jbow
Danny,
I got a cricket call once that turned out to be a smoke detector going bad... really.
Fleas are the worst. They will stay in their pupal case until you step on them. Then they will kick it open and jump. They can stay in there for months... then once the hatch they can go like a year without eating... they are amazing... and getting harder to control because the EPA is taking away everything that works to control them and pet owners are using stuff like Frontline+ and Advantage but not putting it on the pet every month per the label... so, some fleas survive and of course the ones who survive develope a resistance to the active ingredient and pass it on to the next generation... in lots of places Frontline+ is just no longer working. It can become a MESS in a hurry. IF you don't have a pet NEVER allow anyone to visit and bring their dog or cat, I don't care how much they swear their pet has no fleas... you have a really good chance of getting an infestation a week or 10 days after they leave and it is YOU who will have the problem, not them. With dogs and cats, as long as everything remains status quo.. all is well but go on vacation, board your pet and when you get home BAM... fleas all over you as son as you walk in the house.
Fleas are BAD NEWS.
Smoke detectors... well, they aren't much rouble, lol.
J
That's priceless! Hahaha! What's funny, I have one of those smoke detectors! It's one of the early ones. It works great too! If I put my oven on self cleaning mode, it will trip it off in 30 seconds. The funny thing....when the battery starts to wear, it chirps like a large cricket just as you mentioned. My house is full of antiques man. Rotary dial phones, push button phones, old smoke detectors, vintage furniture etc. My mom and dad always loved that stuff so when I bought the house, I sort of kept it. I just recently had the rotary phones disconnected. My dad still walks up to them and starts to dial, then remembers when I start laughin' at him which is followed by a "go eff yaself Dan"! (he always says the letter, never the word lol)
But anyway, a few years ago he says "Dan, I think we got a super cricket down in the basement. I never heard one this loud. He doesn't chirp much, but when he does...man, it's really loud." I ask him where abouts he heard it...he says near the refrigerator in the basment, so I start my quest there. Now if you've ever hunted crickets before, you know they are really smart and are the best ventriloqusits in the business. The best way to find them, is to get down to their level on your knees and listen close. If you stand while hunting, you'll think you hear them in places where they really aren't. It's quite amazing. The next time you hunt for one and do it standing up, try gettin down low....it will bring you right to him! Anyway...
I'm crawling across the floor trying to listen for this super cricket. While doing so, I hear a cricket but he's not where dad said he was. I stand up and walk to where I hear him...sounds like he's in the drop ceiling...no wait, I drop down to the floor....I got him. This thing was loud....like really loud. I pick up a box, and there he was. What's weird...he was a baby. Definitely the loudest one I ever found for his size. Ok, this can't be the one dad meant...
So back to the refrigerator cricket. I get my flashlight and start looking behind the frige....underneath, then I hear the sound of super cricket himself and man was he loud!! But it was a familiar sound and didn't seem natural because it was super loud, a bit robotic and it echo'd. Then it hit me....smoke detector in the stairwell! I went and pressed the test button and sure enough, that was super cricket. My dad cracked up when I told him what it was. :) I replaced the battery and super cricket was put to rest. LOL!
-Danny