# Water Bugs and Spiders and Heights, Oh My!



## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I went to the kitchen last night to get my puppy some treats. Right in the middle of the room as a big, evil water bug. It turned and ran right at me. I screamed like a girl, grabbed a hand towel and chased it - finally smacking it by the pantry. I manned up and got a paper towel to pick the awful thing up and as soon as I got close, it started wiggling its legs and antennae at me. So I Windexed it.

This morning, it had moved about a foot and its antennae were still moving but I got Gilbert to dispose of it. (the division of labor in our house is he's responsible for waterbugs and I'm in charge of spiders) Now, to the untrained eye, they may just be big outdoor roaches that wander in sometimes. In reality they are horrible minions of Hell out to get me.

Here's a pic if you want to see the evil things

What are you afraid of? And what what icky, amusing, and/or hair-raising story do you have to tell about it?


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

Eeewwww, Geoffrey, that thing is nasty!  I don't blame you for screaming over that.  The bugs are one reason I am glad I don't live in the south or Hawaii.  You guys get monsters!  

I lived in an apartment when I was younger that got infested with roaches and it got so bad that I was dreaming one was in my bed and I actually jumped out of bed and tried to kill it.  

In my house, my two sons who are 22 and 18, will run away from anything spider, so I have to dispose of them.  I don't know what they will do when they finally live on their own.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Geoffrey, I'm with you on the bugs. Sometimes crickets come in. I've been known to get a glass and upend it over the cricket and leave it their for DH to deal with when he gets home.

One time that was two weeks.

The problem is they jump and wiggle in your hands and it's ooky.

Also one time, in Orlando, I put on my sneaker and a bout a half hour later it felt like there was something in my shoe so I took it off and it was one of those ginormous flying cockroach things. Talk about screaming. . . DH thought I was being murdered. Thankfully I was wearing socks. I shivered a little now just thinking about it. From that day (at leat 25 years ago) to this I have not put on a closed shoe without first shaking it out. . .even when we lived in Iceland.

We've seen more bugs inside in general this season. . .not sure if it's 'cause we had a rug before and now it's just that I am seeing them on the tile or what but I'm _this close_ to having the exterminator come in and do a whole house/all bugs treatment. I hate the things. I don't even do spiders!

I will not be clicking your link.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Don't click the link, Ann.  Not for the faint of heart.
deb


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## desilu (Dec 28, 2009)

I never liked water bugs, but didn't hate them until I learned they could fly. Evil things, indeed, especially when they are aiming for your head!!!


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Also one time, in Orlando, I put on my sneaker and a bout a half hour later it felt like there was something in my shoe so I took it off and it was one of those ginormous flying cockroach things. Talk about screaming. . . DH thought I was being murdered. Thankfully I was wearing socks. I shivered a little now just thinking about it. From that day (at leat 25 years ago) to this I have not put on a closed shoe without first shaking it out. . .even when we lived in Iceland.


Once upon a time, I just thought they were icky. (well, slightly evil for flying but mostly just icky) many years ago, I was in bed, mostly asleep. I felt something on my leg, brushed it off, felt it again, brushed it, felt it again, turned on the light, flipped open the covers and one of those things was crawling up my inner thigh. I screamed, I jumped ... Gilbert came running in from the living room and I wouldn't get back into the bed until he took everything off and shook it.

A few years later, I was getting over my waterbug thing and as we were walking out to the garage, one parashooted off the ceiling and down the back of my shirt. Since then, I don't even try to get over them. They're just out to get me and they're evil.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

Wasps. Flying daleks, nothing more. The scum of the air.

I hate horseflies too. My suspicion that they are actually fat little flying vampires was confirmed the other day when I discovered that these abominations were repelled by people who had recently eaten garlic.

Spiders are okay, though.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

OMG! That bug would prevent me from using my kitchen for a while! 
Spiders are my downfall. I can not handle spiders in any shape or form. I almost wrecked my car one time because of a spider. I was driving my car and I had both windows open and I felt something on my leg, looked down and it was a HUGE spider. (Well, we know everything looks huge when you are being attacked! ) Before I knew it I was almost in the passenger seat, still wearing my seat belt. Thank goodness the road was deserted and had good shoulders!

I am also afraid of hights to the point that it is hard to even stand on a chair. Steel grated decking and stairs made out of it are a guarantee that I will "freeze" up and need help. However, I love airplanes and have been up in a hot air balloon. I went up in a glider plane a couple of months ago and it was fabulous. My pilot said it is because there is a difference between height and altitude.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

^^I have a terrible time with heights. How on earth did you manage a hot air balloon? Closest thing to a nightmare I can imagine...

Flying doesn't actually bother me. However, the thought of the plane suddenly _not_ flying terrifies me no end.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

The thought of the hot air balloon was much worse than the actual ride! Seriously though, we were up in the air so fast that looking at the ground was just abstract. Landing was interesting. We were told by the pilot exactly what would happen so there were no surprises and we gently touched down and the basket sort of just went over on its side and we scrambled out and that was it. Of course the champagne picnic didn't hurt either!

Same with the glider plane...waiting for the tow plane to start and once it started watching the tow line straighten out in front of me and anticipating what it would be like when it finally went taut was much worse than the actual happening. And did I mention that my glider plane pilot is also an acrobatic pilot? We had so much fun! I didn't know gliders could turn that sharp or stand on their wings like that.  I didn't sign up for the acrobatic flight so I didn't get the full meal deal, but enough to make me want to go back and fly with him again. 

I guess when I am up in an airplane or hot air balloon the ground is an abstract to me and I don't feel like I am going to fall.

Hot air balloon and glider plane were two items on my bucket list. Another bucket list item I would love to do but don't know if I will ever be able to manage is parachuting. I think I can because planes don't bother me, but who knows.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

^^A glider That's even worse! A plane with no engines!!! How can you bear it

Or...perhaps I'm just a total wuss.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Heh...I had some sort of large beetle-like critter in my bathroom a few days ago. While I'm not especially bothered by bugs in general (though I certainly don't care for them either), this one "bugged" me a bit in that it moved so fast. When I turned on the light, it froze for a few seconds in the middle of the floor, then scooted off with amazing speed to hide between the waste basket and vanity. Fortunately (for me) I knew where a can of ant/roach spray was (I had a bit of a problem with ants last year), so I grabbed that, sprayed the suspected hiding spot, and about jumped out of my shoes when the poor thing came running out to find another refuge, this time behind the toilet. I sprayed him (or her?) again, then left it in there to die in solitude. An hour later I went in there with broom and dustpan and disposed of him down the toilet. (He was too big for me to want to pick him up with less than half a roll of paper towel, so I figured the dustpan was more economical.)


