Uncommon House Guests

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April 30, 2005

Uncommon House Guests

The previous owners of our house did a good thing by finishing the basement. Some of their choices were, well, different than ones we might have made, such as a bathroom with brown fixtures, one of which is a double lavatory.

I never use one of the sinks. Its dryness has apparently created an "inverse oasis" in which a couple different critters have chosen to dwell, or at least to hang out for a while.

A few weeks ago, I was standing at the right-hand sink (the one I use) and I thought I saw a bit of motion right around the drain opening of the left-hand sink. I stared. I didn't see anything else, and it was either early morning or late-night, so I could have simply chalked it up to the near-hallucinatory state I'm found in at those times of day; but I was certain I had seen something move, so I leaned closer. I then saw the bit of silk webbing stretched between the drain lip and the raised stopper, and I knew then that I wasn't hallucinating, but had seen some sort of spider darting back into the dry well.

I kept an eye out for additional motion, and soon I was rewarded with a full sighting of the spider. She must not have detected me standing over her until I moved or something, because she suddenly disappeared down the drain. I don't know what kind of spider it is, but after a few quick searches online I have come up with the photo below as a best guess (this is called a Grass Spider and usually spends its time outdoors, but is known to enjoy more modern accommodations as well). Hey, as long as there are no Black Widow or Brown Recluse hanging around, I am all about any help I can get in controlling mosquitos, gnats, flies, and other pesky insects. (One cob spider at the opposite end of the basement single-handedly rid the house of a whole pile of those non-native ladybugs late last Fall.)
Grass Spider
Copyright © 1997 Regents of the University of Minnesota.

This morning, I noticed quite a different guest in the same sink. A Red-Sided Flat Millipede was trying (unsuccessfully) to crawl out of the sink. I'm not sure how it got in there. It could have crawled up from the drain; but it's not a centipede, so that's not as likely. I had heard an unexplained sound a few minutes before spotting it, and that sound may have been the millipede dropping into the sink from the ceiling or light fixture (this washroom is tucked under the front of the house, so such a creature could have crawled in at just below ground level and found itself at the top of the room). I decided that there isn't enough decaying plant material in the house for this friend to eat, so I took it outside. I declined to touch it because, even though my childhood-held myth that they sting is inaccurate, I didn't want to get any cyanide on my hands.

Copyright © 2001 Troy Bartlett