Living in north Florida when the seasons change we often go back and forth between Cool and Heat on the air conditioner. At the end of last week, it was cold enough that we actually turned the heat on. And then it warmed up. Sunday night I was sitting in the living room thinking, "I am hot." By the time I was ready for bed, I was really warm. (For those of you who have never had a migraine.... sometimes the connecting of the dots doesn't happen as quickly as it should.) Anyway, it FINALLY occurred to me to check the thermostat. It was 77 degrees and still in Heat mode. *Aha*
So, I turned it back over to Cool and the outdoor fan/compressor/whatever that thing is made the most HORRENDOUS racket I have heard in a long time. Every time the air came on, it banged and clanged. It was so loud that I could hear it in my room. For hours. At 2am I finally fell asleep.
Yesterday it was the same. I called someone.
The guy just left. Of course, it wasn't banging and clanging when he came out. ***shocking*** However, he listened to my tale and checked everything.
He did find a gecko plastered against the grill. Dead. Yep. The lizard was blown around by the fan until he hit the cage and stuck.
The theory: when I turned on the air after it being off all day a horde of geckos were inside the unit. They all were thrown around relentlessly until they were small enough to make it out the cage. Yeah, not a pretty picture. By the time the repair guy arrived today, one lone gecko was all that was left. I would feel horrible about this loss of gecko life if not for the fact the little buggers are EVERYWHERE. I am constantly finding them in the house, trying to catch them (easier said than done), and then put them back outside. When I walk the dog, they scatter across the sidewalk like roaches when you turn on the light. I have actually had thoughts that if there were ever some sort of nuclear attack the only thing left here in north Florida would be geckos. We are awash in them.
And you thought that they were only on TV.
So, what did we learn from our unlucky gecko friends? Don't drop in on places with blades even if they aren't moving right now. You just don't know when someone is going to flip the switch.
Blowing geckos and gecko parts everywhere! Yes, sad, but just a bit funny as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've been to Florida and seen the geckos everywhere. They are thicker than Palmettto bugs (cockroaches) in Georgia.
It is insane how many of them there are. About a month ago, we brought in the wreath decorating the front door to swap it for an autumn one and TWO geckos jumped out and scurried into the house. Yet another gecko story...
DeleteI hate the cold but at least it keeps some pests at bay. Our only nuisance right now are the stink bugs trying to get inside out of the cold. Soon we'll have to worry about mice. They're tough to keep outside when you live in the countryside..
ReplyDeleteOooh mice.
DeleteSorry to hear that your A/C turned into a giant gecko Cuisinart. Luckily it didn't break the unit -- I'm an avowed animal lover, but the loss of critter life occasionally takes a backseat when it comes to potential repairs costing hundreds to thousands of dollars!
ReplyDelete..and I bet the dang geckos won't even eat the lovebugs, right? Those are the pests I remember from my visits to Florida.
No, I don't believe they eat those darn lovebugs. Nothing like having your car splattered with THEIR guts. What a mess.
DeleteOh no, I hope the dead gecko wasn't the one who does all the ads. He's cute and amusing.
ReplyDeleteBe well, Robin.
xoRobyn
Don't know. The dead one wasn't talking;)
DeleteGood advise! I'll make a point of staying away from the blades from now on. No more naps on top of the lawn mower.
ReplyDeleteI know you're sick of them, but I LOVE those lizards, and am always delighted when we see them. A rarity here, but I enjoyed them when we were in Florida. Cute little buggers.
Hahahaha. No more naps on the lawnmower. We always try to provide enlightenment here!!!
DeleteWe, have geckos in AZ but I've never seen them in that quantity-usually I see one when cutting the lawn. I imagine that I do not see them inside because of the cats.
ReplyDeleteWhat's green and red and goes 110 miles per hour?
A gecko in your air conditioning unit!
Larry
Oh, Larry, that was cringeworthy!
DeleteEwwww. Poor geckos. Not a great way to go.
ReplyDeleteBut as you said, not a great place for them to make a nest, either.
The gecko parts were blown OUT of the house, not IN, right?
It was the outdoor unit, so nothing blew inside. But just the thought gave me an all over body shudder. Yuck!!!!
DeleteBlah! Gecko soup - its what's for dinner. glad your unit isnt damaged. that can get mighty expensive. here in Memphis we're awash in little frogs. they cover the roads whenever it rains. Never Ginsued one with our air conditioner before, though.
