[Sueilp]

Found this stick insect on our florida screen




and this on our driveway:

[Sueilp]

Did you spot the baby on the stick insect's back?

[oceandreams94]

LOL! Are you sure its a baby...or perhaps her hubby??? Look at where the little ones butt is! From this angle it looks like they are doing something rofl

Jen

[hollimarie]

Florida is torture for a person such as myself who has a phobia of cockroaches. Palmetto bugs are flying roaches. I don't care what anyone says, and I am so glad I am living in a state that doesn't have them!

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by hollimarie

Florida is torture for a person such as myself who has a phobia of cockroaches. Palmetto bugs are flying roaches. I don't care what anyone says, and I am so glad I am living in a state that doesn't have them!

Oh, come on, I havent seen a roach in years!

[hollimarie]

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

Oh, come on, I havent seen a roach in years!

I grew up in Florida. Lived in Florida from 1979 until 1993. I also moved back to Florida after living in the UK and lived there from 2005-2006. I visit Florida at least twice a year. Palmetto bugs were/are a regular thing in Spring Hill and Port Richey (Tampa Bay area.) So, don't "come on" me. Oh, and I am a white-glove cleaner. My apartment complex, despite how many times they sprayed and gelled, couldn't prevent the big mommajommas from invading my apartment. They were attracted to the mulch and the palm trees. When it rained, I was doomed. Big, black flying bombers.
Trust me, I speak from experience. Florida is not a kind place to be if you have a bug phobia-and especially not a palmetto bug (aka american cockroach) phobia.


All I can say is that MOST people can't live in Florida without paying for pest control. Where I am moving, I won't need it. It feels NICE.

[Sueilp]

Originally Posted by oceandreams94

LOL! Are you sure its a baby...or perhaps her hubby??? Look at where the little ones butt is! From this angle it looks like they are doing something rofl

Jen

LOL you could be right about that - never gave it a thoguht that MAYBE the male was smaller than the female!!!! PMSL

[ddlove01]

Originally Posted by hollimarie

I grew up in Florida. Lived in Florida from 1979 until 1993. I also moved back to Florida after living in the UK and lived there from 2005-2006. I visit Florida at least twice a year. Palmetto bugs were/are a regular thing in Spring Hill and Port Richey (Tampa Bay area.) So, don't "come on" me. Oh, and I am a white-glove cleaner. My apartment complex, despite how many times they sprayed and gelled, couldn't prevent the big mommajommas from invading my apartment. They were attracted to the mulch and the palm trees. When it rained, I was doomed. Big, black flying bombers.
Trust me, I speak from experience. Florida is not a kind place to be if you have a bug phobia-and especially not a palmetto bug (aka american cockroach) phobia.


All I can say is that MOST people can't live in Florida without paying for pest control. Where I am moving, I won't need it. It feels NICE.

We don't have a bug problem and only had one pest control service over the last 7 years. We had carpenter ants in our attic, they got rid of them within a few days. We get some ghost ants and some occasional carpenter ants (only after a heavy rain and it's our own fault because we have tons of mulch around our property).

I have to agree with lauderdale, I haven't had a palmetto bug in our house in years either. We have seen them roaming outside, but that's where they belong!

One type of roach you DO NOT want to get in your home is the GERMAN ROACH! Those buggers really cause problems, and they are truly disgusting. The can make their home in appliances and electronics, totally gross. They also travel in "herds", usually you don't just have one in your house. It's also a very ugly roach, with long antennas that seem to want to find you and crawl all over you! The palmetto bug is shiny black and smooth and usually travels alone (ok come on, bash me!)

Maybe because I grew up in the pest control business (my dad owned his own and I worked for one for 3 years) I don't have this phobia of crawling bugs. Even rodents don't bother me. Flying rodents don't bother me.

I do, however, have a terrible fear of flying stinging insects (bees, wasps, hornets, dragonflies, and sometimes even butterflies because I don't know what it is until I see it). You can hear me screaming a mile away...one time it was a stinking ladybug that landed on my arm, I was so embarrased. I have made a fool of myself in high school, picnics, Walmart parking lot, basically anywhere bees could find me. I have a fear of getting stung...I guess my crazy arm flinging, running around in circles, yelling at the top of my lungs does work - I have never been stung! So I think I will continue this nutty behavior until I am old and gray...I just hope my little girls don't pick up on this...

