Initial and Continuing Louisiana Woes

I guess I needed to let you all know about the surroundings I have now become accustomed to in Crap Town USA. My first week living with Ben, I know I cried every night for a week. With moving and setting up the house and fighting off critters left and right, I was mentally and physically exhausted. My first job when I move into a house is to set up the kitchen. Ben was gone a lot and didn't have much time to pick up around the place so there was quite a bit of evidence that a mouse or two had taken up residence in the house - namely the kitchen. After cleaning up the mess, Ben and I bought some traps and set them up with peanut butter and popcorn. I waited... anxiously - almost expecting to have every trap set off in the morning. It didn't happen that way but it was interesting nonetheless.



One morning after a particularly exhausting night's (non) rest I lost it almost completely. The entire night a mosquito or a thousand had been torturing me not allowing a moments rest. At 5 am, I went into hysterics, bawling and sqawling while Ben held me and tried to comfort me. At the moment that I had just calmed down, we hear *SNAP* a mouse trap was set off down stairs and that set me off once again. Poor Ben. We searched for the trap that was set off but couldn't find it which did not comfort me at all. Later that day Ben called and asked if I could look for his company credit card that he thought he lost in the chaos. Sure. No problem. While searching under the couch... yep, there was that damn mouse - broken neck and all. Of course, I was creeped out - dead or not, I hate rodents. I called Ben to tell him I found the mouse and to come pick it up - he was not amused.



Still reeling from the dead animal in my living room, I went upstairs to do some unpacking. As I rounded the corner, I saw something with a long black tail crawl under my bed. I ran over to the bathroom and turned around just in time to see a huge (at least four inches) black salamander slither to the other side of our bedroom. By this time, I found myself perched on top of the toilet screaming at the top of my lungs for the salamander to just go away!!! After a few minutes and failed calls for Ben to come rescue me, I mustered enough courage to crawl down off the toilet. My motion scared the thing enough for me to realize I just might be able to scare it off. So I started stomping and crying and screaming and I finally got it chased out the balcony door. I slammed the door closed and collapsed with my back to the door.



Lately I haven't run into any insects or rodents but I think I'm permanently scarred nonetheless. My mom wanted me to mention the tree that flanks the header of my page is the view out my front door. Mice, mosquitoes and salamanders probably live in there...