Science calls it katsaridaphobia.
The husband calls it a silly overreaction.
I can only say that this six-legged creature single-handedly sums up my personal insect hell.
With the school term coming to a close, families chose this time of the year to move back to their home country or make another apartment their home.
This move has shook up a few other families from another kingdom that must have been thriving and breeding undisturbed in the dark crevices of drain pipes or have been forced to relocate too after the depreciating chemical barriers have been re-erected by the real-estate staff, who are seen prepping the house for its new tenant.
One roach decided to take an evening stroll and managed to invade the carefully-guarded, pest-free, chemically-barricaded fortress that I call home.
That night I sleepily walked into the bedroom and caught sight of this unwelcome guest scampering about the white floor on its spiky appendages.
In an instant, I was wide awake, sleep gone, eyes popping out of sockets, breath caught midway between the lungs and the nostrils, adrenal medulla overworking – pumping in adrenaline for fight or flight reaction.
The mind trying to shut out the image that is crawling and wrecking my system.
When I had mustered up enough courage, I rushed to find to the husband.
On hindsight, I marvel the reaction and the multitasking power of a shocked human mind and body.
Only that my mind had been rendered that shock by a creepy crawly as big as my pinkie.
The husband was amused. He found the creature and sent it off to insect heaven.
The only relief has been that the children were locked in dreamland and hence did not witness their mother outperform them in a state of utter frenzy.
The following morning on, my paranoid eyes have been searching for unwelcome family members and a search party of the deceased invader as the hands have been cleaning better and disinfecting effectively.
But try as I might, I cannot understand why women who have crossed frontiers, shattered glass ceilings can be reduced to a shaking, shrieking, chaotic lot when it comes to cockroaches?
Good morning Friends, Wishing those on the other side of the world, a happy weekend while wishing my friends on this side of the world, a great beginning to a new week.
Ha ha…I could imagine myself in your shoes, pranitha….And believe me, I had a smile all the time while reading your post. These tiny dreadful creatures can give a run for life…
Meanwhile here, I am fighting the smaller versions of the dreadful ones which reappear a few weeks after the pest control. Please let me know if you have any effective methods..Tried and tested 🤔
Enjoyed reading your post..👍
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Thank you, Deepika. My unwelcome visitor was a grandparent or at least an old parent and I am still on a look out for the search party, which has not made an appearance to my relief. These creatures are small but tests have shown that they can withstand high temperatures and even radiation!
I can understand your predicament and I am in the dark myself. May be we must knock on Google’s door to check for a solution to our predicament.
Wishing you a happy women’s day, Deepika.:)
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Interesting as always, Pranitha!
But, let me confess, I do not belong to that category of women…I have handled roaches on the dissection table as a science student. Now, just kicking them out picking them by the legs and throwing away, if the dare me 🙂
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Really! I must bow down at your sheer bravado and courage as for me a woman who can stand calm in the face of a roach attack is amazing. Well, I am so terrified of this creature, probably that is the reason for this respect. I have heard of dissections during college days, but thankfully I was spared of that one too.
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Good evening, Pranitha! I haven’t seen cockroaches for a long long time. I had seen them while I was a child. I don’t remember if I was afraid of them or not. We have crickets, I’m not afraid of them, I just don’t like them. 🙂
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Hello Miriam, you are blessed indeed for this is a creature which is a scavenger but also one minibeast that spreads a host of dreaded diseases. You are definitely not missing anything in your part of the world 🙂
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I know, Pranitha. I remember as a child, there was a mandatory spring cleaning. Hong Kong government sent officials to go house to house to examine. Even it was many years after WWII, many areas still needed years of cleaning badly. 🙂
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Absolutely, Miriam. With the increasing population it sure has become difficult to bring these aspects under control.
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Yes, hopefully people do their part to keep their areas clean!
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He he, Pranitha, I think we are virtual sisters with so many similarities. I am paranoid about those creepy creatures, much to the amusement of my family :). Can so well relate to how you felt 🙂
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Thank you, my virtual sister! After that dreadful night, I have been teased for my reaction to seeing the creature. Its strange is it not, that when you think about it in hindsight it seems silly. I have brought the whole room inside out, making checks – a little crazy I know, but luckily found no relative or kin that it left behind. 🙂
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Thank God for that🙂
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if you happen to find an answer to the question, ‘why are men also scared of spiders?’ please let me know. Those 8-legged anomaly of nature could even send me to my heaven, as that roach went to the insect heaven!
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HaHa! Sure, Doctor! 🙂 I was recently reading that the solution to arachnophobia is ‘controlled exposure’. If this is a solution to my problem, it is the husband who would be at the suffering end.
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Haha humorous and six leg creature don’t scare me ever!!
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Thank you! I wish I had half your confidence to say that. 🙂
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All have fear !! As I don’t like lizard family !!
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Enjoyed reading this post and I see myself in the same situation many times, but with different creature, lizard !! 🙂
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Oh, really! At least we can help each other, Megala. I sure can tackle the lizard while you can do ‘whatever’ about that six-legged creature that I dread.
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🙂
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Hi my friend ☺️♥️
😂😂😂 Let me try to help you here with how I perceive it or have come to realise over time. I think, it’s more of disgust and grossed out feelings than fear which we have had felt when accidentally a member from the cockroach family was scampering about your foot rather than the floor (how did it get over there? Well jumped off, after clinging to the door onto your clueless legs entering the washroom. The scream was definitely louder than yours, I think!)
