Palmetto Bugs? (Myrtle Beach, Piedmont: apartments, organic, living)

[Buckland]

Originally Posted by ss20ts

By sticking to their nest you mean they're out in plain sight. We spray our porch and patio frequently and squish the disgusting things. We find them in the garage often and we never open the garage.

Don't let the low cost of living make you think everything in SC is paradise. I do live in a nice area, but man what I wouldn't give for a decent slice of pizza! Or some good pretzels.

Oh and I'm 3 hours from the ocean. When I was there in April, Edisto Beach had sons of jellyfish. Over the summer there have been numerous jellyfish and manowar warnings. And it's been really hot and humid. A day on the beach when it's 100 degrees? Ummmm thanks but no thanks....LOL

LOL...guess I could deal with the black widders more easily than my wife could deal with the palmetto bugs. BW spiders are slow moving.

By hot and humid, I assume nearly everywhere in that region, not just the beach areas? Where town are you in in NC, if you don't mind my asking? Three hours from the beach is not bad, but, like you, don't think I'd do it during the hottest part of the summer.

I know what you mean, re "decent slice of pizza." Hard to find, outside of NYC and NE (wife's from NE). Same goes for most ethnic food that I've had. Hopefully, one could get decent seafood in SC, though!

Speaking of ethnic cuisine, we were surprised with how difficult is to find "decent" fare in the Denver area. Italian, passable; Chinese, forget about it. Even the Mexican is not as good as I've had in L.A. This is especially strange, give the wide influx of people here, from all over, and both coasts.

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by Buckland

By hot and humid, I assume nearly everywhere in that region, not just the beach areas? Where town are you in in NC, if you don't mind my asking? Three hours from the beach is not bad, but, like you, don't think I'd do it during the hottest part of the summer.

I know what you mean, re "decent slice of pizza." Hard to find, outside of NYC and NE (wife's from NE). Same goes for most ethnic food that I've had. Hopefully, one could get decent seafood in SC, though!

Speaking of ethnic cuisine, we were surprised with how difficult is to find "decent" fare in the Denver area. Italian, passable; Chinese, forget about it. Even the Mexican is not as good as I've had in L.A. This is especially strange, give the wide influx of people here, from all over, and both coasts.

I'm in SC near Aiken which is a hop skip and a jump from Augusta, GA. It's 3 hours from my house to Charleston without traffic. Charleston is hot and humid in the summer. Anyone who says it's not must have visited and gotten a lucky break in the weather.

Some places do have good seafood...others not so much. Gotta love the places who use frozen seafood when you could catch your own!

Ethnic food in my neck of the woods is the pits. I don't eat Chinese food, but my friends think it all stinks here. They're all from the North also.....funny how we're all friends down here....LOL The local Greek and Italian isn't so hot. What I wouldn't give for a Greek diner! There's a Mexican restaurant every 6 feet like drug stores. I don't eat at any of them. They've been in the news for very low food inspections. They get a low score and then they get inspected again the following week. Magically they do better that time. I wonder for how long they actually maintain it. One not too far away was closed for violating state laws regarding hiring illegals. Fun times!

[Buckland]

Originally Posted by ss20ts

I'm in SC near Aiken which is a hop skip and a jump from Augusta, GA. It's 3 hours from my house to Charleston without traffic. Charleston is hot and humid in the summer. Anyone who says it's not must have visited and gotten a lucky break in the weather.

Some places do have good seafood...others not so much. Gotta love the places who use frozen seafood when you could catch your own!

Ethnic food in my neck of the woods is the pits. I don't eat Chinese food, but my friends think it all stinks here. They're all from the North also.....funny how we're all friends down here....LOL The local Greek and Italian isn't so hot. What I wouldn't give for a Greek diner! There's a Mexican restaurant every 6 feet like drug stores. I don't eat at any of them. They've been in the news for very low food inspections. They get a low score and then they get inspected again the following week. Magically they do better that time. I wonder for how long they actually maintain it. One not too far away was closed for violating state laws regarding hiring illegals. Fun times!

