Why did I look at that awful photo? Be glad you don't live in Oklahoma or Texas. The roaches there are enormous,2 inches long and the first time I saw one of them coming at me I thought I'd be sick. Man I hate those things. I'd rather have scorpions crawling around,like they did when we lived in Arizona than even one of those disgusting roaches. They are the work of the devil.

Put 'em in a stew. Protein and all that.

Hmmm, methinks I have been watching too many of the survivor programs on TLC.....

Is it possible to get internal chill bumps...like on your stomach? Id kiss a snake on the lips before id get within 2000000000000000000000 feet of any bug.

OH, GAWD!
I have those!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AnnElyse, the cat, was chasing one all around the bathroom tonight. Major ick factor.

Jan

Be thankful it's only wood roaches you have. Try having those wonderful American roaches, more affectionately called "water bugs" or "palmetto bugs". To me, they are the armor plated spawn of Satan. If you don't crunch them with your shoe, they don't die, they just wiggle around until they figure out how to crawl off. Then they come back with 1500 of their friends and seek revenge. Fifteen years in this state and I still haven't gotten use to them.

I am terrible when it comes to putting folded laundry away. Well, let me tell ya, those roaches broke me of my bad habit when I pulled a clean shirt out of the basket and found one trying to crawl back in! I dumped the whole load, roach and all, right back in the washer!

They loved the composter so much that I gave up composting. They loved the mulch so much that I stopped mulching. When the cold weather rolls around, they love my house so much that I toy with the idea of moving.

As much as I hate snakes, I'd take a snake over them any day. At least the snakes make it a habit to stay outside. So far...

Bugs,bugs,and more bugs.
Ladies where is your courage?

Living in the south all my life has caused me to
harden my heart when it comes to mice,bugs,critters.
I have the house sprayed every 3 months and i'm not
above setting traps for mice. Not the kind of traps
that Marda has so they can be released either.

I once fed 2 baby raccoons due to the enthusiasm
of a former member of the GP and ended up with having
to clean their poop out of the gutters for gosh sakes.
Now every night they re-arrange the rocks in my creek,
uproot my grass in the front and rip my plants out of
the ground. It's an endless battle.

About the only thing I run from around here is a skunk.
I never ever want to experience getting sprayed.
I know KJ used to have one that sprayed in her house.
Now there is a tender heart if there ever was one.
She probably wouldn't even kill a cockroach.

Me, i'd beat them to death with a ball bat if I
had to. Just yesterday armed with a spray can of
killer juice I chased a wasp around the yard because
it stung me on my social finger for no reason other than I happened to walk past.

Arm yourself Di, it's the only way. Buy a bunch of Roach
motels, cans of killer juice, a fly swat, bug zapper,carry
a big stick and enter the battleground. It's a War of the
Roaches.

The thing about roaches is that not only are they ugly and filthy looking,but,there is never just one. Behind every roach are a thousand of them living in the deep recesses of your home waiting to crawl out as soon as the lights are off. If you are very quiet,you can hear them. click click click

I concede Jan. Battling raccoons is harder than my flying wood roaches,lol. A roach Motel won't do diddlely squat since they eat wood not food. Which is why they probably don't carry diseases like the American Cockroach that hides in kitchens.Besides, they are accidental home guests! (Their lack of flying skills I assume.) I'd probably spray myself with bug spray. It flies quickly and erratically so I'll just be spinning around in circles looking as foolish as you with your wasp killing routine. LOL
~di
tee hee Pam. I double dare ya

Wouldnt take much of a dare Di. Im a kisser of all things great and small. Ive kissed an elephant on the cheek and a baby boa on its little head and a tiger cub on his fat tummy,but it would be a cold day in he)) i ever kissed any bug....probably wouldnt kiss a bear either...one does have ones limits.

~di,

Next time you see Jan, ask her to demonstrate my "Palmetto Bug Dance."

She witnessed it first-hand...it was NOT a pretty site.

If a Roach motel won't get them, Di, then get out
that thingy that looks like a paddle with an electric grid
and fry their little bodies.
I sit on my porch frying bugs nightly.
zap-zap, zap-zap, hahahahahahahaha.;0)

Yeah buddy, if you want to see Wanda dance, just bring in
a Palmetto bug.

My first encounter with a Texas cockroach sent me into a complete tizzy. I thought it was some kind of mutant out of a horror movie. It sent me straight to Orkin because I will NOT have these awul things in my house.

