Man sets house ablaze while killing spiders with blowtorch

[marmar]

CHICO — An attempt to remove spider webs ended with a charred home at about 1 p.m. Saturday.

Eiliya Maida used a propane blowtorch to clear cobwebs in the backyard of his 811 Coit Tower Way home before dry plants ignited and started an attic fire, said George Basbous, Maida's brother-in-law. While Maida went into the front yard unaware, Basbous noticed smoke rising from the top of the house.

"And that's when I went crazy," Basbous said.

Maida's wife, Jiana Maida, and their two infant boys were outside by the time the fire had spread, and no injuries were reported. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_21031067/man-sets-house-ablaze-while-killing-spiders-blowtorch

[seabeyond]

1. yu-oh. nt

[MichiganVote]

2. Poor Charlotte...and to think I just use a broom now and then.

[hobbit709]

3. Well that should make World's Dumbest.

[SoCalDem]

4. Years ago when we were all young,

friends of ours managed to scrape together some money to build a house. To save money, John was doing the painting etc himself.

Scene1:

after work, before it got dark, he races over there to do some painting.

He's on a ladder and notices that some wasps have built a nest under the peak of the front roof. He goes down to his car rolls up a newspaper and climbs back up the ladder.. lights the paper on fire to "scare away the wasps & fry their wings"..

Scene 2

He catches the roof on fire, and ends up falling down the ladder.'

Scene 3:
There is no water service to the house, so he's running all over the place trying to get some neighbors to help him put out the fire.

(this was way before 911 service)

He met his new neighbors & they managed to get the fire out with minimal damage..and he was stung by a wasp too..

the irony?

He was a State Farm Insurance agent

[angstlessk]

6. Is there such a thing as Ironic Irony? if so this is a classic case!

[angstlessk]

5. I would run in front of a running train to avoid a bee..but spiders..

they eat bugs! I have nothing against spiders..except when they land on me, then it's me against them..and I have so far won that battle.

[4th law of robotics]

7. It was the only way to be sure . . .

[backscatter712]

8. Killing spiders in your house with a blowtorch?

[TheDebbieDee]

9. That's the craziest thing I ever heard...........

Everybody should know that the best way to get rid of spiders that are infesting your house is to throw a half-stick of dynamite at them!

[LiberalEsto]

13. We used to kill roaches with a hammer

while talking on the phone, then scratch another mark on the list of kills on the wall.

Group apartment, circa 1975.

[Posteritatis]

10. Solved the problem though. (nt)

[scarletwoman]

11. It's bad luck to kill spiders. I thought everyone knew that.

[femmocrat]

12. One of our neighbors burned down his house trying to "smoke out" bees.

It was the first time I ever saw a house fire.

[a la izquierda]

14. I have to tell you, I am so happy that I actually clicked on this...

because I discovered that it was NOT my friend who did this.
A few years ago, a friend of mine who has a very bad case of arachnaphobia, found a giant spider in his room. He took spray deodorant, a lighter, and aimed...and burned a hole in the drywall. He didn't kill the spider, either.

I have arachnaphobia, but not that bad...

[longship]

15. Problem solved!

Actually, my favorite spiders are the little jumping spiders, with their eight little eyes, and their voracious appetites for flies, Mosquitos, and other pests.

I kill spiders in my shower, but generally otherwise let them go. Especially the cute jumpers.