Peeeew!

[rejectomorph]

I have mentioned that one of the advantages of living in a town in which all the buildings have their own septic tanks, in lieu of a municipal sewer system, is that the absence of sewers means that there is no freeway for roaches. In the sixteen years that I have lived here, I have seen only a few roaches, most of them outdoors, and all of them quite small. In Los Angeles, we were always plagued with them, and they were huge. They grew large in the sewers, and made their way into every building. Pest control companies flourish there, and supermarkets and drug stores have shelves full of roach spray. Here, the pest control companies get most of their business treating houses for termites, and the roach spray is confined to a very small section of the store shelves, where it typically gathers a great deal of dust before it is sold. But there is a down side to septic tanks. They require periodic pumping, lest they overflow. When they overflow, they reek. I just went outside and smelled a failed septic tank somewhere in the neighborhood. I hope the owners take care of it quickly. Until they do, all I can do is hold my nose and think of my roach-free house.