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

We sometimes get these giant brown crickets on steroids in the garage and I absolutely hate them.  They're huge and have legs that you can actually see definition in like muscles and they look really alien and just plain scary.  They jump -really- high and are fast little buggers too.  And I won't get too graphic about them, but even stepping on them they feel way more substantial than they should.  I'm also not a fan of spiders, but we tend to get the wimpy spindly legged ones in our house.  If we get one of the dark, skittering ones with more body than legs then I tend to freak out.  I've also, just once, seen these really scary millipede looking things, but they have like hundreds of long spider legs instead of just looking how you'd expect a millipede to look.  I thought that one was going to kill me.

I think that's what gets me about bugs, you just don't know which ones can really do you a lot of harm.  I was raised being told that if I sucked on honeysuckles that I was going to inhale a spider who would then bite me in the throat and I would die.  So I don't think that helped either.  We used to get crickets all the time in our apartment when I was little, but they were the little black ones so those don't bother me.  These brown ones though... did anyone ever play Shamus forever ago on the Atari?  You know those bouncy things that come when you take too long to complete a level?  They totally remind me of that thing.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

I don't mind crickets, but I hate those female ones with the large ovipositor hanging out - looks like a big, hooklike stinger attached to the underside of the abdomen. Gives me the creeps, even though they're totally harmless.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

This thread is freaking me out! Geoffrey, your stories are the worst. I HATE water bugs.

Several years ago, I was in college and had just moved into a new apartment (new for me; the apartment wasn't actually new). Within one week, I found two water bugs in my kitchen. I killed one, but one escaped me. 

At the time, I didn't have a bed yet, so I was sleeping on the floor. I was afraid a water bug would get in my room and attack me while I slept (my biggest fear is that a bug will attack me while I sleep and possibly crawl into my ear and lay eggs or die or something), so I shoved a towel under the door at all times. Seriously. At all times.

Well, one morning I was taking a shower, and I saw something run across the back part of the tub out of the corner of my eye. I thought I had imagined it as I didn't have my glasses or contacts on and everything was kind of blurry. Plus, my shower curtains at the time were a dark coral, so everything just looked darker. Then I saw the thing run towards me. I screamed, jumped out of the shower and nearly died. Okay, I didn't really almost die, it just felt like it. I put on my glasses, and there was the biggest water bug I had ever seen. I can't remember how I handled it (my mind blocked out the traumatic experience, I guess), but I do know I finished my shower minus death bug.

So I finally couldn't take that apartment anymore. I moved out and got an apartment with my friend with no more scary bug incidents.
Oh, and while I was packing my stuff, I picked up this giant white sheet of plastic that I had left in my bedroom since I first moved in and found a giant, dead water bug under it. The towel did nothing. !


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

^^The thought of bugs laying eggs on/in you is one of the worst. Google 'Bot Fly' if you dare...


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

AddieLove said:


> This thread is freaking me out! Geoffrey, your stories are the worst. I HATE water bugs.


Oopsies ... sorry.

Word of advice: Windex (and people make fun of me, but it works). It does 'em in nicely but I like being the My Big Fat Greek Wedding Dad and fixing things with Windex.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

OK, yukky yukky yukky!!
Here is another one. I live in earwig territory and have a fear of these vile creatures too.
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/a-list/creature-countdowns/myths/images/earwig.jpg


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> I manned up and got a paper towel to pick the awful thing up and as soon as I got close, it started wiggling its legs and antennae at me. So I Windexed it.





Ann in Arlington said:


> The problem is they jump and wiggle in your hands and it's ooky.
> ...
> I will not be clicking your link.





Geoffrey said:


> A few years later, I was getting over my waterbug thing and as we were walking out to the garage, one parashooted off the ceiling and down the back of my shirt. Since then, I don't even try to get over them. They're just out to get me and they're evil.





sherylb said:


> Before I knew it I was almost in the passenger seat, still wearing my seat belt. Thank goodness the road was deserted and had good shoulders!





NogDog said:


> (He was too big for me to want to pick him up with less than half a roll of paper towel, so I figured the dustpan was more economical.)


Wow!!!! I've never laughed so hard in my life! You guys should write a book or make a movie or something, these stories are great!


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

A_J_Lath said:


> ^^The thought of bugs laying eggs on/in you is one of the worst. Google 'Bot Fly' if you dare...


I dared, and now I regret it. Kind of. I mean, I'm glad I know so I can try and avoid them, but now I'm paranoid they're going to infest me. 
It's like how I fear Brown Recluse Spiders and now squish any spider that I think might possibly be one (even if it looks nothing like it).



Geoffrey said:


> Oopsies ... sorry.
> 
> Word of advice: Windex (and people make fun of me, but it works). It does 'em in nicely but I like being the My Big Fat Greek Wedding Dad and fixing things with Windex.


Maybe I should buy Windex for every room. You know, just in case.


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> Oopsies ... sorry.
> 
> Word of advice: Windex (and people make fun of me, but it works). It does 'em in nicely but I like being the My Big Fat Greek Wedding Dad and fixing things with Windex.


Simple Green works wonders on bugs. When I was a poor starving college student, I shared a charming Victorian apartment (read: a total dump) with one roommate and a seemingly endless supply of American cockroaches. The American cockroach, my friend, truly comes straight from the seventh circle of Hades. We quickly learned that the only thing that kills them is Simple Green (my roommate's huge, mean cat would run screeching when he spotted one of them. Even the exterminator we insisted our landlord hire couldn't get rid of the problem and admitted to us that the American cockroach is very hard to get rid of). This is how we would kill them: first, immobilize with a few sharp blasts from a spray bottle of Simple Green; second, cover the struggling roach with a plastic cup; third, wait approximately one hour. Then, slide a stiff piece of paper under the cup, pick the cup and paper up (with the paper still covering the cup), and dump the dead b*stard out into the alley behind our apartment. Ah, those were the days.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> I went to the kitchen last night to get my puppy some treats. Right in the middle of the room as a big, evil water bug. It turned and ran right at me. I screamed like a girl, grabbed a hand towel and chased it - finally smacking it by the pantry. I manned up and got a paper towel to pick the awful thing up and as soon as I got close, it started wiggling its legs and antennae at me. So I Windexed it.
> 
> This morning, it had moved about a foot and its antennae were still moving but I got Gilbert to dispose of it. (the division of labor in our house is he's responsible for waterbugs and I'm in charge of spiders) Now, to the untrained eye, they may just be big outdoor roaches that wander in sometimes. In reality they are horrible minions of Hell out to get me.
> Here's a pic if you want to see the evil things
> What are you afraid of? And what what icky, amusing, and/or hair-raising story do you have to tell about it?


