bugs.... am i just a *****? :P

[visionology]

When I used to live in Savannah I had to get used to the palmetto bugs. I lived in an apartment on the islands near the marshes and they were everywhere.

I would guess I killed around 50 or so of them during my 2 years in that apartment, my preferred method of death was a metal yardstick to the abdomen and either toilet or garbage disposal death.

The creepiest times are at night when you just have the flicker of the TV or the computer monitor and you see a big shadow. I've had one land on my bed at night, one crawl on my hand while on the computer, and while in the kitchen one fly on my back and another in the drawer of utensils.

Why do I hate them? They are huge, black nasty creatures that are fast and can fly. They remind me of the ones from Puerto Rico.

Other than perhaps Centipedes and a few other super large bugs I really don't mind insects that much. I like taking Macro shots of them.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by edmorel

A. GQGeek once again you prove that you are the biggest ***** this side of Jenna Jameson (she had to have hers reduced/tightened, I suggest you look into the procedure).
B. +1 on the not killing spiders due to their eating of bugs.
C. In NY at least, cockroaches seem to only be a NYC/apartment problem and I have not come across one in my house since we've been there now for 7-8 years or so.
D. Any bug that you do not like, you should be able and willing to kill by squishing it with your hand. Not that you have to do that, but you should be able to stomach it if the need arises. If you cannot, then realize that the line between you and a woman has become that much smaller.

You guys from the southern states... Do you have cockroaches in your house that often? I mean if you keep the doors closed they theoretically shouldn't be able to get in, right? I think i'm going to place filters on air vents and stuff or any hole big enough for the bastards to get through.

 

[edmorel]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

and stuff any hole big enough for the bastards to get through.


Don't make so easy to make a joke at your expense.

 

[shoreman1782]

There's pretty much nothing you can do to ensure cockroaches don't get in if you live in a big building/urban area. Your home has lots of places they can crawl in and out of--mostly plumbing/electric related. Our kitchen is IMMACULATE and our home clean, but we have some less tidy neighbors. No matter what we do, we occasionally catch one on the kitchen floor or in the bathroom.

 

[visionology]

They can squeeze into tight spots, much like mice, so it's next to impossible to keep them out. I taped off all the vents and holes in my apartment and they still found a way in. Up north they are more associated with being dirty but down south it's just a fact of life.

I remember one night walking to a friends house in downtown Sav, and there was a patch of dirt next to the sidewalk. I cut across and walked on it and the ground moved and it was tons of palmetto bugs sitting in the soil. Oh man it was out of a horror movie.

 

[GQgeek]

I wonder how much it would cost to have a house built to the specs of a level 5 lab?

 

[dr.no]

Cockroaches in Asia can fly.

 

[Brian278]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

You guys from the southern states... Do you have cockroaches in your house that often? I mean if you keep the doors closed they theoretically shouldn't be able to get in, right? I think i'm going to place filters on air vents and stuff or any hole big enough for the bastards to get through.

I lived in a very old, pretty ****** house my last two years in college, which had poor construction, gaps in the sliding glass door, you name. We got about 1 cockroach/spider a week, they could pretty much come and go as they pleased. A lot of traps (especially the egg killing kind) helped a bit, but it basically just meant you would find them dead rather than alive, which I suppose is a good thing. I got a very, very good at using Raid (which also works on spiders if you douse them with enough of it).

In the nicer places I've lived, including my parents' homes, you get them far less frequently. More often when it rains, but you still see a few a year, not counting the ones you don't see. They also had regular exterminators spray every couple of months, but I don't know how much of a difference it makes.

 

[thinman]

Yes, you're just a giant *****.

When I was about 12, I remember opening my eyes one morning to find a big hairy spider about an inch from my nose. I've never gotten out of bed so fast before or since! In retrospect, it was quite an athletic feat to leap out of a top bunk at light speed (without crushing my skull on the ceiling or hitting the light fixture), land on my feet, pirouette, and pin myself against the opposite wall in one move.

Several years ago, I rolled over in my sleep onto a scorpion that had crawled into bed with me. The little ****** stung me on the back, right on my hip bone! He didn't last long, once I found him.

As an adult, I lived in Houston for 2 years and discovered it was impossible to get rid of roaches completely. I *never* used the garbage disposal or put food in the trash without tying it up in a plastic bag, but I would still see an occasional 3" long roach climbing my apartment walls. What really creeps me out is that the big ones can fly short distances....

