes every year. I know we have some smaller versions of these things, and I'm okay with that.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

 

[stracci2000]

Last summer, a tunnel spider made a nest up against the kitchen window.
Outside, of course. He shed his exoskeleton several times and lived out there all summer.
So of course I louped him through the glass. Amazing!

 

[Matata]

My husband's bathroom. There is a reason he has his own. The mold and mildew has acquired sentience. When I go in to clean, it looks like a combat movie. I'm clothed in protective gear, kick open the door, and immediately begin spraying as I make my way into the room -- two fisted spraying, a clorox spray bottle in each hand -- and hope that I'm not taken prisoner.

 

[elle_71125]

My husband's bathroom. There is a reason he has his own. The mold and mildew has acquired sentience. When I go in to clean, it looks like a combat movie. I'm clothed in protective gear, kick open the door, and immediately begin spraying as I make my way into the room -- two fisted spraying, a clorox spray bottle in each hand -- and hope that I'm not taken prisoner.

 

[Niffler75]

I'm not great with any creepy crawlies that have more legs than me. However I am totally fine with reptiles/ snakes! I dather like snakes.

I accidentally sat on a bee when I was little. It did not end well and i don't want to head into 'too much info-ville'.

We have had some crazy big house spiders and last summer we had a huge hornet buzzy thing dive bombing us in our kitchen!

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Ahhhh @Slick1, I think I would have moved out after finding the mouse! DH is so unfazed when they first showed up he said it was no big deal. That was just one example I can bring up where he was wrong lol!

 

[Gussie]

Oh dear god.
Okay, @Gussie, I'm never ever moving to Houston.
@GliderPoss @LisaRN Where do you live? I need to extend my list

Yeah the bugs are BIG in Texas. Almost everything is big in Texas.

We lived in North Carolina for a few years and we went fishing with a few friends. One of the guys caught a crappie and I told him to throw it back because it wasn't 10" long. He looked at me completely puzzled and said that he had never ever seen a crappie that big. Lol, that is the state minimum in Texas! Stuff is bigger but it's not for everyone!

Yeehaw!

 

[JPie]

My scariest thing? Clothes moths. When my husband and I first moved in together, he brought his infested things with him. I waged an all-out war and we did dry ice fumigations, laundered everything after the fumigation, vacuumed every nook and cranny, and froze anything that couldn’t be washed. I still have PTSD from it. I’ve spent more money than I care to admit on clothes, and I wasn’t going to let it all go down in flames!

 

[stracci2000]

My scariest thing? Clothes moths. When my husband and I first moved in together, he brought his infested things with him. I waged an all-out war and we did dry ice fumigations, laundered everything after the fumigation, vacuumed every nook and cranny, and froze anything that couldn’t be washed. I still have PTSD from it. I’ve spent more money than I care to admit on clothes, and I wasn’t going to let it all go down in flames!

We had that problem last year. They came from a Navajo rug that DH's mother gave us. OMG it was never ending. I cleaned, vacuumed, cleaned,vacuumed.
I threw out every bit of wool in the house. All my favorite sweaters, even the cashmere. Everything was ok over the winter, and now I am starting to see them again. I know what their cocoons look like, and I know what their tiny eggs look like. I know all about their life cycle.
I thought I removed all food sources. But I know that they like cat hair. And we have a cat. Are we doomed??
The internet doesn't provide any magic bullet.
PLEASE tell me how you got rid of them?????

 

[JPie]

We had that problem last year. They came from a Navajo rug that DH's mother gave us. OMG it was never ending. I cleaned, vacuumed, cleaned,vacuumed.
I threw out every bit of wool in the house. All my favorite sweaters, even the cashmere. Everything was ok over the winter, and now I am starting to see them again. I know what their cocoons look like, and I know what their tiny eggs look like. I know all about their life cycle.
I thought I removed all food sources. But I know that they like cat hair. And we have a cat. Are we doomed??
PLEASE tell me how you got rid of them?????

I am so sorry that you’re going through this! It’s so traumatic that I still freak out any time I see a moth in the apartment.

We started by buying massive blocks of dry ice, placing them on closet floors, and sealing the closets with large, cut-up garbage bags and painter’s tape. That’s a low-tech CO2 fumigation.