uh... Geoffrey...Eeeeeewww... and isn't that a cockroach? Your link says it is... we sometimes call them tree roaches, because we see them when camping and when you have trees in your yard you will eventually get one sneaking under a garage door or flying at you while on your patio...either way... Eeeeew, I am with you, get the husband to take care of 'em!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I was waiting in line at Whole Foods last week.  Luckily the man in front of me wasn't very close, but there was a bug of some sort (the size of a fly, but it was not a fly or a roach) on his messenger bag.  The bag was flung and hanging on his back.  I didn't know whether it would be polite to say anything and didn't.  It gave me the creeps though, since here we were in a big food store.

The first time I ever saw a water bug was in my (then) apartment in 1974.  I was horrified, since they are big as mice.  It was just before I went out to go for my flute lesson.  I was so shook up that I didn't play well at that lesson.

I see them on the sidewalks now and then, especially late at night.  Ick.  Have had them during rainy spells but not for a couple of years.  Used to have a cat that went crazy trying to catch them.  I'd catch the cat and grab it with a tissue, squish it and flush it down the toilet.  I was afraid it would give the cat some kind of disease.  Also, I had to get it once I realized it was in here, because I didn't want to find it later in another spot, such as the bed.  Double Ick.


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

I'm not good at mornings. I tend to wander about in a daze, at least until I've had my first coffee of the day.

One morning I made my way into the bathroom, stumbled bleary-eyed over to the basin, and found this.

I screamed. Loudly.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Oh what a creepy thread!  I didn't know about Windex...  but in vacation hotel rooms, I have used spray deodorant, perfume, and hairspray to kill bugs.  Sometimes more than one of those.  (Note that hairspray may kill the beastie but also preserves it in all its glory, stuck to the wall forever.  )


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> Gilbert came running in from the living room and I wouldn't get back into the bed until he took everything off and shook it.


     

Oh you meant the bedsheets. Never mind....


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Oh you meant the bedsheets. Never mind....


Wow Susan... just wow.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

AddieLove said:


> I dared, and now I regret it. Kind of. I mean, I'm glad I know so I can try and avoid them, but now I'm paranoid they're going to infest me...


Sorry.

But I can't resist: google 'guinea worm' if you dare...

Again, sorry.


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

If you think that the "Water Bug" is horrible, take a look at this: (look at your own risk)

http://phoenix.about.com/od/deasertcreatures/ss/paloverdebeetle.htm



Spoiler



The one in the picture is actually a small one, I have actually seen these and they can grow to be 6-8 inches long.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

Yuk. But if you think that's bad, take a look at the _Devil's Coachman_, also known as the Devil's Coach Horse Beetle:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_coach_horse_beetle

I had the misfortune to stumble upon one of these while lifting a plant pot once. Fair gave me the willies, I can tell you, though it's quite harmless - as far as I'm aware.


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## evpseeker (May 29, 2009)

Ooooo, good night Miss Agnes!!!  Geoffrey you have the exact same evil creatures that I have in my house. Except the ones we have are black. Trust me when I tell you I have blown many a vocal cord screaming over those bastids. They always show up where you least expect them and I swear on everything holy they come after me. They are ALWAYS in my laundry room. If I open the door they scamper all over the place and you can hear their legs scratching as they try to go under the machine. ONe night there was one of the ceiling of our bedroom. Ohh, I could go on and on about these dayum things. They have tormented me since we've lived here.

The worst experience went like this:

When I cook dinner at night I will toss cardboard boxes beside by trashcan to take out later to the recycle bin. Mac-n-cheese boxes, rice boxes, what ever kinds of boxes. So one night I was gathering up my little pile before going to bed. I had on my PJ's and they have long sleeves. As I picked one box up I felt something shoot up the right sleeve of my PJ's. I let out a scream that would make Whitney Houston proud.   The box went flying across the kitchen and I started ripping at my top trying to get it off. I could feel the thing on my back near my armpit area. I got my shirt off and shook it. One of those vile bastids dropped out of it, hit the floor and came right at my feet. The screaming went up a few decibles as I ran out of the kitchen and into the dining room, twirling my top all around my feet and in the air. My cats totally freaked out and went sliding across the wood floor trying to get traction and make it up the carpeted steps. I ran right thru the dining room and straight into the living room screaming and twirling. It was there I had to stop because I had run out of rooms to run to.   

Later I laughed for about an hour at the visual. A topless,braless woman running around her house screaming her head off.


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

I am sitting at my desk at work right now laughing out loud at the ^^ visual in my head.  Too funny, I'm glad it didn't happen to me (wouldn't have been as funny)!!


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

A_J_Lath said:


> Sorry.
> 
> But I can't resist: google 'guinea worm' if you dare...
> 
> Again, sorry.


Whew! I totally knew about those already! I learned about them from a teacher when I was in high school. Creeped me out, though! Ugh!


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Oh you meant the bedsheets. Never mind....


That kinda makes the story a completely different genre ....


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

I have a fond memory of my darling son when he was about 17 years old.  I heard him shouting for me out on the front porch.  I went out to see what was up and he said "Watch!" The porch light was off and he had me stand on the porch and watch the ground behind the huge azalea bush that grew beside the house we were living in at that time.  He stepped back inside and turned on the porch light.  It was my turn to shout... many obscenities.  There was a spot about two inches thick in the middle and about three feet across, basically round in shape and it consisted of hundreds of those so-called waterbugs, tree roaches, palmetto bugs, COCK ROACHES!!!!    Naturally, when he turned on the light... they went everywhere.  It was like something out of a Stephen King movie.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> I have a fond memory of my darling son when he was about 17 years old. I heard him shouting for me out on the front porch. I went out to see what was up and he said "Watch!" The porch light was off and he had me stand on the porch and watch the ground behind the huge azalea bush that grew beside the house we were living in at that time. He stepped back inside and turned on the porch light. It was my turn to shout... many obscenities. There was a spot about two inches thick in the middle and about three feet across, basically round in shape and it consisted of hundreds of those so-called waterbugs, tree roaches, palmetto bugs, COCK ROACHES!!!!   Naturally, when he turned on the light... they went everywhere. It was like something out of a Stephen King movie.


