Lizards, Snakes and Frogs, Oh My!

When we first bought our house in Ocala, I realized that we would see lizards out and about in the yard.  I wasn't quite prepared for the number of them that we would see daily, but overtime I got used to seeing them every time I went outside.  I still haven't gotten used to chasing them out of the house when they inadvertently come in through a cracked door, but it happens so rarely now that I don't worry about it too much.  The butterfly net has made a difference in how easy it is to catch them and getting rid of the landscaping around our house has greatly decreased the number that hang out close to our home now.  

Besides lizards, I knew that we would also see snakes once we moved, especially when I found "Snake Away" in the garage left by the previous owners.  Thankfully, I haven't seen any of those creepy crawlers, and besides the two king snakes that Doug found in the garage over two years ago, he's only seen one garter snake since we moved.  I try not to freak out about those as I know they will keep smaller pests away from the house and they are more afraid of us than we are of them.

Last night ago, we found something that I am more scared of snakes and lizards.  We also found out that me screaming "Frog . . . get it!" makes Doug shake way more than anything else.  I don't know if it was from the frogs that kept coming into my classroom when I taught FACS at Milford or if it was because frogs jump at you instead of running away when you try to catch them, but either way, I absolutely freaked out when I saw a frog in our home.  After trying to catch him off of the door, we realized that it was better for me to use the net to get him and have Doug move everything out of the front closet that he was trying to hide under.  We did eventually find him and rehomed him outside.  

Today, I spent some time trying to "frog proof" the front and back door with foam door stops.  We weren't sure if the frog got in from the small gap between the french doors or if it was when we potted houseplants Tuesday night.  I did double check the plants after I fixed the gaps in the doors to make sure that there were no other frogs hiding in the soil or under the leaves before I could finally relax.  Thankfully, the plants looked beautiful in their new home and the house was officially "frog free."