Well, other than that, how is life in Aiken? lol

Any noteable bug problems--such as the palmatto bug, you hear about further east? Giant banana spiders?

Guess it's not that far from the ocean, to get my deep fried jumbo shrimp fix.

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by Buckland

Well, other than that, how is life in Aiken? lol

Any noteable bug problems--such as the palmatto bug, you hear about further east? Giant banana spiders?

Guess it's not that far from the ocean, to get my deep fried jumbo shrimp fix.

Aiken isn't bad. It's a suburb of Augusta. Where I am there's a lot of Black Widows and other spiders. This summer we've had tons of black flies which are just annoying. Lots of grasshoppers and crickets. They normally stay outside. They don't bother me at all. I've had 3 palmetto bugs in the house since we moved in last year.

Our development was just finished last summer so a lot of things weren't here. Squirrels and birds have come back. The noise and moving around the ground problem sent them packing. We have a lot of lizards. We have no idea what most of them are. We have some frogs/toads. Dogs love chasing them! LOL

I don't actually live in Aiken. I'm outside of it in one of the unincorporated areas. Our mail goes to Aiken, but we're much closer to New Ellenton. There's absolutely nothing in New Ellenton.

One of the things that put Aiken on the map is SRS - the Savannah River Site. It's a nuclear research facility that was built by DuPont. The Feds now own it. Seems like most people around here work there.

Downtown Aiken is really nice. There's aren't any chain stores/restaurants down there. There's lots of chain restaurants/shops outside of downtown. Downtown is historic. There's some really old, gorgeous homes. There's a really nice museum in one of the old homes. It's actually huge for such a small town.

There are several festivals throughout the year. The Lobster Races where they actually race lobsters. It's rather entertaining. There's the Beach Blast where they have shag dancing and they build a beach in the middle of downtown. We just had Christmas in July where a bunch of shops stay open late one night. Around Christmas Santa comes, the tree is lit, and the sidewalks are lined with thousands of luminaries, and there's choir singers all over. Makin' Aiken is in September. It's a huge craft fair. There's also food.

There's also holiday parades. We have a 4th of July thing at the Western Carolina State Fairgrounds. There's also the fair in October. Last year, Gloriana performed at the fair. Not quite sure why it's called the Western Carolina State Fairgrounds since we're not really west. We're west of the coast, but I don't know if we're really in the western half of the state. I tend to think of Greenville and Spartanburg as western SC.

There's a place in town that has fresh seafood. They get it daily from the coast. I believe it's called JC Crab House. They have batting cages and mini golf there also.

[imtheonlyamy]

I lived in SC for many years, and the fleas and fire ants drove me much more crazy than the palmetto bugs. I think while they look the same, the palmetto bug and cockroaches are totally different. If you find one cockroach in your house, there are probably hundreds, if not thousands more lurking around. Not necessarily so with a palmetto bug. I'd always find a few dead around the house, but never as numerous as cockroach infestations I've seen in "dirty" houses.
Now I am in Colorado and just worry about spiders!

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by imtheonlyamy

I lived in SC for many years, and the fleas and fire ants drove me much more crazy than the palmetto bugs.

I haven't had a problem with fleas. But that could be because all of the ground around here has been moved around like crazy for the last 7 or so years while our development was built. Fire ants though man those buggers are here! Hate them. They are just plain ole mean!

[Buckland]

Originally Posted by ss20ts

Aiken isn't bad. It's a suburb of Augusta. Where I am there's a lot of Black Widows and other spiders. This summer we've had tons of black flies which are just annoying. Lots of grasshoppers and crickets. They normally stay outside. They don't bother me at all. I've had 3 palmetto bugs in the house since we moved in last year.

Our development was just finished last summer so a lot of things weren't here. Squirrels and birds have come back. The noise and moving around the ground problem sent them packing. We have a lot of lizards. We have no idea what most of them are. We have some frogs/toads. Dogs love chasing them! LOL

I don't actually live in Aiken. I'm outside of it in one of the unincorporated areas. Our mail goes to Aiken, but we're much closer to New Ellenton. There's absolutely nothing in New Ellenton.