Oh, hate to admit this, but at one time I had this scene on my kitchen floor whenever I got up in the middle of the night. Miraculously, in 2000, the exterminator came up with the gel formula that really worked.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

B-Kay 1325 said:


> If you think that the "Water Bug" is horrible, take a look at this: (look at your own risk)
> 
> http://phoenix.about.com/od/deasertcreatures/ss/paloverdebeetle.htm
> 
> ...


Ewwww... but if you think that is bad... take a look at the Camel Spider that is 2nd image down on this list... http://weirdworldstuff.blogspot.com/2007/09/top-10-worlds-scariestugliest-insects.html


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

It's said that about every ten to fifteen years there is a swarm that comes through town. Swarm of locus or crickets in las Vegas. My high school was located at the edge of town (not so much anymore though) it was my first year there when the swarm came. The Quad and every other outdoor service was covered. Everywhere there was that definite crunch and girly sqeals. Didn't learn much that day. Didn't go to school the day after


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

Speaking of camel spiders. As a child my dad used to tell me what thought was some horror story of the camel spider. He and some friends were deployed in the middle east. They were digging some holes in the middle of the night as it was cooler. They didn't have the light directed totally in the hole, because they had gotten some depth. The next thing they knew it the youngest guy out of the group was screaming and slamming his shovel against the ground. They turned the light to better understand what was going on. The moment they did they noticed the hord of spiders in the large hole. The spiders immediately scattered when they turned the light. They left it at that when went back in for the rest of the night


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

Interesting sidenote--did you know that the camel spider isn't really a spider?  It's actually a solpugid, which is in the Arachnid class.  Regardless, it is still one nasty looking creature.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

planet_janet said:


> Interesting sidenote--did you know that the camel spider isn't really a spider? It's actually a solpugid, which is in the Arachnid class. Regardless, it is still one nasty looking creature.


Is that like the Harvestmen that everyone calls Daddy Longlegs? Once when I was about nine years old, my cousins and I were playing hide and seek in the woods behind grandma's house (yeah, I know over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go and all that). Anyway, we were going to hide in the smokehouse. We pulled the door open and out rolled a ball of Daddy Longlegs that was about 2 feet in diameter. It looked like thousands of them all stuck together. We watched in silent horror as they rolled across the ground and slammed into a tree. Then they fell apart and started running off in every direction just like we did. We didn't find each other for hours!


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

Brendan, that was funny. I can't top any of these stories, but I moved to the Seattle area from MN about 20 yrs ago. Mosquitoes are a problem in the cold midwest, but it is generally too cold for any of the nasty bugs on this thread. However, when I moved here, I knew nothing about Pacific NW creepy crawlies until I saw these.
http://blogs.bttoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/slugs.jpg They are nasty and will eat your flowers overnight. I had a flat of flowers that I had bought and didn't go to plant them until the next day. I lifted the flat bare handed and let's say that I learned quickly to never garden again without gloves. EEEEWWWW, I screamed like a girl and jumped around wiping my hands on my jeans. Those things are gross....


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

A companion piece for the giant centipede. Take a look at what our neighbour's cat brought in to show me one day: it's a weta.

The centipede's scarier, actually. They catch weta.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

Camel spiders made some headlines because soldiers in Iraq were taking pictures of them. One famous picture, which you can see here: http://www.camelspiders.net makes it look bigger than it is because it is close to the camera.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Oh no, so much bug hatred in here.  I love bugs! I don't let cockroaches live in my home, but I don't dislike them. I would have no problem sharing my house with small house spiders, but my boyfriend is terrified of them. Oh well. The only bug I currently dislike are mosquitoes because I am covered in mosquito bites (because I was sitting very still in the grass, trying to take a picture of a different bug and the mosquitoes took advantage of my inability to flail around at them).


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## OliviaD (Jul 21, 2009)

Eeew.  Bugs, not my favorite pets.  I love bumblebees, honeybees, dragonflies and fireflies.  Of course, I don't even believe that butterflies are bugs at all.  Yesterday, I noticed a blight on my hydrangeas and when I was trying to look more closely at them, I discovered a millipede about four inches long wrapped around on of the stems almost right in my face.  Those things should stay where they belong, under logs and stuff. If I ever saw one of those giant centipedes around my house, I'd have to move.


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

Tripp said:


> Brendan, that was funny. I can't top any of these stories, but I moved to the Seattle area from MN about 20 yrs ago. Mosquitoes are a problem in the cold midwest, but it is generally too cold for any of the nasty bugs on this thread. However, when I moved here, I knew nothing about Pacific NW creepy crawlies until I saw these.
> http://blogs.bttoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/slugs.jpg They are nasty and will eat your flowers overnight. I had a flat of flowers that I had bought and didn't go to plant them until the next day. I lifted the flat bare handed and let's say that I learned quickly to never garden again without gloves. EEEEWWWW, I screamed like a girl and jumped around wiping my hands on my jeans. Those things are gross....


These brought back very bad memories (shudder). My DH was stationed at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC in the 70's, we were sitting at the kitchen table and I got up to go to the fridge (barefooted) walked across the room and on my way back I stepped on a slug right under my toes. Eeeeww!!!! I started screaming, crying and jumping around totally grossed out (we don't have them here in the desert). My poor husband didn't even know what had happened until he got me calmed down enough to tell him and he helped me get cleaned up (gross). I cried, shook & shivered all night, that was the most disgusting thing that had ever happened to me. I can still remember the awful feel of that to this day. YUCK!!!


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

There are lizards in the courtyard of my apartment building. I like them, they remind me that I made it to Southern California and live there, instead of being stuck in the midwest where I was born. We also have hummingbirds that visit the flowers, and I like them for the same reason. Some of you may like hummingbirds better than the lizards, but if you ask me, people should live with some wild creatures, we can't get rid of all living things other than ourselves.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

R. Reed said:


> Some of you may like hummingbirds better than the lizards, but if you ask me, people should live with some wild creatures, we can't get rid of all living things other than ourselves.


