Letter: Just a thought ... about ‘welcome mats’

To the Editor:

Welcome mats display a friendly gesture for others to see and feel the friendliness of the residents who place them at the entryway of their doors.

This is not a friendly invite to mice, spiders, ants, cockroaches or other creepy crawlers, especially termites that could eventually eat the resident out of house and home. The welcome mat also could read, “No strays welcome – enter at your own risk!”

Whenever a creepy crawler gets in, the resident can’t just open the door and point for the varmint or insect to exit. Similar to unwanted guests, the intruder’s entry will cause a costly and burdensome task to remove them. There exists no court actions or three-day notices that can be given to legally evict them. The resident will have to resort to traps, do-it-yourself chemical sprays or contacting a professional exterminator, which can be expensive.

These intruders are not a sight for sore eyes, especially if it is an icky, odd-looking creature with odd, protruding body parts. We could think about using screens and keeping windows, doors and cracks maintained in order to block the entries of these annoying pests that also bring germs into living spaces. Finding a cockroach or ants in a cereal box feasting on our breakfast is quite an invasive feeling. Have you ever encountered this experience?

What do welcome mats really mean? Do they welcome strangers? Could infestation occur if creatures could read? Probably yes!

Linda Alexandra

Wauconda