And I find it difficult to deal with insects and reptiles in general! Some of them are said to be poisonous too.
Hahahaha. Fun read as always. I’m blown away by your writing skills and putting out the ordinary in a very interesting way, keeping one hooked till you read the very last word♥️♥️ I wish my mind could learn something from you.
Happy week to you my friend too ☺️☺️
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Now am I happy that this dreaded creature made its way into my bedroom, simply because I could write about it. Oh, TW, Thank you! Your feedback makes me feel so good and positive, even about this strange incident. The husband and son is still teasing me about it while my daughter has gone and told everyone in her school that a big cockroach the size of herself walked into Mummy’s bedroom. Can you imagine? I now have even free advice from all her teachers as per my daughter – make sure you buy a can of repellent, keep the house clean and pest free.
Now, you know where my sense of humor comes from?
Yes, my dear, I totally agree with you, it is the feeling of disgust I suppose at seeing that creepy crawly.
Thank you for all your encouragement, TW and wishing you a great weekend, my dear! (please count a heart here)
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Hahaha! See, isn’t that amazing, realising that running into a crawling creature wasn’t that bad?!
I’m glad you found my words encouraging and relaxing.
Hahahaha! I’m sorry to hear about the teasing, I guess that wouldn’t stop anytime soon, happened with me too. And oh no, I’m sorry but laughing so hard at the incident with the little princess. Hahahaha! As big as her! You’re always on fire with your words, so much fun to read them.
And the free advice, I don’t know why that is so easily given usually accompanied by judging tones as if they’ve got it all sorted. I can imagine your woes, no amount of explanation would proof to them that it had strolled into your washroom by accident and not a regular affair!
Yes I totally understand where your sense of humour comes from and it’s great you see humour in things, even when you don’t like them. That’s such a healthy trait.
Have a great week ahead my friend. Xoxo♥️
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Haha! Absolutely, TW. It has been encouraging and relaxing but my eyes still are on a look out for the same.
Little Princess makes tall tales, sometimes taller than she is and it portrays a different story to the listener and most of the time, the listener is her teacher.
I have made peace with that fact and hope this strolling has been dealth with, with the entire community of them.
Thank you, TW, it is glad to know that you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.
You have a great week ahead, TW.
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Hahahaha! This comment made me laugh out loud. Incredibly gifted writer you are😂😂 listener being her teacher, I can totally imagine the whole episode in my mind!
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Thank you, TW. So so glad you had a good laugh. Your words are like a boost that encourages me to be my best self. Glad to have you as my friend, TW.
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Ummm…because they are gross, and spotting one means there are more…like many MANY more. Totally not an overreaction. Anything that can survive the apocalypse is not to be trifled.
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Oh yes! I agree. Disgust and the fact that they can simply survive under any conditions. I was just reading that ‘One German female roach can produce 300,000 roaches in a ear’. I guess I need to intensify my search.
Thankyou, Allison for your throughts, means a big deal.
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I agree with your view haha. As much as I grew up with these creatures in India, could never get used to them, lived always on guard. Any future encounters are going to be unpleasant to me, I am sure of that 🙂
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So glad I am not alone in my fears, Pragalbha. 🙂
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When we meet of course i will have a six legged secret gift for you…
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Oh! Then I suppose our virtual friendship is safer, Akhi. My sister in law has a lot of fun running after a screaming adult with a dangling disgusting creature in her hands and she always tells me that I can win the Olympics if I ran like that on a race track 😉
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Haha… that’s funny….. let your sis in law continue that and thus making you all fit for Olympics
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She says that too!
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I guess I am a little braver than you Pranitha when it comes to a single small cockroach. Can deal with it and can send it to heaven or hell. But can’t deal with the big ones found in India or the flying ones or black spiders with thick hairy legs or lizards. Just hate all of them and am reduced to behaving just like you did when you met your cockroach. As usual, enjoyed reading your writing.
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Oh yes, Smitha, it is true that there are strong chemical barriers available but for some reason, these creatures can survive those barriers too, just like mine did. That single parent or grandparent or great grand parent just deserved to be sent off to its heaven for invading my space.
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Thank you, Smitha.:)
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Your descriptive narration transported me to your house Pranitha. You have such a way with words!
I hope & pray that the creatures never make their way into your home again:) I’ve had my share of scream & run incidents thanks to them!!
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Haha! Thank you for your prayers, my dear friend. That is so very sweet of you. Do you know I have been feverishly praying too while I am still being teased for my silly ways and my Little Princess has told all her teachers that a roach – her size- walked into Mummy’s room. Poor thing does not know that if it really did happen, her Mummy would have passed out like a rag doll.;)
Wishing you a happy Women’s day, Divya 🙂
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Oh, ewww! I am right there with you. For harmless bugs, I just turn the other way and pretend I didn’t see them. I once watched in part fascination, part horror as a mother cricket led a line of three baby crickets right through my kitchen. But another time, there was a scorpion in the bathroom, and I couldn’t avoid dealing with it. Needless to say, there was a lot of screeching and screaming on my part… 😛
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Oh! That sounds scary, very scary. The scorpion must have been terrifying. I am sure the children had a fun time recollecting your screams over dinner that evening.
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Oh, they know how much I love creepy crawly bugs. The screaming just goes with the territory. 😛
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Haha!
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very nicely written Pranitha madam. Every word was so beautifully placed. Enjoyed reading it.
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Thank you so much, Ravi. So glad you enjoyed it.
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