I think people fear Nature

[Marthe48]

I have a colony of house crickets, and ran across cricket poop in the basement. I wondered if I should worry about having an allergic reaction, so I checked online. The top hits on Google are all pest control companies and of course, they all say that cricket poop can make you sick and then tell how to get rid of them. With an attitude like that, no wonder humans keep paving over the world!

[Chainfire]

2. My personal experience is that it is getting harder and harder to research subjects

on the WWW. Every search I do gets hits on someone selling something, I have to dig and dig to find "information." Every review I search ends up with links to Amazon...Of course, I am sure that is just coincidence. Last night I was searching out how to date and antique, you can guess what popped up. It seems like I can date beautiful young women much easier than an old dresser.

[FSogol]

3. Why would you go on a date with an old dresser?

[Chainfire]

4. I am old....

It has been a long time since sex. Sometimes I get so horny the crack of dawn looks inviting....

[Marthe48]

9. I learned early on to look for .edu or .org

At the time, those sites were less money-oriented.

You can take pictures on your phone and use Google Lens and might come up with comparables. If you want to find out more than the value, click on a link and get clues by reading the description.

If you use Facebook, there is a group called Talking Antiques. You can post pictures and ask about things you have, or just show them off. You have to join the group. Other members have helped me.

[Marthe48]

10. I don't want ants, roaches or flies

I have ants in the kitchen right now, and I'm working on sealing their entry point and removing any reason for them to come in. I've been lucky about avoiding roaches. However, if I see one, it is dead. I would burn down the house if that's what it took. But the crickets don't bother me. They don't even chirp.

[Marthe48]

12. Thanks

I had ant traps last year, didn't help with the kind I had, I guess. I still have some traps that aren't expired. I got more worried over loss of diversity in Nature since last year. Now, I don't want to kill the darn things, just seal off their entry.

[Chainfire]

6. I wouldn't be very concerned about the direct health effects,

However, when one gets loose in my bedroom at night it makes me crazy until I hunt the little bastard down and eliminate the problem. Of course pest companies try to worry you about the danger of cricket poop more than toxic chemicals that are designed to kill.

It is the same Madison Avenue logic, that deodorant makers want you to accept, that he human smell is a dreadful thing that must be stopped! So we believe them and smear chemicals, that we can't pronounce, under our arms. I retired four years ago and quit wearing the stuff and I have suffered no ill effects from the change. I think that maybe they had been lying to me all my life! I am thinking about stopping bathing too! After all, humans and our predecessors went for millions of years without bathing, and yet, here we are! Think of all the money I would save on hot water usage, towel washing, soap, etc.

I am going to experiment with my new system in August, when it is hot and humid down here. If I make it through that month, it will be smooth sailing the rest of the year.

[Marthe48]

14. I can just imagine

My cat still hunts any crickets that make it to the upstairs. I can imagine what a picture it is when we are both trying to catch the same cricket-she wants to kill it, and I want to save it. lol At least I can tell when there is something up here that shouldn't be and it doesn't make it to my bedroom.

I'm not going to go back to nature. I think I'm sensitive to my current deodarant, so I'm not using it. But after a few days going without, I have a new one ready to open. Whew! Especially after working outside and in the basement. lol

[Chainfire]

15. Well, I can tell you from experience, it helps with the problem of the mask-less people crowding you

in the grocery store line, so I consider it a win-win.

[Marthe48]

18. My best friend has to shop at stores

She got a transplant a few years ago and has to be very careful, masking even before Covid. She hates people ignoring distancing. I told her there is fart spray, and she was delighted. I might get her a bottle for a prank.

[csziggy]

20. I wish my cats only hunted crickets!

They have eliminated the house spiders, moved up to lizards and frogs, and so far have killed two snakes (very small ones). About a month ago, one found a bird that had gotten into the house and captured it. I managed to get the bird away and let it loose - it didn't seem injured since it flew away - a little palm warbler, I think. Last week we had four dirt dauber (wasps) get into the house and one of the cats kept playing with the various dirt daubers - I caught it under a cup, not to save the wasp but to keep the idiot cat from getting stung.

Most of their prey come in under the screened porch doors, but the bird probably got in under the screened door at the front.

[Quakerfriend]

7. Yes, I agree! And, the further they are from

nature the more fearful they are.

I know a nurse who has an exterminator come in once a month to maintain her house free of any/all critters.

She should be more concerned with her exposure to cancer causing chemicals!

Funny story- My sister’s house backs up to woods.
Several years ago she had a young crew in to repair the back patio. At one point she noticed they weren’t really working- They finally admitted to her husband that they were “afraid of the woods”! They didn’t last very long after that. A second contractor finished the job.

[Chainfire]

16. I can't imagine being afraid of the woods. I would take my chances with snakes and bears

over the two legged vermin that live in the dark corners of the city. I have experience with living in cities, suburbs, and the woods. I love living in the woods. My wife and I were discussing that we would never want to return to the suburb that we loved in our 30s. Damn a bunch of neighbors!

[Marthe48]

17. That is funny

I moved from near Cleveland, Oh. to very rural s.e. Ohio, and loved having unspoiled land near me. Where I live now is changing quickly, and not good changes.

[UTUSN]

19. Yip forget lions tigers bears oh my - more like snails, wasps, gnats, spiders & unidentifiable bugs

However, hearing crickets chirp is sometimes said to be good luck (if there is such a thing). And I agree with the posters saying critters are fine if away from us.