After reading about the rats I am wondering what funny animal stories are out there???? I hate slugs(my skin craws just thinking about them). Bats rate right up there too.

How about the time I was about 40' up and crawled into a very tight FL sign access, just to focus in to a big, hairy spider about the size of my fist, 2" from my eye. It was so big I could see that it was looking right back at me. We finally had to come to an agreement - I don't mess with you, you don't mess with me...

I have lots of spider stories. They're just little guys, and usually can't do much damage to you, but they still kinda gimme the creeps.

This one's my dad's:
"Crawling in the crawlspace, soldering some copper pipe, a black widow spider crawls up next to me. I see it, ignore it. It moves three more inches, and I hit it with the torch. Only problem is, I also burned the hair off of my arm."

Ian A.

iM A WILDLIFE FANANTIC but while working on a rectifier in the woods one day i heard the unmisstakeable sound of a rattlesnake. I ran and i do mean ran as far away as possible. I know they are a important part of the echo system but they make my skin crawl. Hope i never hear that sound again. I dont get spooked at all but these things send shivers down my spine.

This is one of my favorite builder's critters.
http://members.aol.com/gfretwell/judygator.jpg

When I was an apprentice, we were running conduit underneath the bins in a grain elevator. The boss crawled in first, made it about ten feet and came out as fast as a grown man can crawl. When I looked in, the whole ground was covered with black beetles about the size of a nickel. He had beetles crawling inside his clothes, in his pockets, even where the sun don't shine.

Re-wiring an old house and found dead pigeons in the in the walls and attic. Had to have another company come in and do a much bigger demo than the customer had planned.

I was sent to repair an old broken light on a 2nd floor outdoor staircase. I took out the switch and did a quick continuity test. There was continuity between white and black, but no light bulb in the fixture. The wood ceiling was decaying so I decided to probe around a bit. I found a dead squirrel still attached to the romex cable by it's teeth. It was gross.

I've got some serious issues with those palmetto bugs. Makes my skin crawl! I could never do that show fear factor. No flippin' way im eatin a Roach! BARF!!!

I was bit by a Brown Recluse spider in 1994, working in a drop ceiling. My hand swelled up the size of a softball in less than 10 minites.Went to emergency room in less than 15 minites.

Oh yeah, forgot about bees and wasps! I keep a can of "bee blast" in the truck.

While checking some light poles at a country club tennis court, I was trying to pull the wires out of the handhole,I stopped and peered in and then asked the maintenance guy with me"Is that what I think it is in there?" He leaned over and looked real close and then jumped back about 10 feet and screamed "HOLY @$#%< IT'S A SNAKE!" There was a about six foot black snake about two inch diameter inside the four inch sq. pole. It had crawled between the base plate and the base by the leveling nuts.
I decided to check for power elsewhere.

Chuck

I have lost count on the number of rattlesnakes I have come across in electrical enclosures in the field. A lot of guys don't take the vermin-proofing rules seriously, so mice take up residence, then the snakes follow the food supply. I always stand to the side when opening cainets in remote areas.

My scariest one was not a snake though. I was working on a pump controller in the woods in Washington State once when I was confronted by a baby bear. Cute little thing, but I knew enough about bears to know that Mama was close by and would not appreciate any attention paid by me to her little precious darling. I immediately went back to my truck and got inside hoping the baby would leave, but sure enough Mama Bear got there right away. She reared up and threatened me, I started the engine and laid tracks in the dust as fast as I could get traction. Had to go back and retrieve my tools and close the panel; she had torn apart everything that had my scent on it. Lucky for her the power was locked off at the pole. I got the priveledge of rebuilding the panel in the field, but the next time I had a lookout with me.

I might be a bit silly here, but, there is nothing that a 20oz Claw-hammer head can't fix.
Spiders, and the like.
BANG!.
Let's see you come back from that!.

I'm surprised "ants" have not showed up here. Of course there are the carpenter ants that seem to love pump switches and FS boxes as homes. Thet has you to be sitting in the dirt. Then you find the fire ants that make you dance around slapping yourself.

While not particularily bothered by critters, there are a few that complicate my day.

There's the 'indoor' box used outdoors, with the little holes bugs just love. It's lots of fun, trying to remove a cover plate, when you see six furry legs pulling it back on!

Or the fixture you remove, destroying a wasp nest at the same time. All is well, unless they start coming home before you have the fixture replaced!

There's the customer with pit bull puppies, who just love all your tools and parts, convinced you've brought them new toys to either chew up, or hide.


One job site, though, has me wondering if it is really of this world at all. Early on, we had a Snowy owl take up residence. 5 ft. wingspread, body as large as a chicken... magnificent bird! The alarm guys got quite a start when that came across droppings, with fairly large bones in them!
A light snow, and we found Mountain Lion tracks around our stuff. Ever gone to "water" a bush, only to have the bush growl?
We left the lights on one night, and arrived the next morning to hundreds of moths, as big as sparrows. 5" wingspans, bodise the size of your thumb. There were also beetles whose bodies were 2" long and 1" wide. HUGE.

Funny this thread is still running...

I just had a little encounter with a skunk here in Huntington Beach last night. I thought he was gonna get me - had his tail up and everything - but I just froze and didn't even breath. A couple seconds later he just ran away down the alley.