Don't want to get rid of all living things other than ourselves...just the yukky ones! 
I love snakes and lizards, just can't handle the spiders and other ooky things like that.


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

sherylb said:


> Don't want to get rid of all living things other than ourselves...just the yukky ones!


Yes to this. I don't mind lizards, snakes, and a whole host of other critters, but IMO, there is no need whatsoever for a 2" long cockroach that can fly.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Tripp said:


> Brendan, that was funny. I can't top any of these stories, but I moved to the Seattle area from MN about 20 yrs ago. Mosquitoes are a problem in the cold midwest, but it is generally too cold for any of the nasty bugs on this thread. However, when I moved here, I knew nothing about Pacific NW creepy crawlies until I saw these.
> http://blogs.bttoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/slugs.jpg They are nasty and will eat your flowers overnight. I had a flat of flowers that I had bought and didn't go to plant them until the next day. I lifted the flat bare handed and let's say that I learned quickly to never garden again without gloves. EEEEWWWW, I screamed like a girl and jumped around wiping my hands on my jeans. Those things are gross....


But you _are_ a girl, aren't you? But not to worry. Here in the piney woods of East Texas, slugs are prolific to say the least. Another story: 
One night, I had just moved into a new house (I move a lot, yeah, I know). Anyhow, I walked outside on the patio to gaze at the moon and puff on a cigar (nasty also, I know, but I've quit). So I step outside, it's the middle of the summer, middle of the night, beautiful full moon and... I'm barefooted. I take about three squishy steps, look down, slugs!! Everywhere!! I stepped on about five more getting back in the house. Horrible! Next day I'm down at the nursery getting slug bait for sure.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

R. Reed said:


> There are lizards in the courtyard of my apartment building. I like them, they remind me that I made it to Southern California and live there, instead of being stuck in the midwest where I was born. We also have hummingbirds that visit the flowers, and I like them for the same reason. Some of you may like hummingbirds better than the lizards, but if you ask me, people should live with some wild creatures, we can't get rid of all living things other than ourselves.


We were just talking about getting some lizards and introducing them into our front and back yards for insect control ....


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

OliviaD said:


> Eeew. Bugs, not my favorite pets. I love bumblebees, honeybees, dragonflies and fireflies. Of course, I don't even believe that butterflies are bugs at all.  Yesterday, I noticed a blight on my hydrangeas and when I was trying to look more closely at them, I discovered a millipede about four inches long wrapped around on of the stems almost right in my face. Those things should stay where they belong, under logs and stuff. If I ever saw one of those giant centipedes around my house, I'd have to move.


Once when I was taking the recycled stuff out to the garage, a giant butterfly viciously attacked me. It made its way into the house and waited ... probably for me to fall asleep. Instead, I caught it in a cup and took it outside. I don't mind most bugs as long as they don't touch me or assault me.

I have more horrifying stories:
One of these got in our house: http://bit.ly/aaPgyA. It's a Texas red-headed centipede.
I was on the computer in the computer room, and it was just crawling along the floor. I screamed, mom got some spray stuff and tried to spray it. She kept running out of the room while screaming whenever she sprayed it because it would wriggle. And I was just stuck standing on my chair. It took forever to kill it. 

Also, I have issues with mice. I think they're super cute, and I don't want to kill them. I just want them to not be where I am.
I was staying at a friend of a friend's place in NYC. The bed was a single, and we had three people. So I was sitting on the floor with one of my friends when I saw something dart across the room. No one believed me until the mouse came out again to say hello. Three people sleeping on a single is very uncomfortable. It was even worse the next day. I just walked out of the apartment complex and--for no apparent reason--fell flat on my face in the middle of a busy sidewalk.

Oh, and then the last place I worked had tons of mice. And all the guys thought it was super funny to place mouse traps close to our desks. I made one guy save one of them, which I realised was super dumb since the mouse would just scurry back inside, but I couldn't help it.
Later I was walking back to my desk when a mouse ran straight toward me. I froze (I didn't want to squish him!) and screamed and the mouse ran away. Eventually, we stopped naming them because it was just too sad when they got killed.


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

AddieLove said:


> One of these got in our house: http://bit.ly/aaPgyA. It's a Texas red-headed centipede.
> I was on the computer in the computer room, and it was just crawling along the floor. I screamed, mom got some spray stuff and tried to spray it. She kept running out of the room while screaming whenever she sprayed it because it would wriggle. And I was just stuck standing on my chair. It took forever to kill it.


Oh, my. That thing is truly hideous. I don't know why I keep coming back to this thread and torturing myself. OK, I do know why. It's because I apparently have a morbid fascination with bugs that freak me out.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I keep coming back as new messages are posted, but I am not opening any of those links!


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

B-Kay 1325 said:


> These brought back very bad memories (shudder). My DH was stationed at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC in the 70's, we were sitting at the kitchen table and I got up to go to the fridge (barefooted) walked across the room and on my way back I stepped on a slug right under my toes. Eeeeww!!!! I started screaming, crying and jumping around totally grossed out (we don't have them here in the desert). My poor husband didn't even know what had happened until he got me calmed down enough to tell him and he helped me get cleaned up (gross). I cried, shook & shivered all night, that was the most disgusting thing that had ever happened to me. I can still remember the awful feel of that to this day. YUCK!!!


>shudder<



Brendan Carroll said:


> But you _are_ a girl, aren't you?


Well... yeessss... did I over dramatize?



Brendan Carroll said:


> Anyhow, I walked outside on the patio to gaze at the moon and puff on a cigar (nasty also, I know, but I've quit). So I step outside, it's the middle of the summer, middle of the night, beautiful full moon and... I'm barefooted. I take about three squishy steps, look down, slugs!! Everywhere!! I stepped on about five more getting back in the house. Horrible! Next day I'm down at the nursery getting slug bait for sure.


double >shudder<


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

AddieLove said:


> I have more horrifying stories:
> One of these got in our house: http://bit.ly/aaPgyA. It's a Texas red-headed centipede.
> I was on the computer in the computer room, and it was just crawling along the floor. I screamed, mom got some spray stuff and tried to spray it. She kept running out of the room while screaming whenever she sprayed it because it would wriggle. And I was just stuck standing on my chair. It took forever to kill it.


EEuurgh! Frankly, if that thing was even so kind as to offer me a cup of coffe and some cake, I'd still think it should die!


