.: The Huhu Beetle

Friday, February 13, 2009

The Huhu Beetle

This scary, huge, horrible, gross beetle was in our house the other night! It's native to NZ and is the largest beetle in the country.

On Tuesday night Tony went to check on the boys before going to bed and when he turned their bedroom light on he saw one of these beetles on the boys window drapes.

It's a good thing Tony was home because I would have completly freaked out if I was on my own and it's a gaurantee I would have started running down the driveway!

Tony and I have been married for ten years and I have never seen him afraid of a bug. He always happily comes to get spiders for me and picks them up with a tiny piece of toilet paper without hesitating (we get a lot of spiders in our house since we are surrounded by so many trees with bush in the backyard). However, the sight of this beetle in our house was the first time I really saw Tony afraid.

We stood in the boys doorway together while the boys slept soundly and figured out a plan to get rid of it. The first plan of action was that Tony decided to get a large book to try and flick it out the window. When he tried it the beetle went absolutely crazy and started flying all over the room, making a horrible clicking sound and bouncing off the walls and ceiling. Tony ran out of the bedroom so fast that he somehow tripped over his feet and landed in the hallway flat on his face!!!!!!! It was absolutely hilarious, but really frightening at the same time! We laughed and panicked (all at the same time) as we hid in the bathroom together with the door closed until the bug settled down. Eventually we got brave enough to check out where the bug had re-landed and the next plan of action was to turn all the lights off so the bug would be attracted to outside light. We patiently waited in the dark for it to move again (as we hid in our bedroom), but Tony got 'impatient' and wanted to get rid of it. We also didn't want to go to sleep knowing that the bug could stay in the bedroom all night....besides, there was no way either of us were going to fall asleep until we had peace of mind it was truely gone. We heard the bug make another move and another clicking sound. Tony eventually discovered it hiding behind the boys' toy chest and managed to squash it/kill it by moving the chest into the wall. Wow, what a crunch!!!! Tony couldn't believe all the 'stuff' that came out of it - it was definitely full of a lof of juice. I was way too scared to even look at it dead! I asked Tony if he would like some toilet paper to pick it up and he replied, "Are you kidding, bring me the whole roll of paper towels'.!!!!! For anyone who knows how cheap Tony can be the fact that he asked for a whole roll of paper towels mean't serious stuff!

After sharing our story with a couple of people the next day we later learned that the Maori people actually enjoy eating these beetles (they consider it a delicacy and claim that they taste like buttery chicken). Now that truly is extremely gross!!! Not even Tony would take a million dollars to eat one of those things.

Thankfully....and unbelievably.....both Hayden and Ashton slept through the whole thing and barely stirred (even when the beetle went crazy hitting the walls). Although halfway through the ordeal Tony grabbed the boys and put them into our room. After this 'beetle encounter' I'm now a little paranoid about opening windows in the evening and I'm certainly not comfortable sleeping with our balcony doors open anymore during the night as we have been doing (I did wake up about two am a few days back to see Tony hiding under the covers because something was flying around the bedroom and making lots of noise - it happened to be the same beetle). We've decided our bedroom fan is a much safer option for keeping us cool upstairs!

Tony definitely deserves the trophy this week for his bravery!!!!!!!!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Tony's #1!; February 16, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Anonymous said...: LOL!!! O what a hoot!!! =D
Thought I'd take a mini break from work .. that is the most funniest story!

Its so funny you're both scared of it too. I don't find them scary, but cant say we've had one flying and clicking like mad in our house =) And I didn't know the Maoris ate them!

Do you get white tails in your house too? We do but Chris is too lazy to spray our house =( despite hearing stories from others how big and nasty the bite wounds can be.

If you think HuHu bugs are scary - you should show Tony a picture of a WETA!!

Clever girl for adding hte youtube vid on you blog too =)

catch you later
Julia =); February 17, 2009 at 12:50 PM

Funny Comments

Ashton walking into the supermarket quietly whispers to himself: "Please can I have macaroni and cheese, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Ashton: "I want to live with Jesus." Mummy: "Why?" Ashton: "Because he be nice to me and he gives me bread and water!"

Mummy, examining Ashton's legs, and thinking: My goodness, what hairy legs. Ashton, unimpressed with Mummy's examination, pulls away: "Don't touch them. I'm growing Daddy legs!"

Hayden gets upset at Ashton: "Right Ashton, that's it! I'm telling Jesus on you!"

Ashton with a cold: "I'm snotty as a piggy."

Hayden: "The sun is burning my eyeballs."

Hayden: "Mummy, how come your penis is missing?"

Hayden: "I get the bigger piece of cake because my skeleton is bigger."

Hayden (3yrs old) sees me get dressed in the morning and stares at my breasts with a confused look..."What thooooose be for???"

Hayden: "I don't want to finish my pizza, it's got blood all over it."

Hayden: "Ashton hit me in the heart."

Hayden learns the planets at Preschool: Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Penus!

Hayden (shopping with me and whining): "My brain hurts forever because you haven't buyed me anything."

QUOTES

Like the changing leaves of fall...My little boy is now a man.
--Author Unknown

Boys are God's way of telling you that your house is too neat!
--Author Unknown

There never has been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son.
--Author Unknown

Boys are found everywhere - on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.
--Alan Marshall Beck

Something For A Giggle....

I Owe My Mother ....

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."

My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA. "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."

My mother taught me about RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!"

My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

My mother taught me ESP. "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

My mother taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

My mother taught me GENETICS. "You're just like your father."

My mother taught me about my ROOTS. "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!