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by hollimarie

I grew up in Florida. Lived in Florida from 1979 until 1993. I also moved back to Florida after living in the UK and lived there from 2005-2006. I visit Florida at least twice a year. Palmetto bugs were/are a regular thing in Spring Hill and Port Richey (Tampa Bay area.) So, don't "come on" me. Oh, and I am a white-glove cleaner. My apartment complex, despite how many times they sprayed and gelled, couldn't prevent the big mommajommas from invading my apartment. They were attracted to the mulch and the palm trees. When it rained, I was doomed. Big, black flying bombers.
Trust me, I speak from experience. Florida is not a kind place to be if you have a bug phobia-and especially not a palmetto bug (aka american cockroach) phobia.


All I can say is that MOST people can't live in Florida without paying for pest control. Where I am moving, I won't need it. It feels NICE.

I guess Broward is such a bad place to live, that even the roaches cant stand it . Just kidding. Regardless, I guess I am just lucky. When I lived in Orlando, the roaches WERE everywhere though .

[hollimarie]

Originally Posted by ddlove01

We don't have a bug problem and only had one pest control service over the last 7 years. We had carpenter ants in our attic, they got rid of them within a few days. We get some ghost ants and some occasional carpenter ants (only after a heavy rain and it's our own fault because we have tons of mulch around our property).

I have to agree with lauderdale, I haven't had a palmetto bug in our house in years either. We have seen them roaming outside, but that's where they belong!

One type of roach you DO NOT want to get in your home is the GERMAN ROACH! Those buggers really cause problems, and they are truly disgusting. The can make their home in appliances and electronics, totally gross. They also travel in "herds", usually you don't just have one in your house. It's also a very ugly roach, with long antennas that seem to want to find you and crawl all over you! The palmetto bug is shiny black and smooth and usually travels alone (ok come on, bash me!)

Maybe because I grew up in the pest control business (my dad owned his own and I worked for one for 3 years) I don't have this phobia of crawling bugs. Even rodents don't bother me. Flying rodents don't bother me.

I do, however, have a terrible fear of flying stinging insects (bees, wasps, hornets, dragonflies, and sometimes even butterflies because I don't know what it is until I see it). You can hear me screaming a mile away...one time it was a stinking ladybug that landed on my arm, I was so embarrased. I have made a fool of myself in high school, picnics, Walmart parking lot, basically anywhere bees could find me. I have a fear of getting stung...I guess my crazy arm flinging, running around in circles, yelling at the top of my lungs does work - I have never been stung! So I think I will continue this nutty behavior until I am old and gray...I just hope my little girls don't pick up on this...

I guess it was just my luck to live in "roachy" parts of Florida. My family was a neat family, and my mother was/is a fanatical cleaner, and still, the stray roach would saunter in. I guess it's because there were palm trees near my childhood homes, and in later years, my apartment.

Here in TN, German roaches can be prevalent if a person is dirty. I even saw German roaches in England. They are, quite obviously, everywhere.

I do remember that my father and stepmother had a place in Spring Hill where they never saw ONE roach or palmetto bug in five years, but they had scorpions! I don't know. I just have a bad bug phobia, and it's mainly centered on the flying cockroaches or big roaches. I heaved a tremendous sigh of relief when I discovered that my new place in upstate South Carolina would not be a likely place to see large cockroaches and palmetto bugs. I think the phobia stems from when I was a little girl at an elementary school in Port Richey. A big cockroach flew from the air conditioning vent in the ceiling into my hair and became trapped in my hair. I was only 8. It's a funny story, but at the time I was terrified, and I still shudder when I think of it.

My poor husband has had to deal with my phobia. Prior to meeting him, I lived alone and did "roach patrol" each night after sitting out on my patio. The palmetto bugs would fly around outside and land in the light next to my apartment. It was an upstairs apartment. I could hear their wings in the light fixture, and I would always fear that one would fly in when I would go back inside. Occassionaly a flyer would enter. They were horrible looking. They especially look evil when they are flying straight for your head. (Tell me why they always seem to dive bomb heads????!)

I am sure there are people who will laugh at this post. I am also sure others will argue. Just because a person might not have palmetto bugs in their vicinity, doesn't mean they aren't there in other places or that I am exagerrating.

Oh, and Ft. Lauderdale--You are lucky. Broward county is NOT a bad place, I am sure. You just aren't a palmetto bug magnet like I seem to be!