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

AddieLove said:


> I have more horrifying stories:
> One of these got in our house: http://bit.ly/aaPgyA. It's a Texas red-headed centipede.
> I was on the computer in the computer room, and it was just crawling along the floor. I screamed, mom got some spray stuff and tried to spray it. She kept running out of the room while screaming whenever she sprayed it because it would wriggle. And I was just stuck standing on my chair. It took forever to kill it.


UGH! I hope I never see one of those things in real life.

The place where I work has gigantic spiders. They are about the size of the bottom of a coffee cup. I have no idea what kind of spiders they are, but sometimes they jump. We also had an infestation of clover mites this spring. They were coming in my windows and even crawling all over my desk. Just the thought of them makes me itch.


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## Alle Meine Entchen (Dec 6, 2009)

we get cave crickets here.  I call them mutant spider crickets and they chase me.  This morning I found one in my kitchen sink and I shamelessly drowned it (I didn't scream, but I did feel like it).


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I do not have spideraphobia, but this pushed my limits ....

Back in college, as a freshman just fresh in the Southwest for the first time, I learned that sometimes Dallas has an autumnal rainy season. In October, if rained for about 26 - 27 of the 31 days. For a week, it rained pretty non-stop and there was flooding all over the place. Well, the woods behind the dorm was flooding and the creepy crawlies decided it was time to dry off - so they moved into our dorm. There were Texas Brown Tarantulas all over our lounge, laundry room and the ground floor hallway. Most of us guys were from the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England - and we were all freaking for god over them. (even though they're not dangerous).

The Texans and Okies laughed themselves foolish over our behavior ... but I'll admit I ran away and I'd do it again ...

Here's what they look like


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Tripp said:


> >shudder<
> 
> Well... yeessss... did I over dramatize?
> 
> double >shudder<


Not over dramatizing, you said you screamed like a girl and that's OK if you are a girl, but if you're not a girl, but a grumpy old dude, then it's not a pretty sight! Eeeeeek!! Tiptoe through the sluggies.... eeeewwwww, yuck and more colorful metaphors.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

AddieLove said:


> Once when I was taking the recycled stuff out to the garage, a giant butterfly viciously attacked me. It made its way into the house and waited ... probably for me to fall asleep. Instead, I caught it in a cup and took it outside. I don't mind most bugs as long as they don't touch me or assault me.
> 
> I have more horrifying stories:
> One of these got in our house: http://bit.ly/aaPgyA. It's a Texas red-headed centipede.
> ...


OK, Miss Love, I know I've already posted on this thread, but I simply cannot pass this up. Please forgive me!  First of all why do all these creepy things have 'Texas' in their names and even worse... TEXAS Red-Headed Centipede? Why couldn't it have been an Oklahoma Blond Centipede? 

Next, are you sure that was a butterfly that attacked you? I've never heard of a giant butterfly attacking someone... squirrels yes, but butterflies no. Was it a Texs butterfly? I need to know. 

Now about the mice. I have dozens of horror, we are talking HORROR stories about mice. My question is this: Did the mouse in the apartment have anything to do with you falling on your face the next day? Did it run out in the street and trip you?    If so, then this surely a Texas mouse. They are sneaky little fellows.

Loved your post.


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> OK, Miss Love, I know I've already posted on this thread, but I simply cannot pass this up. Please forgive me!  First of all why do all these creepy things have 'Texas' in their names and even worse... TEXAS Red-Headed Centipede? Why couldn't it have been an Oklahoma Blond Centipede?
> 
> Next, are you sure that was a butterfly that attacked you? I've never heard of a giant butterfly attacking someone... squirrels yes, but butterflies no. Was it a Texs butterfly? I need to know.
> 
> ...


I think the better question is: Why are all these creepy things in Texas? By naming them with "Texas" in it, it's like they're just reminding us about all the horrible things that could crawl on/bite/eat you here.

Well, okay, so maybe it wasn't trying to attack me, but it did fly at me and flap its wings at me! After it happened, a friend told me butterflies are the one enemy of crocodiles. They'll drink the crocodile's eye juice, and since crocodiles don't have eyelids, they can't do anything about it.  
So it might have attacked me for my eye juice! Or, you know, was startled when I suddenly opened the garage door and panicked. 

I wish to hear some horror stories about mice. Did they attack you when you were sleeping? My greatest fear is things attacking me while I sleep.

Well, as I'm normally incredibly graceful, I believe the mouse forcing me to sleep on a tiny bed with other people led me to be sleep deprived and, therefore, led to me falling on my face because I was tired. 
I believe it was a NY mouse. TX mice would have the courtesy to call before dropping by.


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> Not over dramatizing, you said you screamed like a girl and that's OK if you are a girl, but if you're not a girl, but a grumpy old dude, then it's not a pretty sight! Eeeeeek!! Tiptoe through the sluggies.... eeeewwwww, yuck and more colorful metaphors.


Nope, I'm not an old dude...just a girly girl, so I guess I'm OK.  and thank you very much, but no tiptoeing through those little sluggies... >shudder again<


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Mice -- they do not belong wherever I am.  They belong out in the field.

I always was an insomniac as a child.  Was staring at the floor one night while trying to get to sleep and suddenly realized I was staring at a mouse under a dining chair.  Ahhhh!  That was the beginning of my mouse phobia.  You see them, they dart around and then disappear and then I wonder where they are hiding and when they will pop out again.  Occasionally saw them in the kitchen during the winter in my old childhood home.

There were mice in a law firm I was working in during the '80s.  Someone killed one with their red book.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Tripp said:


> Nope, I'm not an old dude...just a girly girl, so I guess I'm OK.  and thank you very much, but no tiptoeing through those little sluggies... >shudder again<


<--- is not a girly-girl but do I get a gay-guy exception to the old dude rule?


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> Mice -- they do not belong wherever I am. They belong out in the field.


That's how I feel about most bugs and other creepy-crawlies. I won't bother them if they're in _their_ habitat. If they go into mine, they do it at their own risk -- either I get them or the cats do. (I may be slightly more humane about it.)



mlewis78 said:


> There were mice in a law firm I was working in during the '80s. Someone killed one with their red book.


Federal Appropriations Law does seem like a pretty lethal weapon.  But did anyone ever use that particular volume again?


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Susan in VA said:


> Federal Appropriations Law does seem like a pretty lethal weapon.  But did anyone ever use that particular volume again?