I must admit I don't like their looks but I'm not kissing any snakes thank you very much! I did have an opportunity last week at the nature center where I am a wildflower volunteer. I had referred a patron with a question to one of the naturalists. She happened to be holding a large blacksnake at the time. "Here Rebecca will you hold him while I write down the directions?" she blithely asked. I cowered then I bit my lip and whispered barvely (I think it was pretty darn brave) "OK you can put him on my arm," I closed my eyes, held out my arm and prayed fervantly to the God of fools and tree huggers. Something about my response must have alerted her to the fact that I was not altogether embracing this new and wonderful experience. I can not say for sure, as my eyes were tightly shut and my lips were moving rapidly, unfortunately I could not make the sign of the cross as I was holding out that arm (The fact that I am not and never have been catholic would not have held me back otherwise). At any rate she suddenly said, "Um, that's OK Rebecca I think I can manage." I think squashing them is a natural reaction and surely our duty in trying to maintain the balance of nature. If it is not natural why do we all want to do it?

Ok, I hate the cold of the North and was thinking of the South for retirement but you ladies are not convincing me!!! I've gotten frantic phonecalls from my DD who lives in Tampa...she's had the giant roaches, armadillos and snakes so far...and I hate bugs!!!

I think armadillos are kind of cute and understand that they eat bugs!

Now here is a really interesting - disgusting - biting - harmless creature. A friend used to call them "Earth Babies"
They do bite, painful, but not harmful. Even the chickens don't mess with them. They are the reason I wear gloves when digging in the dirt.
Not plentiful, but they are around.
They really don't like to be in the limelight, when uncovered, they try their darnest to get back under the soil.
Creepy critters

Here is a link that might be useful: Super bug

OOOHHH, Jan.
I've used one of those things.
It kind of looks like a tennis racket, works on a battery, with the 'fryer' knob in the handle.
When you touch a bug with it you can hear the sizzle.

Palmetto bugs are the only bug, other than a few small house spiders, we ever have.

About once a month, Mr. Man will set off 'bombs' all over the place...under the house, in the attic and inside the house.

For the next couple of days when you get up in the morning you see these disgusting creatures lying on their backs on the floor...the ONLY way I like to see them.

Rebecca, you think armadillos are cute until one of those suckers rips up your garden burrowing for grubs. After that you just let the dogs out after them.

Di, your bug made me think of a paint color. Seriously! A couple years ago, my youngest sister bought a beautiful home. Everything about it was lovely... except for the paint colors. They were all "theoretically" lovely colors that were several tints off palatable. The kitchen was the worst. My other sister and I were taking our first tour and we were ooh-ing and aah-ing and attempting to be diplomatic about the paint colors until the home-owning sis expressed an opinion.

"What do you think of the kitchen color?" home-owning Sis asked me, pointedly.

"Hmmmm. What would you call this color?" I responded carefully.

"Cricket cheese!" responded our other sister, and the three of us burst out laughing.

The home-owning sis said "Yeah, my thoughts exactly! I'm repainting next week!"

For the record, "cricket cheese" is that awful greeny-yellowy color that oozes out of certain types of fat crickets when you step on them. And your ugly bug looks like it would be chock full of the buggy fromage.

You know, growing up in North Dakota has all sorts of advantages. For example, I had never even seen a cockroach until I was 18 and traveling in California.

Most bugs don't bother me too much --- except for the ones I'm allergic to and pantry moths. I ended up in the ER a couple times in AZ after being bitten by some mystery bug, mosquito bites take a month to heal on me, and don't even get me started on fire ants. When I garden in WI and push aside some mulch only to have my hand swarmed in harmless friendly ants, I feel a tangible flush of gratitude for my environment wash over me.

Pantry moths almost made me crazy (Made me admit my underlying insanity?). I knew I had a few, but I didn't understand the extent of my infestation. Then one day, I was toasting some pine nuts and noticed many were wiggling! Aargh! Those dang larval worms were everywhere! I found them in everything, both opened and unopened. They had chewed through boxes, baggies, and insinuated themselves into all sorts of packaging.

But the worst was when I realized they were using the holes for the adjustable pantry door shelves as a nursery. Our pantry has two doors with adjustable shelving, and then there are two inner doors on a piano hinge and each has adjustable shelving front and back. There are predrilled holes every inch of these six surfaces, as well as a groove that runs up and down the right and left side of each. The moths were using these to lay their eggs and hiding the larvae in the holes with just a bit of webbing. It took me a complete day, a set of surgical forceps, a bottle of nasty poison and a box of Q-Tips to remove hundreds of squishy (cheesy!) worms and render their nursery off-limits.