One of the things that put Aiken on the map is SRS - the Savannah River Site. It's a nuclear research facility that was built by DuPont. The Feds now own it. Seems like most people around here work there.

Downtown Aiken is really nice. There's aren't any chain stores/restaurants down there. There's lots of chain restaurants/shops outside of downtown. Downtown is historic. There's some really old, gorgeous homes. There's a really nice museum in one of the old homes. It's actually huge for such a small town.

There are several festivals throughout the year. The Lobster Races where they actually race lobsters. It's rather entertaining. There's the Beach Blast where they have shag dancing and they build a beach in the middle of downtown. We just had Christmas in July where a bunch of shops stay open late one night. Around Christmas Santa comes, the tree is lit, and the sidewalks are lined with thousands of luminaries, and there's choir singers all over. Makin' Aiken is in September. It's a huge craft fair. There's also food.

There's also holiday parades. We have a 4th of July thing at the Western Carolina State Fairgrounds. There's also the fair in October. Last year, Gloriana performed at the fair. Not quite sure why it's called the Western Carolina State Fairgrounds since we're not really west. We're west of the coast, but I don't know if we're really in the western half of the state. I tend to think of Greenville and Spartanburg as western SC.

There's a place in town that has fresh seafood. They get it daily from the coast. I believe it's called JC Crab House. They have batting cages and mini golf there also.

When you say new development, this suggests growth, of course. Would you attribute this to an influx of new people into the area, or expansion of jobs due to local industry, SRS, for example? Are there a lot of retirees in the area, transplants from other regions of the U.S.?

My wife and I are recently retired and, as such would be considering relocation primarily for “quality of life.” So, jobs would not be the motivation. Actually the quality of life is good here in Colorado, but it is over 1000 miles from the nearest ocean (coastal area of Texas). The area as you describe it sounds very nice—especially downtown Aiken.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Buckland]

Originally Posted by imtheonlyamy

I lived in SC for many years, and the fleas and fire ants drove me much more crazy than the palmetto bugs. I think while they look the same, the palmetto bug and cockroaches are totally different. If you find one cockroach in your house, there are probably hundreds, if not thousands more lurking around. Not necessarily so with a palmetto bug. I'd always find a few dead around the house, but never as numerous as cockroach infestations I've seen in "dirty" houses.
Now I am in Colorado and just worry about spiders!

Several years ago, I got bit on the back of the neck—by a fire ant—here in Colorado. I thought this strange, as the Denver area is not supposed to have fire ants. The dang thing caused a rash all around my neck area, and I eventually went to the doctor for antibiotics. The swelling was getting intense.

Aside from that, I can’t say that I’ve had any really disquieting encounters with bugs and spiders over my 17 years here, other than an occasional house fly. There are spiders everywhere, but nothing unusual here. And I am smitten with arachnophobia! I might find one in the house once in a while, but not unlike anywhere else I’ve lived. Never lived in the South, however, other than Maryland.

As you know, we do have the two more notorious poisonous spiders here—the black widow and brown recluse. I’ve never actually seen a recluse, and absolutely zero black widows on my property—including the garage and basement. And we’ve never employed the services of an exterminator.

Only one, second-hand, experience with a black widow: My son, who lives in the area, had a personal encounter with a widow. One day, my then 5-year-old grandson, who is fascinated with “bugs,” managed to pick one up and place it in a jar. Of course no one believed him at first—until he brought his dad outside, to the patio. Sure enough, that spider he had captured sported the unmistakable red hour glass on the bottom, along with the jet-black pea-like body and black spindly legs!

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by Buckland

When you say new development, this suggests growth, of course. Would you attribute this to an influx of new people into the area, or expansion of jobs due to local industry, SRS, for example? Are there a lot of retirees in the area, transplants from other regions of the U.S.?

