Among Friends

[Desert Lily]

Once when I came home from work & picking up my child from school, I thought I saw something scoot into the garage as I drove in. I looked around & then told my child to run into the house and shut the door.

A large lizard with a rattling tail had entered the garage. It was about 12" tall and 18" long. I grabbed a push broom that I kept in the garage and gently pushed at the lizard to go back out the big garage door.

Instead of leaving, it bit the broom and started crawling on it! I screamed bloody murder & shook the broom as hard as I could to get it off. I was beyond scared - out of my wits! - and needed to get the thing out of my garage and keep my child safe.

It stood up on its 2 hind legs with its tail rattling at me. I shoved the broom at it as hard as I could and yelled something awful at it. After a couple minutes of this duel, the lizard turned and finally ran out of the garage with its tail still rattling.

I watched as it ran down my front yard, and its tail fell off! The tail was still wiggling. EW EW EW! I used the push broom to maneuver the tail off the curb & into the storm sewer.

The ordeal was so traumatic to me that I wrote the experience for a character in one of my novels.

I am a CITY girl who'd rather respect some aspects of nature from a distance. A far distance.

[ULY]

Generally speaking, even though I have never seen a tarantula in person, I try and stay far away from such creatures. The articles claim these eight-legged terrors are docile and won't bother someone unless threatened but I don't want to find out. Bad enough we have wolf spiders out here, I don't want to see any other types. 

[katie1859]

Oh now I get it…..SPIDER

STILL creepy
Ewww

[cindyNC]

Have never seen one!

[shoekitty]

I live in California, near Silicon Valley. One time in the 80's we were driving the windy road up to James  Lick Observatory.  You can't go fast because it is a narrow windy road.  We saw this long long thick black mass moving, walking across the road and we stopped.  I didn't know what it was, I got out to look. I didn't get far from my seat when I noticed it was tarantulas.  Oh my.  Got back in car. Waited 15 mins for them to,cross road. Mating or something, or hatched.  They said it happens every year.when I asked ranger.  They go fairly fast.  I wouldn't want to find one in my bed, but they are actually cute. Just one of them in an exibition....not on the loose around me.  Never have seen any here down in the valley

[Puggywuggy]

I used to see them more often in my youth, here in the Southern California Desert. They don't frighten me as much as scorpions and rattlesnakes but I certainly wouldn't want to share my home with one!

My son who lives on the coast of western Washington assures me that I won't miss those particular critters when we move there next year, lol. I must confess that while I will miss many things about the Desert, the excessive heat and certain creepy crawlers I definitely won't miss!

[Citrine1]

Sweet mother @Desert Lily, another horrific story!  

I love lizards.  My daughter has an adorable bearded dragon that I just love!  I think you just ruined that for me.  LOL. 

That story you told about the lizard and the broom is what nightmares are made of!  That's an experience that stays with you for a lifetime - - and traumatizes you as well!  

Just picturing a detached tail still quivering in the driveway sends chills down my spine.  Yikes!!

[Bonkers1]

@Citrine1 

I just tried to sweep a tree frog out of the garage.  One night I was lying in the couch and saw this glob on the wall.  It ended up being a tree frog instead of a bat which I thought it was.  Weird because I have a cat and two dogs and didn't even notice it - go figure.

[bargainsgirl]

I would totally freak out.  I HATE spiders.  This is pathetic I know but I actually scan my bedroom ceilings each night and if I see one...out comes the vacuum.  I have always been this way.  Thank goodness I live in the Northeast where we don't have too many creeepy crawlers...like tarantulas!!!

[SilleeMee]

We have large goldenrod crab spiders here. They're huge! One was sitting on top of my outdoor spigot looking at me when I went to grab the hose. At first I thought it was a piece of trash that was clinging onto the spigot handle but then it moved and turned to look at me with it's beady little eyes perking up to see me...omg.