I hate, hate, hate pantry moths. And I'm still afraid to toast pine nuts without staring directly at them and monitoring closely for movement!

Oh Jaz, I'm with you on the moths! I had an infestation about 2 years ago, and it drove me nuts. I cleaned out every cupboard, every crack and groove, and still I had moths flying everywhere. I couldn't figure out where they were nesting. Until one day when I finally broke down and decided I was going to show off my culinary skills to the guy I was dating. He was military with the traditional Airborne "high and tight" haircut, meaning his hair was a fraction of a millimeter in length. We were standing in the kitchen, sipping a wonderful glass of wine when all of a sudden, he puts his hand on his head and pulls a wiggly larva worm off it! I was mortified! He looks up...I look up...and there in the stucco textured ceiling were little larva crawling around!

Needless to say, we went out for dinner. And I spent the next day scrubbing my ceiling with a toothbrush.

I don't mind bugs, honest I don't. When the katydid got into DS's room, I was the brave one who caught it and sent it in for show-n-tell. When there is a spider in the bathroom, I'm the one to shoo it out (unless it's so big I can see it's eyes and then it gets squashed...sorry!). I battle the mosquitos, flies, ants, occassional centipede...it doesn't bother me. I'll even crunch the roaches. But moth larva? Too icky. They remind me of maggots. And yes, I've had a run in with them too....

underlying Jaz? ;0

I had the pleasure speaking to Jaz on the phone "The Day of The Pantry Moth Invasion". She was never so entertaining.
tee hee

Had one of these "beauties" on my arm yesterday in my garden. She was lifting her front legs ready to put her fangs in me as I brushed her off. The females are black and red. I love orb weavers but....

~di

Here is a link that might be useful: a little too close for comfort

I have these EVERYWHERE! They are no bigger than a dull pencil point but easily spotted because of the neon green.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cute, aren't they?

They are kind of cute,aren't they? Next to cockroaches,everything is cute though.

Hi thanks for the laugh guys!! I admit to doing a couple of bug dances in my life. Sometimes they just pop out of no where and usualy when you have a plate or glass full of somthing. I hate earwigs, they make my skin crawl like nothing else. As for the rest after the inital eww Im fine with the movin, or the squashin.

In reading back over this thread, I had to chuckle at this bunch.

A group of wonderful, caring, gentle women I have grown to love over the years have the ability to change personalities drastically.

Just say the word 'bug'; in particular 'roach' and these 'will-stop-in-the-middle-of-6-lanes-of-traffic-to-move-a-turtle-to-the-side-of-the-road' gals can turn into mame-them, destroy-them, rip-their-homes-apart, stomp-them, sizzle-them, don't-invade-my-space, kill-kill-kill-them, lunatics.

I see you all now running around armed with a tool belt equipped with a can of spray on each hip, a tennis raquet sizzle fry-them gun, surgical forceps, fly-flap, and Q-tips in the pocket protector of your top pocket.

LOL!!
Have certainly enjoyed this thread.

~di,
You obviously are not the only one that needed to get this off her chest.

hey Frogged,don't know how old you are but did you ever see the episode on Twilight Zone called The Earwig? One got in Lawrence Harvey's ear and chewed his way on through to the other side,or was in the process, when it ended. You would have loved it. Maybe you saw it and that's why they give you the heebie jeebies.

Having lived in lots of military housing all over, here is one thing that is cheap and works----boric acid. And you can make little balls of it (can't remember recipe but it will be somewhere on-line) that cause the roaches to bubble and burst open! I loved it! Also Bengal spray is the best spray but not cheap. Also, wash the kitchen floors and surfaces with bleach added. Roach babies cannot live without eating roach turds--for the bacteria! How about that! Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em............

Earwigs are alien looking creatures. With those pinchers, they look like a miniature, heavy duty piece of construction equipment for clearing forests.

I'm afraid I've been confusing, lol. I don't have regular American Roaches that feed on food that we have in our kitchens. I have the flying ones that feed on decaying wood. Bait for regular roaches won't do a thing. I see these yucky creatures more while I'm digging near decaying wood than the accidental male who slipped inside my house from the draw of the porch light. A similar example would be Carpenter Ants that go for wood versus Sugar Ants that go for sugar.
The fact that my Wood Roaches look almost exactly like American Roaches but can fly really gross me out. Truth be told, I'm being quite prejudice by their looks, lol.