My wife and I are recently retired and, as such would be considering relocation primarily for “quality of life.” So, jobs would not be the motivation. Actually the quality of life is good here in Colorado, but it is over 1000 miles from the nearest ocean (coastal area of Texas). The area as you describe it sounds very nice—especially downtown Aiken.

Thanks for your feedback.

There have been new things happening with SRS and the companies that feed into it. A lot of that has now halted since the stimulus funds have dried up and the feds own SRS.

There are other companies here like Bridgestone and others. We have a very high number of retirees. There's tons of golf here and many live in golf course communities. We have a quaint downtown with several shops and restaurants. It's a small city of about 29,000.

I don't live in city limits. I'm about 6 miles outside of city limits. By being in an unincorporated area, I only pay county taxes on our house and vehicles. our water is much less also. We have a septic tank so we don't pay for sewer either. My aunt and uncle live in a fancier development in city limits. Their house is assessed for about the same as ours. Both of our houses in the same school district. But they pay more than twice as much in property taxes and vehicle taxes. Their water is also significantly more. They also have a different utility company who is more. I have a co-op so our electricity is considerably less and they're not trying to increase our rates every year.

I don't know if Colorado is big into HOA's. In most of the South, they're everywhere! Some are extremely restrictive and others aren't. I have one and the biggest issue they fight is people parking on the grass. it's been an issue since people have parties and park on the common areas which is our green space or on neighbors lots! Our dues are about $125 a year. There are spiffier neighborhoods with pools, clubhouses, golf courses, lakes, etc but they have much higher HOA fees. I know of a few that are $500+ a month. I'm not interested in all of those things and I'm certainly interested in paying that much a month on top of my mortgage especially for things I wouldn't use.

Aiken has a 2 year technical college (basically a community college). We also have a 4 year college that's part of USC.

A few years ago, I read something from a magazine that said Aiken was the 6th lowest taxed place to live in the US. I believe they were only talking about cities and towns of a certain size.

There is alos a very large equine community. We have two Stepplechase races a year. Lots of polo. You can also ride English or Western.

We have our own hospital. It isn't huge, but it's nice to know that we have one and don't have to go all the way to Augusta. The hospital in Augusta is 55 minutes from my house and the Aiken one is about 20. Augusta has a large teaching hospital.

Aiken is part of the CSRA and is considered a suburb of Augusta, GA. Whatever we don't have in Aiken, Augusta pretty much has. Columbia, SC - the capitol - is about an hour 20 from me. They have a lot of things also. There's a zoo with beautiful gardens, museums, historic sites, etc. They have some stores and restaurants that Augusta doesn't have.

If you're into Farmer's Markets, Aiken has one daily during the summer. Augusta has large one every Saturday by the river where they built a beautiful park. They have food vendors so you can get lunch while wandering about. You can get raw milk and grass fed beef, poultry, and pork. Up in columbia, they have a brand new HUGE State Farmer's Market. They have some vendors with fresh fish and seafood.

Here are some links where you can see more info:

The Augusta Market - Diggin' the River!

SC State Farmers Market

City of Aiken Home - City of Aiken, South Carolina Government Website

AikenCountySC.gov ** Official Website of Aiken County Government

Aiken Chamber of Commerce

Aiken Downtown Development Association

Aiken, South Carolina SC

[Buckland]

Originally Posted by ss20ts

There have been new things happening with SRS and the companies that feed into it. A lot of that has now halted since the stimulus funds have dried up and the feds own SRS.

There are other companies here like Bridgestone and others. We have a very high number of retirees. There's tons of golf here and many live in golf course communities. We have a quaint downtown with several shops and restaurants. It's a small city of about 29,000.

I don't live in city limits. I'm about 6 miles outside of city limits. By being in an unincorporated area, I only pay county taxes on our house and vehicles. our water is much less also. We have a septic tank so we don't pay for sewer either. My aunt and uncle live in a fancier development in city limits. Their house is assessed for about the same as ours. Both of our houses in the same school district. But they pay more than twice as much in property taxes and vehicle taxes. Their water is also significantly more. They also have a different utility company who is more. I have a co-op so our electricity is considerably less and they're not trying to increase our rates every year.