After the fumigation, everything in the closet was laundered. I also vacuumed every shoe, purse, and the closet floors and base boards. Basically, every last item was either washed or vacuumed. I got paranoid to the point that I froze knickknacks in gallon Ziploc bags too.

In addition, I also vacuumed the mattress, bed frame, couch, and just about every last inch that could be vacuumed. Think Missy-and-ringwormgate level of cleaning and disinfecting, though I think you could do it once and pray that it worked by using clothes moth monitors. Don’t forget to toss the vacuum bag or empty the canister immediately after you’re done.

Does your cat hunt? If there’s dead prey that you haven’t discovered yet, that could harbor clothes moths as well. It’s actually what the larvae eat in nature. Also, as you noted, they like cat hair so that’s a challenge considering how it gets on everything. You’re going to have to clean like you’re prepping for surgery.

If that still doesn’t work, you might have to call in the pros after SIP.

To this day, I fear it happening again and I keep a dehumidifier running in my closet. The adult moths don’t like a dry environment. I also make sure never to put clothes back in a closet after wear.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

A thief.

Sharon

 

[stracci2000]

I am so sorry that you’re going through this! It’s so traumatic that I still freak out any time I see a moth in the apartment.

We started by buying massive blocks of dry ice, placing them on closet floors, and sealing the closets with large, cut-up garbage bags and painter’s tape. That’s a low-tech CO2 fumigation.

After the fumigation, everything in the closet was laundered. I also vacuumed every shoe, purse, and the closet floors and base boards. Basically, every last item was either washed or vacuumed. I got paranoid to the point that I froze knickknacks in gallon Ziploc bags too.

In addition, I also vacuumed the mattress, bed frame, couch, and just about every last inch that could be vacuumed. Think Missy-and-ringwormgate level of cleaning and disinfecting, though I think you could do it once and pray that it worked by using clothes moth monitors. Don’t forget to toss the vacuum bag or empty the canister immediately after you’re done.

Does your cat hunt? If there’s dead prey that you haven’t discovered yet, that could harbor clothes moths as well. It’s actually what the larvae eat in nature. Also, as you noted, they like cat hair so that’s a challenge considering how it gets on everything. You’re going to have to clean like you’re prepping for surgery.

If that still doesn’t work, you might have to call in the pros after SIP.

To this day, I fear it happening again and I keep a dehumidifier running in my closet. The adult moths don’t like a dry environment. I also make sure never to put clothes back in a closet after wear.

Thanks for the info. The cat does not go outside. And yes, I tore the house apart, vacuuming the mattresses, the backs of the furniture, storing all shoes and clothes in sealed plastic bins or bags, etc.
I thought we were done with them, and now have seen about 5 in the last few weeks. I know 5 is not an infestation, but it is scary nonetheless.

It is the damn cat hair. I found a few empty cocoons and webbing in the corners of our carpeted steps where the cat hair tends to collect if I don't vacuum like a crazy woman.
I am literally on my stomach with a pointy letter opener and a flashlight, parting the carpet fibers searching for evidence. It is maddening!

 

[Ally T]

HI:

A thief.

Sharon

 

[JPie]

Thanks for the info. The cat does not go outside. And yes, I tore the house apart, vacuuming the mattresses, the backs of the furniture, storing all shoes and clothes in sealed plastic bins or bags, etc.
I thought we were done with them, and now have seen about 5 in the last few weeks. I know 5 is not an infestation, but it is scary nonetheless.

It is the damn cat hair. I found a few empty cocoons and webbing in the corners of our carpeted steps where the cat hair tends to collect if I don't vacuum like a crazy woman.
I am literally on my stomach with a pointy letter opener and a flashlight, parting the carpet fibers searching for evidence. It is maddening!

What a nightmare! Have you tried moth traps to see if you trap any adults? Amazon should have them.

 

[stracci2000]

What a nightmare! Have you tried moth traps to see if you trap any adults? Amazon should have them.

Yes, we used them. Last year we bought some at the hardware store, and we caught quite a few. Time to get new ones. We did everything short of calling an exterminator.
I guess I better get off the computer and go vacuum the steps again.......
Maybe this year, now that I know where to look for them, and remove all food sources, I can stay on top of it.
I even thought about shaving the cat.