I just thought it was a funny looking cat for a second...

Huntington Beach - Isn't that the town formerly known as "Surf City"?

I lived there most of my life. I can't write down on here the term I use to refer to it...but it ain't "surf city". =)

I'm a critter lover. I have groundhogs living under my pantry floor, they don't seem to do any damage, and I love seeing them in the yard. Also, a lot of moths near my house, many are more beautiful than butterflies. Also have the occasional field mouse in the house that I catch and go on a long walk to release them.

But I hate roaches and spiders. I did a short stint as a maintenance guy for some public housing projects, and we had to fix an apartment that people were evicted from for trashing the place.

I had to replace a sheet of badly cracked drywall. Knocked it down and hundreds (or thousands) of cockroaches fell onto the floor (and me). I ran out, stripping to my boxers trying to get them off. I didn't finish the job, as we had to call the exterminator. I left my clothes there, but I had an extra jumpsuit in my locker.

Of course there were many times I'd prefer a rat or a snake to some of the humans there.

Reno, that is owl vomit.
They can't digest bones so they barf that part back up.

PE:
I am with you! I like the bigger 4-legged 'critters but I hate roaches, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, or anything that small that crawls and can race through a building faster than you can.
We do work for a property management company that proudly owns the " cockroach motel" as I have dubbed it, I swear there have to be billions in this place as they are seen EVERYWHERE.. And it usually figures I get the calls there that involve working in the garbage room, or some trashed unit thats just loaded with those disgusting buggers!

A.D

Like Indiana Jones, I hate snakes. Most other vermin don't bother me much.

I have run across some vermin in the guise of a General Contractor!!

I confess that a true chill went down my spine the day the new inspector said "I just got back from a really cool seminar, and did we learn some great stuff!"

Doesn't work on ground fleas. Too many and too small.

I also had an encounter with a shunk in Huntington Beach. I ran over it at 50mph.Now my 1968 Chevelle smells like a skunk (permanently). Hey Zapped I live in H.B. too (since 1970). And I know that word you are going use to describe Hunt. Bch.

Had a helper in a crawlspace of a old house. All the old wireing had been gutted, and we were rewireing. (Remember the old romex that was thick and black?) He looked up, thought "I thought we already gutted all the old stuff" He grabbed what he THOUGHT was an old wire.... It wrapped itself around his arm-black snake! Talk about a blood-curdleing scream!

This is somewhat related if bees, wasps and ants are a problem for you. Get a 35mm film can (or similar container) and put baking soda in it, toss it in your tools.
If you get bit by ants or bees, wet the sting and rub the baking soda in it. This will neutralize the formic acid in the venom and minimize the effects.
My wife got to use hers today, fireants got everybody bad. It really helped.

Roaches and flies because I just associate them with filth. I don't like spiders, but I'd much rather a horde of spiders to roaches.

The only one that used to really concern me was going into crawl spaces in central VA: We'd find black widows all the time. One guy had one fall into his hair and he only realised what it was after he swatted it out. I figured I'd never see the darn thing until it bit me. PEdoubleNIZZLE, it sounds like we used to work for the same comapny. Ugh!

-John

[This message has been edited by BigJohn (edited 10-22-2006).]

Centipedes. Like 8" long and very fast and also quite ready to bite and sting. The sting feels like 4 yellow jackets just hit you at the same time and place. Hate em.

I once had a small, lazy bulldog puppy crawl into my truck behind a bucket and fall asleep. I was about halfway back to the shop when I heard barking. I called the homeowner, and, she was glad I had found her precious "fuzzpuff" I laughed the whole way back at the name!

macmikeman - I'm SCARED of centipedes! I'm not sure which ones are poisonous and which ones arent, so as a general rule, I Stomp first, ask questions later.

Of course, I'l alright with millipedes. They do smell a bit, but they are veggies, and if you touch them, they curl up into a ball.

Also, I'm getting more wary of spiders. Last night, after I locked up for bed, 2 spiders made 2 thick webs around my front and back door jambs. I went out to check the mail today, and caught it before it was too late. I turned to go out the back door, and there was a spider waiting in the middle.

And I just remembered, a few years back, I did a clear epoxy coating for my basement wet bar top, about 1/2" thick. Before it cured, a spider got in it. It wass all curled up, though, so it didn't look as cool.

A little late to the party here but...

My brother and I are working in a hot, jungle-like overgrown backyard in shorts and t shirts, and joking about all the things that are probably living in here- snakes, rats, roaches, spiders, wolves, vampires, etc.
About 5 minutes later a grasshopper jumps onto the back of my leg. I screamed bloody murder and my brother looks down, sees something, screams and takes a swing at my leg with a SHOVEL. (missed).

I never felt so ashamed in all my life.

A little off subject.
I used to work on the "Movieland Wax Museum" at night somestimes. Pretty interesting work.
There was a system of catwalks that ran above most of the displays.
One night, I bumped a cabinet up there and a spare WC Fields head fell off of a shelf right onto me. I nearly jumped off the catwalk in horror as it rolled off of my shoulder and went by my face.

quote"macmikeman - I'm SCARED of centipedes! I'm not sure which ones are poisonous and which ones arent, so as a general rule, I Stomp first, ask questions later."

Where I live they are ALL poisonous. Even the little bitty baby ones.