ReplyDeleteThis post made me think of a song we used to sing at campouts and it seems most appropriate for you, Memphis Steve. It goes like this:
DeleteOh Tom the toad, oh Tom the toad
Why did you go out in the road?
You used to be so green and fat
And now you're red and rather flat!
Oh Tom the toad, oh Tom the toad
Why did you go out in the road?!
In the tropics I learned to appreciate the Geckos, they eat a lot if the bugs, and there was no way to keep them out of the house.
ReplyDeleteI am not there yet. I always try to help them to the door when I find them...
DeleteAt night, the geckos here love to come out and hang on the ceiling of our covered front porch. So, every time we enter or exit the front door, there are several geckos above our heads, just clinging there. Weird little things.
ReplyDelete~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
There are so many here that I have had an opportunity to observe their mating ritual habits. The males are very stalkerish and the females spend all of the their time running like their tails are on fire.
DeleteOMG. I do remember seeing quite a few of those little lizards while visiting Florida. I was fascinated by them. Wouldn't be so fascinating to have them invade your heating and cooling system, though. But, hey, at least it wasn't pythons. :)))
ReplyDeleteAs a dog owner, I worry about snakes. Yeah, I really don't need pythons or any other poisonous snakes close to or in my house!!!
DeleteVisiting via Manzi, geckos inside your house are supposed to be lucky, plus they'll eat any insects that find their way inside too. You do seem to have an unusual number of them though. Is that common in your area?
ReplyDeleteYeah, everyone I talk to in this area says that geckos are EVERYWHERE.
DeleteI'm going to take this a little more existentially and say that this will remind me not to stick around with any shady characters or just people that I know set off easily. You never do know when the s#*t's gonna' hit the fan!
ReplyDeleteGood idea. You don't know when their switch will flip.
DeleteEww! Poor Geckos! It's the invasion of the Geckos at your house! lol
ReplyDeleteAfter posting this, I am coming to understand that geckos in the house is lucky. If so, I should buy a lottery ticket.
DeleteWe have lizards - is that the same as geckos? All I know is that my cats are relentless with them, but just imagining them in Florida with a smorgasbord instead of here in the dead desert is more than I want to think about. And we have the same seasonal thing going on! No heat yet, beautiful weather. I'm starting to worry about whether I'll get to wear my winter clothes at all, or why I buy them!
ReplyDeleteI don't know, Linda, but if they look like the little guys in the pics they are probably geckos. Yes, cats do love them and I do believe that their tails are poisonous.
DeleteI know what you are saying about winter clothes. I love long sleeves, sweaters, and scarves. Short season for it here:(
We live in the middle of Florida (Tampa), but for some reason we're often referred to as south Florida (case in point, my alma mater, USF), but as to geckos, we often get them in the house too. We also get lizards. I can't vouch for this, but there are folks who say that a house full of lizards is a happy house.
ReplyDeleteI think the gecko population is huge all over Florida. A happy house, eh? At least my dog isn't convinced they are enemy and trying to eat the ones trapped inside. So, it could be much worse.
DeleteDo all geckos speak with the strange accent of that one on TV? :-)
ReplyDeleteWe're in the middle of a stinkbug invasion. Little suckers are absolutely everywhere. Care to trade?
No. I think I will keep the geckos. They are silent and not smelly.
DeleteNow that could have been...messy.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't gone out there to take a look up close and personal.
DeleteHave you hugged your gecko today :)
ReplyDeleteWe have them in Texas, too.
They must like that warm weather!
DeleteI was trying to think of what movie this reminded me of and it's Spiderman...where the guy turned into sand when the contraption turned on.
ReplyDeleteWe had Geckos in S. Fl. too when I lived there, not tons but enough that you saw them every day. I never minded those. :)
You're so funny with the story and the moral too! We have geckos in Egypt. When one gets in the house, I try to remind myself they eat insects and can't hurt me, but as they scurry across the walls I can't help shiver. Eww. I never do anything and eventually, they find their way out.
ReplyDeleteI am menopausal and get lots of hot flashes. In years past I never turned ours to cool in Nov or later in the fall/winter season but lately I have had to turn it to cool. There have been a few times I forgot to click it back over to heat so it's the hubby's job to make sure each night that it's on the proper settings. :)
ReplyDelete