I doubt it, but they said they weren't using it to begin with and thought they'd put it to good use on the mouse.


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## lindaF (Jun 12, 2010)

A few weeks ago at work I felt like there was something crawling in my pants, I reached down and squished the area and it got wet! I flew to the bathroom and found a yucky black hairy spider! Couldnt wait to get home and get out of those clothes felt "crawly" all day long.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

^^Oh, that's NASTY! Reminds me of the time I had a funny itchy feeling in my shoe ... took it off, and this foul-looking yellow spider crawled out.


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> <--- is not a girly-girl but do I get a gay-guy exception to the old dude rule?


Geoffrey, An exemption for you is granted.  At least as far as I'm concerned.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> <--- is not a girly-girl but do I get a gay-guy exception to the old dude rule?


Hey, gay-guys are not exempt from being grumpy old dudes. And if they want to scream like girls whilst running barefoot through a baby swimming pool full of earthworms, well, maybe you might want to check into some of those reality shows on television.   I do know that I have a girly scream that hides away deep inside and comes out only when giant brown spiders drop down out of the trees onto my head... then it's every man/woman/boy/girl for himself! Look out! I'm coming through, naked as a jay bird. Yep. You have to come out of those clothes when you think you might have a hummingbird sized spider inside your shirt. Girly screaming is acceptable in these situations and tends to take the neighbors' minds off of your over-exposed physique.


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## Karma Kindle (Jul 27, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> I went to the kitchen last night to get my puppy some treats. Right in the middle of the room as a big, evil water bug. It turned and ran right at me. I screamed like a girl, grabbed a hand towel and chased it - finally smacking it by the pantry. I manned up and got a paper towel to pick the awful thing up and as soon as I got close, it started wiggling its legs and antennae at me. So I Windexed it.
> 
> This morning, it had moved about a foot and its antennae were still moving but I got Gilbert to dispose of it. (the division of labor in our house is he's responsible for waterbugs and I'm in charge of spiders) Now, to the untrained eye, they may just be big outdoor roaches that wander in sometimes. In reality they are horrible minions of Hell out to get me.
> 
> ...


That's just a cockroach -- we call them Palmetto Bugs down here in Miami.. and they FLY in mating season. I still have scars from a fractured hand I received when I ran into a tile wall trying to get away from one. They'll mug you for your car keys and jack your car if you're not careful!

This is a water bug:

http://i46.tinypic.com/1z2iz2u.jpg

They're twice the size of the cockroach/palmetto bug... the last time I saw one was in the produce department of a local grocery store.. ewwwiiiiiiiieeeee! I guess, inasmuch as they eat them in Thailand that the store was half right in having one on display?

You can read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_water_bug


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## travelgirl (Sep 22, 2009)

I just found this thread, and I've cried and laughed out loud, jumped back from my monitor, hyperventilated, and nearly fainted twice!

I am terrified of all arachnid-type bugs, and so keep a can of Hot Shot Spider Killer in my house AT. ALL. TIMES, and use it on an almost daily basis during the summer. Spiders LOVE my carport and frequently hide there waiting to ambush me when I come home and get out of my car, or whenever I'm leaving.

Shortly after we moved into our house 17 years ago, I got up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water. I walked into the kitchen and found my light-colored kitchen floor completely covered with these. 
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/roaches/oriental_cockroach03.jpg
When I turned the light on, I screamed, and they scattered so fast, I thought maybe I had imagined them, being so sleepy.

I didn't sleep a wink the rest of the night that night, and called the exterminator first thing in the morning. He said it was the worst infestation of Oriental Cockroaches (another type of waterbug) that he'd ever seen. He assured me that they don't carry disease like American or German cockroaches do, and that they are more attracted to the damp, dark crawl space under my house than anything else. I still was mortified, and he treated the house. It was two weeks before I stopped having to sweep the floor every morning of dead icky bugs, and once that stopped, (knock on wood) we've never seen another one in the house since then, in 17 years.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Karma Kindle said:


> That's just a cockroach -- we call them Palmetto Bugs down here in Miami.. and they FLY in mating season. I still have scars from a fractured hand I received when I ran into a tile wall trying to get away from one. They'll mug you for your car keys and jack your car if you're not careful!


Y'all can call them what you want down there in South New York. Here in Texas, they're water bugs. 

The little ones that live in the house are cockroaches. these are big enough to kidnap the dog and, yes ... they fly .... the evil buggers.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I have never seen a water bug (NYC) fly.  I don't think that they do.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

I was unfortunate enough to wake up last night with something crawling on my arm. Dunno what it was - flicked it away quite fast, I can tell you!


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Arachnoleptic Fit: the frantic dance you do when you walk into a spiderweb.


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

Water bugs really do fly.  And they make a really loud thud when they fly into the wall.  After one landed at the living room end of the hallway one night, I almost couldn't make myself go down the hallway to bed.  If II hadn't been working overtime that night, I probably would have still been in the living room when he got home from work.  I think I did finally make myself kill the thing, but it was really, really, really hard.


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## planet_janet (Feb 23, 2010)

Alright, here's a creepy story that has remained burned into my memory since childhood.  My dad built a playhouse for me in our backyard when I was around 6-7 years old.  In this playhouse, I had a play kitchen, and my mom used to give me empty cereal boxes, empty egg cartons, etc. for my use in the play kitchen.  One summer afternoon, I was enjoying "cooking" in my kitchen.  I reached into the "refrigerator" and grabbed an empty egg carton.  I stood there holding it for a minute or two while I did other things, and for some reason, I turned the egg carton upside down to look at the bottom.  There, inside one of the crevices, was a big, fat black widow spider sitting on an egg sac.  My hand was not even an inch away from it.  I screamed, dropped it, and ran inside to tell my dad.  My dad came out, banged the egg carton on the ground until the spider jumped out, and then blasted it with bug spray.  I DESPISE black widows and unfortunately, where I live, they are extremely common.  Needless to say, I've enjoyed the services of a pest control company for the past decade or so.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Since this thread was started I've been thinking a little about the chicken coop that our family had behind the garage.  By the time I was born, there were no chickens  there any more.  Guess I was about 4 when I went in there and saw a spider web and a big spider hanging in it.  I don't think I ever explore it again.  Spiders aren't really on my phobia list though.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> Since this thread was started I've been thinking a little about the chicken coop that our family had behind the garage. By the time I was born, there were no chickens there any more. Guess I was about 4 when I went in there and saw a spider web and a big spider hanging in it. I don't think I ever explore it again. Spiders aren't really on my phobia list though.


