(Written by Lisa Kappeler)

I just have to share my latest gecko (lizard) story with you. I have several of thse lovely bug eating creatures in my house – all the time, but unfortunately, I can’t tell the difference in the bug/spider population for their presence. And then they have terrible potty habits – leaving their droppings all over the place. So night before last when I saw one on the screen – above my kitchen cabinets, I climbed up on the top of the cabinet and sprayed him with a bug spray – that kills them (over at Aaron and Meredith’s house anyway). He hung around but I couldn’t get to him anymore so I left him – finished doing what I was doing and went to bed. I was working on some emails yesterday morning around 6:30am when I heard this thrashing over at the end of my desk. I looked over and this gecko was just sitting on the floor – so I sprayed him again for good measure….he didn’t even run away. So I’m thinking that he must be almost dead. I go back to my emails…thrash…thrash….thrash….he’s laying on his back finally – surely he’s dead. Thrash…thrash…thrash….I look over and he starts running towards me – ducks under the desk on the left side and he’s hiding behind a trash can and rolling shelves….thrash…thrash….thrash….then he’s finally on his back again. I get on with the day – eat breakfast, listen to our regional radio time….come back later and he’s still there – just sitting there but on his feet. I move the cart a bit – he doesn’t move. Ok…so he’s really dead now – he’s got to be, this has been a 6 hour battle already. Finish up my work that morning and get ready to head over to Aaron and Meredith’s for our weekly language meeting….thinking maybe I should try and sweep him out of the house…move the cart and he goes running out – not as fast as normal but he runs into the bathroom – with me following close behind, spraying him as I go. I corner him behind the toilet….he starts thrashing again but he’s still not giving up. Ok…he can have the bathroom until he dies…..a few minutes later, I have to go to the bathroom but I still have my large friend in there. I try to broom him out but he’s still fighting. He hides behind the trash can and I figured it was safe to use the bathroom without having him jump on me. I don’t mind geckos but I sure don’t want one on me. I left him hiding behind the trash can when I went to the meeting – thinking that he’d be lying on his back and ready for me to throw him out when I got back….but to my surprise, after the meeting, he’d disappeared. I wasn’t sure where he went…figuring that I’d smell him later from some place I couldn’t get to. The day continued….time for my shower around 8pm last night…just better check behind the shower curtain to make sure he doesn’t surprise me when I get in. Nothing in the shower but then I see something out of the corner of my eye – he’s on the shower curtain! Ok…this is all out war….I grab the fly swatter and the spray….he’s going to die for sure this time. I smack him down off the curtain – he runs out with me trying to swat him again – runs behind my front door and then when I opened it a bit further to get to him…he goes running out of my house. Now he’s either in the room between my house and M’Liss’ house or he’s in her house – but he’s not in mine so I figured I’d just deal with him the next day. Take my shower – look for him again but don’t see him. I get up this morning and get ready – go to turn the radio on to listen to our regional ‘sked’ time – not watching where I was walking….crunch….Have you guessed it? He was dead…lying on his back right underneath the desk where the radio is….and I managed to step on his head! Meredith had asked me if I’d tried to step on him when he was thrashing around – but I didn’t want to do that because he was so big – and I still managed to do it – just postmortem. Ugh….but this two day battle was over – it took this gecko more than 24 hours to die from this dumb bug spray. The centipedes in my house died faster!