Jonathan, your article about praying mantises is spot on. My brothers and I used to collect them and witnessed the mating/eating ritual firsthand. I guess I'm a slow learner because the lesson didn't prevent me from getting married to and subsequently divorced from a man-eater.

My policy now is to leave spiders alone as long as they leave me alone, since they eat more objectionable bugs. If they venture out from along a wall, I introduce them to the sole of a shoe, preferably my double-soled, storm welted cordovan Polo Darlton wingtips, the heaviest shoes I own (I know, fouling the sole of a shoe is sacrilege to most of you). Roaches and crickets, though, get immediately crushed. Crickets get the paper towel and hand crushing treatment, since they're so hard to catch (and so annoying when they chirp in my bedroom all night). I recently discovered that EG's Thames sole works well for crushing bugs on carpet since it has small ridges that grip insects well and the soles clean up with just a wipe. Perhaps I'll start a thread in the MC forum about the best sole to use for crushing insects....

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by thinman

Yes, you're just a giant *****.

When I was about 12, I remember opening my eyes one morning to find a big hairy spider about an inch from my nose. I've never gotten out of bed so fast before or since! In retrospect, it was quite an athletic feat to leap out of a top bunk at light speed (without crushing my skull on the ceiling or hitting the light fixture), land on my feet, pirouette, and pin myself against the opposite wall in one move.

Several years ago, I rolled over in my sleep onto a scorpion that had crawled into bed with me. The little ****** stung me on the back, right on my hip bone! He didn't last long, once I found him.

As an adult, I lived in Houston for 2 years and discovered it was impossible to get rid of roaches completely. I *never* used the garbage disposal or put food in the trash without tying it up in a plastic bag, but I would still see an occasional 3" long roach climbing my apartment walls. What really creeps me out is that the big ones can fly short distances....

Jonathan, your article about praying mantises is spot on. My brothers and I used to collect them and witnessed the mating/eating ritual firsthand. I guess I'm a slow learner because the lesson didn't prevent me from getting married to and subsequently divorced from a man-eater.

My policy now is to leave spiders alone as long as they leave me alone, since they eat more objectionable bugs. If they venture out from along a wall, I introduce them to the sole of a shoe, preferably my double-soled, storm welted cordovan Polo Darlton wingtips, the heaviest shoes I own (I know, fouling the sole of a shoe is sacrilege to most of you). Roaches and crickets, though, get immediately crushed. Crickets get the paper towel and hand crushing treatment, since they're so hard to catch (and so annoying when they chirp in my bedroom all night). I recently discovered that EG's Thames sole works well for crushing bugs on carpet since it has small ridges that grip insects well and the soles clean up with just a wipe. Perhaps I'll start a thread in the MC forum about the best sole to use for crushing insects....

Scorpions and big hairy spiders? wtf i'm never moving to texas...

 

[VMan]

Question - which is worse? Mice, or bugs?

 

[FLMountainMan]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

You guys from the southern states... Do you have cockroaches in your house that often? I mean if you keep the doors closed they theoretically shouldn't be able to get in, right? I think i'm going to place filters on air vents and stuff or any hole big enough for the bastards to get through.

Even the nicest, most palatial estate has one every now and then. This is almost worse than the norm because you aren't expecting them. They can fit under spaces the width of a nickel, fly, and can live for days without food and water. I've seen them crawl up through sinks, light fixtures, etc.
My house has a pesticide service and I think the relative lack of roaches - only one in two months, is worth the damage to my health from the insecticide.

 

[FLMountainMan]

Originally Posted by VMan

Question - which is worse? Mice, or bugs?

Rats are pretty nasty, but easier to kill.

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by VMan

Question - which is worse? Mice, or bugs?

Bugs. Mice are just extra cat toys.

 

[VMan]

Originally Posted by FLMountainMan

Rats are pretty nasty, but easier to kill.

When I was a college student living in a typical college house, we'd get a few mice inside the house during the fall once the outside temperatures started dropping.

One time I was awakened by a scurrying sound on the floor. Then later I heard little things on my desk (right next to my bed, by my head) being moved around, and little feet scratching on the surface. Then, something must have spooked the mouse because he ran straight off the desk, across my bed, about 6" from my face.

Insects don't bother me at all, and I refuse to kill spiders because they eat pesky bugs, but mice in my living space creep me out a little.