I don't know if Colorado is big into HOA's. In most of the South, they're everywhere! Some are extremely restrictive and others aren't. I have one and the biggest issue they fight is people parking on the grass. it's been an issue since people have parties and park on the common areas which is our green space or on neighbors lots! Our dues are about $125 a year. There are spiffier neighborhoods with pools, clubhouses, golf courses, lakes, etc but they have much higher HOA fees. I know of a few that are $500+ a month. I'm not interested in all of those things and I'm certainly interested in paying that much a month on top of my mortgage especially for things I wouldn't use.

Aiken has a 2 year technical college (basically a community college). We also have a 4 year college that's part of USC.

A few years ago, I read something from a magazine that said Aiken was the 6th lowest taxed place to live in the US. I believe they were only talking about cities and towns of a certain size.

There is alos a very large equine community. We have two Stepplechase races a year. Lots of polo. You can also ride English or Western.

We have our own hospital. It isn't huge, but it's nice to know that we have one and don't have to go all the way to Augusta. The hospital in Augusta is 55 minutes from my house and the Aiken one is about 20. Augusta has a large teaching hospital.

Aiken is part of the CSRA and is considered a suburb of Augusta, GA. Whatever we don't have in Aiken, Augusta pretty much has. Columbia, SC - the capitol - is about an hour 20 from me. They have a lot of things also. There's a zoo with beautiful gardens, museums, historic sites, etc. They have some stores and restaurants that Augusta doesn't have.

If you're into Farmer's Markets, Aiken has one daily during the summer. Augusta has large one every Saturday by the river where they built a beautiful park. They have food vendors so you can get lunch while wandering about. You can get raw milk and grass fed beef, poultry, and pork. Up in columbia, they have a brand new HUGE State Farmer's Market. They have some vendors with fresh fish and seafood.

Here are some links where you can see more info:

The Augusta Market - Diggin' the River!

SC State Farmers Market

City of Aiken Home - City of Aiken, South Carolina Government Website

AikenCountySC.gov ** Official Website of Aiken County Government

Aiken Chamber of Commerce

Aiken Downtown Development Association

Aiken, South Carolina SC

Great feedback, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your taking the time in response. You have been most informative in the area of local color, not to mention your input on tax/water advantages of living outside the city, proper. You have offered a really comprehensive profile of the general Aikens area.

As for HOA’s, they are pretty much everywhere in American cities today. We certainly have our share in the Denver area, although we don’t live in one. As one of the last of the “rugged individualists,” I rebel! While there can be definite advantages, HOA’s can be restrictive—pettily so—as well.

One of my main rubs with an HOA—to the extreme—is the sheer conformity. By this, I mean such things as choice of house colors, parking an RV or boat in the driveway, or even the right to fly the American flag.

At the same time, I can see the intent of an HOA—to prevent the occurrence of irresponsible neighbors, who may not only be undesirable, but tend to lower property values. So, in this way, today’s SC HOA’s mission may be a preventative measure in defense of the “redneck factor.” In this respect, an HOA is an insurance policy. And nothing is free.

Still, if I were an HOA member, I would never complain about a neighbor who had an occasional party where the guests parked on their lawn.

So, tell me something about yourself. Are you a “transplant?” and, if so, from where? How long have you lived in SC? How do you fit in with the locals?

I ask these questions, not to intrude, but to get an even better feel for life in the Aikens area.

In our case, we have lived no further south than Colorado. While I can feel pretty much comfortable regardless of new environs, my wife (from New England) is somewhat reluctant about relocating to anything south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

I know, I have posed questions that cannot be answered by a resident of another location, as the questions are so subjective to the individual involved.

We have moved, several times, throughout our marriage, and each move required a period of adjustment. We invariably second-guess if this was the best decision at the time, and always lament—even temporarily—leaving the place we were before.

Perhaps our biggest period of adjustment was leaving the East Coast, for Alaska. We experienced the best of times and the worst of times there…yet, here we are in Colorado.