Showoff!


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

I couldn't resist. Burl Ives' ode to bugs. Seems fitting.


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

An oldie, but still as funny as hell!


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## travelgirl (Sep 22, 2009)

Ok, the spiders on drugs video is probably the only time in my entire life that I've laughed at a spider, unless you count the times I've laughed maniacally as I've watched one die...

I have a spider story.  I remember going camping in a tent with my dad when I was 8 years old or so.  Of course, Dad got up before I did in the morning, and was already up having coffee while I slept on.  It was just after sunrise when I woke up in an empty tent, looked up at the sides of the tent, which the sun was just starting to lighten, and i saw the shadow of about a million daddy longlegs!  The entire outside of the tent was one huge mass of them!!  I was screaming out of the tent and halfway through the field before my feet touched the ground.  And of course, my dad thought that was hilarious!  He managed to laugh at me most of that day while we were fishing.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

travelgirl said:


> Ok, the spiders on drugs video is probably the only time in my entire life that I've laughed at a spider, unless you count the times I've laughed maniacally as I've watched one die...
> 
> I have a spider story. I remember going camping in a tent with my dad when I was 8 years old or so. Of course, Dad got up before I did in the morning, and was already up having coffee while I slept on. It was just after sunrise when I woke up in an empty tent, looked up at the sides of the tent, which the sun was just starting to lighten, and i saw the shadow of about a million daddy longlegs! The entire outside of the tent was one huge mass of them!! I was screaming out of the tent and halfway through the field before my feet touched the ground. And of course, my dad thought that was hilarious! He managed to laugh at me most of that day while we were fishing.


Oooh, yuck! At least they were _outside_ of the tent!! I remember girls camp, and we had to sleep in permanent tents that were part of the campground. Why they left tents up all year round is beyond me. All it did was give a nice home to all of the creeping and crawling things of the forest. So, we kept our flashlights on the wolf spiders and other creatures, watching them crawl around above us all night long. *Shudder*

Vicki


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

Anybody here hate horseflies as much as I do? Can't stand the things. Have a look at this monstrosity:






How can he bear to touch the thing


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

AddieLove said:


> I dared, and now I regret it. Kind of. I mean, I'm glad I know so I can try and avoid them, but now I'm paranoid they're going to infest me.
> It's like how I fear Brown Recluse Spiders and now squish any spider that I think might possibly be one (even if it looks nothing like it).
> Maybe I should buy Windex for every room. You know, just in case.


My brother had the freakiest spider story I ever heard. He had moved into an apartment and outside his work was one of those parking lot set ups where they sell 3 tropical plants for $25 or something. So, he bought three. After he carried the first up to his apartment, he set it down on the floor to unlock the door. As it touched the ground, a huge spider fell out of it. He said it was as big as his hand, but not like a tarantula, it had a smaller body and wasn't hairy, but had long, long legs. It scuttled under the door of his apartment. Freaking out, he opened the door and ran for the can of bug spray (it was way too big to step on!). He sprayed it, but it didn't die right away, instead, it just dropped a sac off its belly. As my brother watched, little baby spiders spurted out like it was Jiffy Pop. He emptied the whole can of Raid on the suckers. He was never sure if he got them all...


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

When my sons were small, (8 and 4) we took them on camping trip to one of the state parks. We were sleeping in a tent. Come morning, they needed to avail themselves of the facilities. LL and I were still trying to sleep. The restrooms were about a couple hundred yards from our tent. All of a sudden I hear the youngest scream, "NO!" The eldest yelled, "You've Got To!" This was repeated several times. The whole campground of 100 sites could hear. I yanked on pants and ran up to the building to rescue them from whatever was the problem. When I got there, the youngest pointed to the toilet and said he could not take care of business while those bugs where in there. I flushed it and he said OK. I turned to the oldest and he said that he hadn't thought of that. I returned to our tent, sure that everyone else in the campground was looking and laughing at me. Amazing how far voices can carry at times.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

intinst said:


> When my sons were small, (8 and 4) we took them on camping trip to one of the state parks. We were sleeping in a tent. Come morning, they needed to avail themselves of the facilities. LL and I were still trying to sleep. The restrooms were about a couple hundred yards from our tent. All of a sudden I hear the youngest scream, "NO!" The eldest yelled, "You've Got To!" This was repeated several times. The whole campground of 100 sites could hear. I yanked on pants and ran up to the building to rescue them from whatever was the problem. When I got there, the youngest pointed to the toilet and said he could not take care of business while those bugs where in there. I flushed it and he said OK. I turned to the oldest and he said that he hadn't thought of that. I returned to our tent, sure that everyone else in the campground was looking and laughing at me. Amazing how far voices can carry at times.


LOL!! And to them, you came to save the day. You're their hero at that age. Funny how a simple toilet flush can make a world of difference. Great story!


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

DH has arachnophobia. He even has trouble with the spider scenes in LOTR and Harry Potter; he leaves the room during those scenes and I let him know when it is safe to come back. 

We were sitting on the front patio of our house in the evening after a thunderstorm had passed the first year we were living in our house near Benson, AZ. I looked up at the wall and saw a tarantula perched about 4 feet above our heads. I told DH that we should get up and walk to the driveway. He thought that was strange but came with me. Then I showed him the tarantula. It was much better that way.  The tarantula was apparently on the front wall of our house because its home was temporarily flooded. I periodically saw that tarantula over then next 10 years or so, usually on the ground a couple feet in front of me. (I would usually say, "Waaah! Oh, hi," while jumping back a couple feet. ) A couple years ago we found a dead tarantula; it was probably that one. We were both a bit sad.  (Of the type in our area, the males live about 10 years and the females 20-25. They do not breed until they are about 10 years old.)

The critters I do not like to see are centipedes and cone-nosed beetles. Of those, the one I hate is the cone-nosed beetle (a type of kissing bug/assassin bug). They will hide between mattresses or behind the headboard, wait for a person to fall asleep, and then leave a row of bites.

One night during our first or second year in our current house, during the rainy season, I walked into our bathroom and turned on the light. I heard a scrabbling noise on the counter. A centipede fell off and started running toward my feet. I screamed and ran back to the bedroom for my shoes. A few minutes later I had cornered it and squashed it. I don't mind milipedes but don't like centipedes.


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