February 2008 - The Parklander Magazine

GARDEN SPOTTheSpiny Orb WeaverAmong UsBy Ed BinkerdTThose of us who live in South Florida share our world with an assortmentof small critters, from the ubiquitous Anole lizard to a wide variety ofmulti-legged creepy-crawlies. How we feel about our little friends maydepend on where we find them. We’re pretty much OK with just aboutany creature we see in the yard; it’s very different matter if we find them inthe house. Let’s visit a few of these interesting animals, then we’ll offersome suggestions on how to interact with them.EEK, a spider! Now I’ll grant you, spiders are prettyugly and their disgusting eating habits don’t makethem any more lovable. Nevertheless, not all of themdeserve to be smashed or gassed. For example, take theSpiny Orb Weaver. With its yellowish body, blackspots and orange spines on the side and rear, it lookslike a miniature, gaily-colored crab with shiny blacklegs. Barely a half-inch wide, these industrious littleengineers build webs that are sometimesfifteen to twenty feet wide. More thanonce I have had webs in my back yardthat had three anchor-points - the edgeof my roof, the top of the fichus hedge20 feet away and, finally, the ground. Ifa six-foot human built a web ofproportionate size it would span2,000 feet or more!GeckoMister Lizard is out in the yard: Ifyou’re lucky, you have a populationof small lizards residing in your yard and on(not in) your house. If you do, it’s like having TrulyNolan on duty 24 hours a day. The day workers aremade up of Brown Anole lizards and their seldomseen cousins, the Green Anole. Both are slender andgrow to about seven inches in length.They can run likethe wind and just love to eat lots of bugs. After the sungoes down, the Anoles retire to their homes to watch TVand get some rest after a long day of scurrying. With that,the night shift clocks in – the Mediterranean Geckos.Shorter and fatter than the Anoles, the Geckos spendmost of the night running up and down the outside walls ofyour house looking for snacks. A lot of the action takes placenear your outside lights which attract flying insects, afavorite meal for Geckos. Because they are so beneficial to ushumans, lizards deserve to be treated with a little kindness.Green AnoleA word about Dinosaurs: We share our world with another, morespectacular lizard - the Green Iguana. If you’re afraid of lizards, you willswear that Iguanasgrow to twenty feet in length and feed onpets and small children. Au contraire bon ami! They grow to “only”five feet in length and, thank God, are strict vegetarians.About critters in the house: There is no law that says we have to kill everycritter that makes its way into our homes. I’ll admit there are a few specieswe simply must exterminate on sight.Roaches (renamed “Palmetto Bugs” by theFlorida Chamber of Commerce) andSilver Fish are two examples. But for manyothers I would encourage you to simplyrelocate them from inside your home tooutside your home. This can beaccomplished using a simple, home-madecritter catcher. This handy tool consists ofa large plastic drinking glass and a thinpiece of cardboard; the back of a writingtablet works just fine. Actually, catchingcritters takes no small amount of skill andfinesse. You must approach them slowly,preferably in your stocking feet for added stealth.To safely trap it, you’ll want to carefully lower theopen end of the glass over the critter. If you’recatching a lizard, try not to cut off any of his/hertail; it creates a deformity thatmakes the lizard very selfconscious.After the critter istrapped under the glass, slowlyand carefully slide the piece ofcardboard under the glass. Asyou do, the critter will walk upon the cardboard. As soon asthe cardboard covers the entireopening of the glass, thecritter is trapped and you areready to transport. Just walkoutside and shake the critterout of the glass on to thenearest tree or hedge.IguanaYou’ll be surprised how good it feels to save one of theselittle creatures. Not only that, you will automatically become an honorarymember of the Gil Grissom (CSI) Entomological Society.Ed Binkerd is a retired human resources executive with a passion for writing.He lives with his wife Sharon in Fort Lauderdale.56 FEBRUARY 2008