Cockroaches - Centipedes - Cane Spiders - Scorpions..... (rent, houses)

[mangococonut]

Hi,

We are planning to move to Hawaii, and unfortunately we are not the Steve Irwin types, so I need some advice. I was wondering what you all do when you are confronted with one of the above mentioned in your home lets say - what is the best way to get them out of your house ? Do you use some type of spray, or a machete ?

Seriously, I want to be prepared with what to do when the event should come up - If anyone can give details about each species and the best way to prevent them from entering your home, and then - if they do, how to remove them (without physically touching them !) I would appreciate the advice.

Also, is there an island or a town or someplace that has more of them that you are aware of ? What about a place in Hawaii that is Not affected too much by any of them ? Are any of the 'insects' deadly on the islands ? My kids came across some videos of these things and are now not wanting to even move to Hawaii - I just wonder how prevalent running into these things will be ?

If there are any I have missed on the list, please add those in your message.

Flying Cockroaches
Cane Spiders
Black Widows
Happy Face spiders
Centipedes
Huge Ants
Scorpions
Termites
Anything else I am missing ?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX1Au4D7buE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaJKJiBA44M

[hotzcatz]

Some areas have less of them than others. If you are on the top floor of a high rise, there's usually less creeping bugs but you will still get the flying ones.

Flying Cockroaches - they are everywhere but they don't bite. Keeping things really clean helps keep them away and you will see less of them, but they will still show up occasionally.

Cane Spiders - they don't bite and don't build webs. They are fast and kinda scary looking but don't hurt anyone. We usually shoo them outside when we find one inside. We rarely see them outside since they hide real well there.

Black Widows - I've never seen one but I hear they are around. I'm out in the yard and garden a lot, too.

Happy Face spiders - Never seen one, it sounds interesting.

Centipedes - killed a seven inch red one when cleaning the bath house today. It was hiding under a washrag. Don't like centipedes, they bite, although some folks say they should just be put outside. It is a worse bite than a wasp (oh, we have those, too) and will be sore for up to several weeks. If a small child or small pet gets bitten by a large centipede, a visit to the ER or doctor might be in order.

Huge Ants - well, there are big ones which don't bite/sting. Big ones which do as well as little ones which don't bite/sting and little ones which do. If they are in the house, I put some boric acid powder near their trail or house and they will disappear in a day or two.

Scorpions - never seen one, I think they prefer the dry areas and I'm generally on the wet side.

Termites - they are insatiable, everywhere and they fly. Sometimes after a rain, there will be swarms of termites out. Folks close up their house and don't turn on lights to attract them when the termites are swarming. Otherwise, get a pan full of water, add some dish soap to reduce the surface tension and shine a light on it. The termites will fly into it and drown. About once every five to ten years, get your whole house termite treated.

There are a lot of black beetles where I live. They don't bite, but they chew on my plants. There are also millipedes in some areas which invade houses and die and make a mess. They don't bite, but they are messy.

There are house geckos. Since they are your first line of defense against many of these critters, they are on the side of the good guys and should be encouraged to live in your house. They also have a nice little chirpy noise.

Coqui frogs. They are a horribly invasive species of small frog which makes a really loud "ko-kee" noise all night long. Hard to sleep, hear tv, talk on the phone, etc. Keeping the vegetation away from the house keeps them a bit further away than right up next to the house. Some folks have sprayed them with citric acid or hydrated lime to kill them off.

Mosquitoes. Keep all places water might pool after a rain emptied or put mosquito fish in the water if it is something that doesn't empty out like a fountain or pond.

Good window screens will help keep a lot of these critters out, too.

[lauleahere&there]

I do get a few scorpions, mostly small ones, but big enough. Scorpions and centipedes hide too well. I have a 2' long set of barbecue tongs that I use to sort the recycling now and to reach into anyplace dark.

The B52's (the giant roaches) and the geckos I chase with a broom, while yelling loudly at them. I know geckos are beneficial, but I hate their poop on my stuff. The B52's mostly get stunned, then I drop them outside. They're just creepy and make a mess when you step on them.

I have been doing a pesticide perimeter treatment around the house. From the number of tiny corpses I see it must be pretty effective.

[Sweetbeet]

Termites are a nightmare because of the damage they do, and the cost to rid the house of them. The bugs themselves don't really bother me.

The ants are a nightmare because I am constantly fighting the stupid little 'bighead' ants. They are more of a constant annoyance than a "nightmare" but I marked them anyway.

Hubby has 'met' several centipedes when working outside. I've never seen one yet (we've been here 1.5 years) but they sound really scary. Only a nightmare if it surprised me.

The B-52s don't bother me, I just usually catch them and put them outside.

If cane spiders really don't spin webs then I'd love to know what the large, colorful spiders (mostly black and yellow or black and white) are, that spin many many webs around our property. They have very long legs and sit in the middle of their webs. There is another kind that is small and brown, I was told they are "crab spiders", but I was also told that the big ones are cane spiders. But they definitely spin webs! I thought they were happy face spiders but I posted a picture and someone on here said it was a cane spider.

Anyway, spiders just don't bother me at all. If they did, I'd be in trouble!

[hotzcatz]

The black and yellow ones which sit in the middle of their web - usually in an "X" shape - I've always heard them called "garden spiders". The ones which build webs and look like little brown spiky knobs in the middle of their web, those are the crab spiders. They will bite but it isn't as bad as a bee sting, at least, for me anyway. Cane spiders are a brown/light brown color and kinda hairy. They can get as big as your hand, but one that size would be considered really big. They never build webs and like to hang out in the same area once they find one they like. We had one living behind our dryer for a year or so once.

[Balad1]

If you and yours are worried about bugs and spiders then don't move to Hawaii; it sounds like someone has issues...

[nwcountrygal]

OK crabe spiders bite from my experience little more than mosquitoe(sp) the "Garden" spiders can give a seriouse bite but not like a Brown Reclouse - I call them myself the Orchid spider because they span out like a Orchid only my own nameing. They can give a bite. Cane spiders freak me out but a shop vac does the trick.

The little blue centipieds wow don't want them. I will give anything benifit of doubt but those Owwweee

[KonaKat]

What venomous or annoying creatures are where you live now? Spiders, ants, wasps, bees, snakes, roaches? How do you deal with them?

Pretty much nothing here will kill you unless you fall off a cliff or drown or get eaten by a shark. Blue centipedes have a helluva bite and usually require some medical attention but not fatal. For household pests such as roaches and ants, you'll find that if you keep everything in plastic or glass containers, and/or in the freezer (any type of grain product especially), that will help.

Chickens in the yard help a lot. Keep piles of leaves and other yard debris cleaned up and hauled away as that is a haven for the nefarious critters.

And, to answer your first question, it's a machete you'll want when you see a 6" long centipede. That, or a table to jump onto while screaming at someone ELSE to get the machete.

[nwcountrygal]

Who I rent from told me this am ( in two years never seen coming over for winter) she was in Bed something woke her up dropping from the ceiling fan loud and hard onto her. She was like chit no I know what this is!!! over 6 inches spasming she doesn't know why but saying I normally let litter chriitters live but you no! Got rid of it.

And if I owned my own property or wasn't leaving yes chickens are the way to go!!! Even In PNWest they clean up all the bugs, fleas, ticks etc.

[Snort]

Centipedes are the worst. Think of one of those big tootsie rolls with lots of legs. You'll see plenty of the huge flying cockroaches. Can't stand them, but at least they won't bite like those damned centipedes.