A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
[edit] Please guys, I'm radically pro-lizard!
Maybe it's because I grew up in the north where there are no lizards, but Ive never understood squeamish reactions to them. I get it for insects, and spiders, and snakes, and even fish, but lizards have always just seemed like chill happy bros to me.
Except that one massive iguana that chased me, all the rest of have been chill.
... I want to hear this story of 'that one time I got chased by a massive iguana.'
But I don't get or really understand the squeamish reaction to... any of those things you just mentioned.
Like, I know they are common in other people, but none of that ever made any sense to me, seems like irrational phobias.
I grew up in the WA PNW with a lot of outdoor and wild life activities... basically in an exurb bordering the boonies on one side , farmland north and south, fucking swamp/estuary on the other with a highway bridge going over it into a bigger town.
Any time I went anywhere new, some new biome... I would just learn about the local wildlife first, learn what is harmless, mostly harmless, and the few things that are actually dangerous.
Far more often it was the case that various damned plants with either barbs or some kind of skin irritant would be the main concern... or just mosquitoes, or sand fleas and mites... don't try to pick up a dead, decaying jellyish...
I used to just play with newts and garter snakes, caught and released different bugs for fun.
Only snake I've ever been 'squeamish' around was a goddamned actual Northwestern Rattler, which I happened to get tooooo close to by accident once, out on the eastern side of the Cascades.
By too close, I mean, I am trudging through shrubland on a hike on a friend's property, and suddenly, from somewhere, yep, can't see it, but I can definitelt hear a persistent rattle, time to freeze, figure out where it is by ear, and back away very, very slowly, hike is done for the day lol.
... I want to hear this story of 'that one time I got chased by a massive iguana.'
It was the first time I was in the dominican, and it was a resort, and I was 18 and hungover and thought I was super cool, and then I only barely held in high pitched squeals as I got chased across half the resort by a giant man killing dinosaur, and everyone praised me for how brave and strong I was... iirc.
What's wrong with lizards?
I dunno, people are weird.
Unlike us lizards.
Memories buried deep in our mammal brains of when reptiles were our main predators?
I've never met a person in my life who thinks lizards are disgusting. They need to eat bugs constantly, which makes them better than spiders - some of which can go a year without eating - and they're cute with their little mating rituals. Geckos too.
They need to eat bugs constantly, which makes them better than spiders
The whole "Don't squish spiders in your house, they eats bugsssss" was just pro-spider propaganda the entire time!
Serious question: as someone who really, really hates bugs, are there any lizards I can just let roam my apartment? I feel like it'd be really chill to have a big scaly friend who could snack on the occasional spider or fly in my apt between meals.
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but the real trick to managing pests in your home, is to allow the right predator pests to exist. The best ones are spiders and centipedes. Centipedes are especially the best because they won't ever hurt you, they mostly stay out of sight, and they don't leave webs hanging around. But when you do see one you will probably freak the fuck out. You just have to remember that they eat earwigs and mites and such and try not to kill them. Spiders are also great to keep around, but there should be a big asterisk about how I live in Illinois and most spiders are harmless here.
The real trick to managing pests in your home is to use caulking to seal the entry points between the interior and the walls, and between the walls and the exterior.
hah, imagine owning a home
You don't have to own a home to use caulking, you just need to own caulking and a caulking gun.
And not be attached to your security deposit.
Lol you can't lose your security deposit for improving your residence by painting and sealing it properly. Caulking is literally sold in bulk boxes for painters because it's also how you make a paint job look professional.
Yeah, all landlords are completely sane and never nefarious at all. Complete mistake on my part, I apologize.
Well maybe you live in a hellscape dystopia, but in most places landlords are beholden to laws and are not just each individually Judge Dredd.
Being beholden to laws and having laws enforced are not the same thing, unfortunately.
That reduces entry points but you will never ever perfectly seal every nook and cranny. All it takes is one insect to get in to be able to replicate if tmthe stuff that draws insects in is present.
People regularly live in homes without.insect infestations despite leaving windows wide open without screens. They keep the house tidy so they aren't feeding anything that gets in, they close the windows when it is dark out to avoid light drawing things in, and they make sure to get rid of waste. If there is nothing for scavaging bugs to eat there won't be anything for the predators to eat and so on.
Yeah I know about the centipedes, I've had roommates that used some in the past.
The big issue is that I have really bad arachnophobia, so the bug I care the most about getting rid of is spiders. just seeing one causes me to freeze and start panicking. The spiders here are harmless, but try telling that to my dumb brain. It's not even like I see them that frequently, but seeing just one ruins my week because I get paranoid that there are more I'm not seeing.
I saw one guy on youtube that has a monitor lizard. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
On a similar wavelength:
This is why you generally don't just stomp the shit out of any indoor spider you see ... unless you very specifically live in an area where there are actually human-dangerous spiders.
https://www.thespruce.com/why-spiders-are-good-8690795
Unless you live way out in the boonies, or you really have not been in your basement or attic in a while...
(and lets be real, we're almost all urban renters now, nobody has a basement or attic rofl)
... chances are, any spider you see indoors is actually only really capable of living in or very near a warm building, and when/if you do see them, it is hunting actual pest insects, and is just shy of totally harmless to you as a human.
Just learn what black widows and brown recluses look like, and if it isn't one o' those, you're fine.
Can you people stop saying shit like this and pull out the caulk and put in ventilation meshes?
Why is the modern human suddenly better off with spiders in their room, than with maintenance and a broom?
Look at these cute bastards, how can you not love them.
In the mid south US, i've never seen someone dislike lizards
I also don't see them that often, especially in winter or spring
although there was one day I was in this courtyard for half an hour where I saw like 12 little skinks
I live in the southern US and I see them daily. They seem to be more common than squirrels. They run away from you though so they don't bother anyone. At my old apartment, there was a period of time somehow lizards kept getting inside my place. I kept trying to free them but I would accidentally kill them when trying to handle them. Another one I just tried to let live in my apartment, but he quickly died...presumably from not being able to find enough food and water. They are super fragile.
In Texas here, I love the colonies of green & brown anoles in my back yard. Regularly go out there just to spot them sunbathing or hanging out in my plants. Also never heard of anyone hating lizards.
Alternative...
Lizard shedding its tail rather than getting anywhere near me.
Me: 🥺
I just had this conversation the other day with my wife. She loves nature and animals but will suggest nuclear force against any little lizard, of which there are many in our garden.
They are harmless and help control insect pests around our veggies.
