Catch and release

by Alissa

I have turned over a new leaf.

Last week I trapped a spider in the kitchen and saved it to be released outside. I am moving beyond indiscriminate squishing to selective death dealing, and that feels like some kind of progress.

Someday I will tell you about the cycle of loathing and adrenaline and futility and shoe-smacking prowess of my two-year night-time Eco battle with the roaches. After poison-free sticky traps, and the organic spaghetti sauce jar trick I picked up at play group, and attempts at leaving the kitchen dry and garbage free at night that were foiled by a household terror of going outside to the bins after dark, I admit defeat.

The day I saved the spider, I bought my first pack of poison bait traps and placed them strategically throughout the kitchen and bathroom. Now the roaches we see are moving slowly and are dying in satisfyingly high numbers, albeit in conspicuously gross daytime locations.

Please let this end before the baby finds one.

I miss the winter. The cleansing power of a good frost.