Monday, March 30, 2009

Something Scratchy This Way Comes

Thank you for all your kind words on my last post. It's so nice to know I have so many friends here who care.

There's something a little more lighthearted that I've been wanting to tell you about. Shortly after we bought our condo, Ibis decided to insulate the ceiling and some of the walls with two-inch think foam. We glued pieces directly to the concrete and painted the walls to match. Unless you're looking, you can't really tell, and it's kept it a lot cooler in here - kind of like sodas inside a styrofoam cooler.

Aside from the occasional nick on the wall, we haven't had any problems. I had noticed that the geckos like to hide in the cracks between the foam and the edge of the wall (on the ceiling) but didn't think much of it. Well, a couple months ago we started hearing scratching all over the ceiling BETWEEN the foam and the concrete. We get a lot of bugs in here at night - which is when the scratching is most noticeable - so for a long time I just thought it was the winged creatures tap-tap-tapping against the foam near the lights.

Then I noticed it coming from the corner near the bathroom, right over my desk. It sounds like they're running back and forth, almost as if they've carved tunnels inthe foam. There's one thin strip of foam - maybe three inches wide - that runs directly over my head and I've become convinced that it's going to crash down on top of me and I'll have millions of geckos swarming all over me. I'm not afraid of geckos (remember when I chopped off one's tail?) but the thought of their babies, eggs, poop, and whatever else is up there raining down on my really freaks me out! Ugh!

I made Ibis push on the foam last week to see what would happen, but no geckos went running for their lives. Maybe they were out hunting insects. He doesn't think anything is going to happen, but I live in fear of the day that twelve feet of styrofoam comes crashing down on my head, bringing a colony of geckos with it.

Anything freaky in your house that keeps you up at night?

14 comments:

Janna Leadbetter said...

Holy geckos! Keep us posted. What a story that would make!

I've definitely got the imagination for noises to keep me up at night. And my first thoughts usually do fall to critters. ;)

Spy Scribbler said...

Oh man! A single spider in my bedroom will keep me up. (I can't kill it.) So, um... I've got it pretty good, LOL!

JLC said...

During the winter, the tree branches will scratch our roof if they are heavy with snow, or the wind is blowing.

Early fall, we get boxelder bugs that try to come through the windows, screens, and doors.

We have vents in the attic and an attic fan, so during wind storms the attic makes a lot of noise. Very spooky.

Have fun with your new 'roommates'!. ;)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Janna, I should point out that I'm assuming it's the geckos. I don't even want to THINK about what else is nesting up there.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Spy, I don't even blink at spiders anymore. Yes, enjoy your relative safety, lol.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Turkey, tree branches freak me out when I'm sleeping. Lately we've had people running around on the roof (aside from the geckos) and that gives me the willies.

Elderbugs are ICKY1

Nadine said...

Okay, sorry to do this but I have to ask - It wouldn't be roaches, would it?

Nothing freaky here at the moment, but when a cane spider gets in, I don't sleep well. They are really hard to catch and are nocturnal, so once I see one, I don't sleep until husband catches it. Makes my skin crawl just to think about it.

Penguin said...

OMG, why do you people have to talk about spiders.......(shutters)Vile little creatures.

The worse place I had was the house in Spring Lake. It was balloon construction. So an animal that got into the house could go anywhere. I had several colonies of squirrels and other assorted rodents. Often at night I would hear battles going off in the walls. I am so glad I didn't have a shotgun handy as many times I would have blasted through the roof to get rid of them because they used to keep Max and I up all night.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Nadine, way back in the recesses of my mind there has been a teeny little niggle that it could be roaches, but I choose to ignore that niggle.

I'm almost 100% certain it's geckos because I see them go up there and they're always squawking up there too. They have a very distinct sound and it comes from the ceiling.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Penguin, you and your thing with spiders cracks me up! I have a hard time imagining you being afraid of anything!

Did you ever tell me about the squirrels? That sounds familiar. I'm glad you didn't blast away at your walls. ;)

WendyCinNYC said...

My apartment is filed with all sorts of strange noises, voices, and movement caught in just the corner of my eye. I chalk it up to both apartment living and old building moans and squeaks. But it freaks me out sometimes, I must say!

Robin said...

Melanie, that is hilarious! I can't help but laugh! The gecko tunnels in the foam is the world's greatest image. I think you should send this post to DreamWorks.

We have stink bugs that fly in through the chimney. They drive Adam insano because they make a little buzzy noise.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Wendy, I constantly think I see things out of the corner of my eye. Sometimes it's my hair, other times the table cloth, but they ALWAYS freak me out.

Tonight I had to kill a cockroach on the counter while cooking dinner. Mmmm.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Robin, when you put it that way it's fricking hilarious! Maybe there's a children's book or something in there...

The buzzy noise drives me nuts. That and when they tap-tap-tap against the ceiling. Drives me bonkers.