LOL Marda! I'm sure your Twilight Tale helps Frogged the next time she sees an Earwig. Wasn't there a story in the news recently with a small boy that had some kind of insect or arachnoid nesting in his ear? I had a clicker bug in my ear once for about 20 minutes until I figured out where that clicking came from. Nothing beats Suzy's story with the mouse in her overalls for an hour, LMAO!
~di

This thread is grossing me out. I refuse to come here again.

Marda, Marda, Marda be brave.

Frogged here, no I didn't see the twighlight episode but thanks for that lovely image in my head.

I don't believe it, don't believe it but I had better believe it! One of those sickening huge red flying(?) roaches died in the family room right by the back door. Gotta be 2". Think it migrated from the compost pile which I will "disinfect" with insecticide this evening. Do you think they are reading this thread? Am I under attack? I'm not sorry I said those things, roaches.....bring it on!

We've battled the Roaches now what about Ants?
Fire Ants have made it their mission to infiltrate my
space and toture me on a daily basis. If I didn't know
better i'd think someone was backing up a truck nightly
and secretly unloading the little #$%#@!. I've narrowly
missed stepping in the middle of them more than a few times
and after I sprinkle the killer stuff on their abode the
next morning I find that another bunch has moved in next door.

Fire Ants have marched into North Georgia with a vengence,
armed themselves to the hilt and are he!! bent on setting
up a permanent residence here. What's next? Little green men?

Fire ants fall under the same catagory as killer bees and yellow jackets...they are definately out to get ya.

Hey Wanda. You mentioned on another thread that you have an unbelievable rollie pollie invasion this year. You do know that they are not insects but Isopods, a group of crustaceans. Aka: Lawn Shrimp. Perhaps you can boil em up with some spices? They have very few predators because they have a "distasteful secretion", lol. Anyway, if you're not gonna collect em and boil em, you need a bunch of these. Press on link. The "Sow Bug Killer Spider".
Warning: Now I know the original bug link early in this thread had some "enthusiastic" bug People but this link has off-the-chart spider enthusiasts.
(You've been warned.)

P.S. Sorry in advance Wanda. I can't sleep tonight. I ran out of plants so I can't garden. My closets are clean. The only thing left to do is to "bug" you.
~di

Here is a link that might be useful: Don't click this Marda,lol.

Di, only you could forage around on the internet and find
not only bugs but ELVIS.
I wondered if all the (he's still alive) rumors were true.
Now I know.

I think i've found a new hobby.
Crawling around on my hands and knees in the garden
over turning logs and leaves and photographing bugs, spiders and lord knows what else.

I got excited yesterday when I saw a toad out there.
I suppose i'll be expected to buy a toad abode now.

I do love your enthusiam for bugs. I used to be facinated
by them. I suppose I still am in a way. When I was a kid
I could spend hours watching ants marching back and forth
gathering food. A spider building a web is still amazing to watch.

Shoot, Di, now thanks to you i'll be out in the garden
now or surfing the internet looking for bugs and bug people.:0)
I had no idea there was a sow bug killer.

I don't have a bug phobia...no chills or screaming or anything if I see one. But I experienced the most delightful luxury during my recent California coastline vacation. Doors and windows were flung open for hours and NOTHING flew or buzzed in!!! Just sunshine and fresh air.

I wonder if those folks know how lucky they are? :o) No smacking your face to kill mosquitos, no flyswatters necessary, no little tufts of anything wafting through the air. Ahhhhh. 'Twas Heaven.

Karen

I'm joining Marda in labeling this thread gross.

~di,

Funny you bring that up.

I took Christian and grandson to the library Tuesday for the summer program.

They had brought in the van from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and all of their things are hands-on.
"Please Touch" signs were on everything.

One thing they showed in particular was the Isopod.
Good thing these aren't invading my garden...I would NEVER step foot in my yard.
The sample they brought weighed a couple of pounds!!

Just be grateful if you're not below the "gnat line." Those are the most irritating things. I can take the heat in south Georgia, but the gnats drive me inside.

Here is a (goofy looking) pic of me trying to kiss a female megason beetle I encountered in Panama last weekend. I was thinking of this post as I posed...

{{gwi:169411}}

Didja pick her up? Didja? Didja? Didja?
lol

She sort of looks like our common June Bug, don't you think?

~di

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:169408}}