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I just read a post about fire ants and thought, "oh my lord, what are fire ants?!"
My question is: What types of insects should I be on the lookout for and what are my defense options? I am moving to Charlotte shortly (from NY, shocker.) and I just want to be prepared.
PS - I have taken on a NYC roach and won after striking it hundreds of times with a shoe so I'm not terribly wimpy...but you know. I just like to know what I'm getting into here.
The usual culprits: fire ants, regular ants, termites, wasps (that includes hornets and yellow jackets), ******* (ticks), fleas, beatles, flies, most of which a regular pest control service or normal housecleaning practices will take care of.
I have yet to see the fire ants, but I know they've reached this area now, because not long ago my brother stepped right into one of their nests. Hurt like hell I'm told.
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...I have taken on a NYC roach and won after striking it hundreds of times with a shoe so I'm not terribly wimpy...but you know. I just like to know what I'm getting into here..
Unlike the roach, fire ants are very aggressive and can seriously hurt you. I know this from having lived further South where it is common for kids to be sent to the hospital who had the misfortune of stumbling into a nest. The bite from one is painful and swells up but they usually attack in numbers so it can be much worse. They are called fire ants because the bite feels like being burned by fire.
They have been migrating North and have made their way into the Charlotte area over the last 5 or so years. I don't ever remember seeing or hearing of fire ants here before that, but they are definitely here now. if you see a nest you should take steps to eradicate it if it is on your property and don't mess with it otherwise.
There are some LARGE insects here, but I've learned you can't judge how harmful or aggressive something is just based on the size.
There are cicada killer wasps here that look like the biggest bee you've ever seen-- first time I saw one, it scared the hell out of me, but they are pretty harmless and not at all aggressive.
The other day we found a MASSIVE spider in the yard (over two inches long when stretched out), I mean thing was BIG and looked MEAN! The first reaction was to kill it, but after reading about it we figured out it's a Black & Yellow Garden Spider and they are not threatening to people. Not that I'm going to be picking it up anytime soon, but it stays in its web and helps keep the other spiders and bugs under control.
I get that some people are more comfortable with a scorched-earth kill-everything insect policy, that's fine, but don't lose your wits just because you see Insectzilla! Oh, and when people say "palmetto bug", that's just a polite way of saying "cockroach".
The only ones that really bother me here are the ASIAN TIGER SKEETERS...you can spot them by the white striped legs. No fire ants in our yard but plenty of little black ones, tons of diff types of bees, wasps and hornets.
I love the Garden spiders--they make the most beautiful webs!
Ants 7, bedbugs 4, with couches loaded. What else is on your mind today?
Bedbugs are now being found even in stores and movie theaters (in NY) I saw it on the Today show this morning. Not sure where about here. Has anyone heard of a big problem here with bedbugs? I missed that one. Before it was a problem in hotels now look where they are showing up? eeeww, gross.
Bugs are one thing... but its really the snakes you have to worry about.
They let themselves in.
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