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scotland1

palmetto bugs

scotland1
18 years ago

I've never seen the palmetto bugs as bad as they are this year. There's so many of them that they've come into the house by the dozen. One came sneaking up over the edge of my pillow the other night as I was reading in bed and about sent me into orbit. Anyone have some helpful hints on getting rid of my disgusting houseguests? The dog and cat aren't interested in extermination work.

Comments (108)

  • silvercatcody
    13 years ago

    Glad other people hate these creatures. I've lived in SC, had them there. Now I live in TN and still have them. I hate them, I hate them, I hate them. I would actually move to get away from them. I hate their small cousins also, but I don't have them in the house. I walk in my kitchen at night and don't know what I'll find. Sometimes there are two - one large one and a smaller one - like a husband and wife. Seriously, I've watched them and they look at each other when they see me. You should see me try to get both of them with a fly swatter. The bigger they get the tougher they are to kill. Not even a shoe stomp will kill them. It's the toilet for them. My husband is no good at killing bugs, he hits like a girl. One night I went to the bathroom, turned on the light, dropped my drawers and sat. I looked up to see a 4-inch specimen 'standing' on the top of the shower stall looking down at me. I screamed and ran out of the bathroom. No small feat with your drawers down. I went into the bedroom to find my husband barely conscience. I said, "Did you hear me scream?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Did you think I might need some help?" He said, "No. It wasn't a 'someone is in the house attacking me' scream." I said, "Next time...pretend that it is." I never found that bug. I will be using copious amounts of borax under and around the house until first freeze. I have nightmares about these things. My cats are a little solace. They usually kill them while playing with them at night.

  • sgtpepper355_hotmail_com
    12 years ago

    We have become inundated with palmetto bugs. It is not because of wet weather either because we haven't had rain in a very long time. We live in Florida. We have sprayed and sprayed but keep on getting them.

  • rosie
    12 years ago

    Sorry, had to quit reading in the middle before this incredible thread comes back as a nightmare, but to underline what others have said:

    1. Boric acid--from puff blower so it puts down a very fine layer--bugs will walk around lines and piles of boric acid. Do this only where kids and pets can't walk. It is toxic. It works VERY well.

    2. A bug-attracting and killing tube gel from hardware store (forgot name) to squeeze into cracks, such as inside and outside doors and areas where you can't lay down the powder. It works for continued vigilance all by itself, should that be necessary, but also attracts cats and dogs so needs to be out of reach of their eager tongues.

    For a while I always knew when one particular neighbor sprayed their house because their roaches would run up our hill and show up here. Mercifully they're (people and bugs) gone now, but I know from over a year's experience that the 2 simple steps above WILL kill any that have come to visit, although the one time they got a little established I started out with a set of bombs on general murderous principles and also powdered outside to catch any that managed to get out.

    BTW, although the word cockroach gives me the usual skin-crawls, IMO there's a world of difference between bugs that prefer to live in the garden and...roaches, even if they are in the same genus.

  • lovturtle4_aol_com
    12 years ago

    i moved to alabama from portland and i had NEVER EVER SEEN A PALMETTO BUG, or luckily a cockroach before (and ive lived in nyc). i recently moved into an old house with 4 separate apartments. i saw a bug that flew from my kitchen to my bathroom, like it was riding a wind glider. i walked into the bathroom whimpering with my bottle of soapy water and saw the largest,longest roach ever (their american cockroaches, palmetto bug...pfft.) seen, i literally thought i was going to have a heart attack after flushing it. i have bought boric acid, made boric acid and sugar traps,placed roach motels in every corner tearing off the top, since they can't fit in...i even just recently bought a mosquito net for my bed, which i will be telling people is for its romantic appeal. i really have only seen two live ones, the mike tyson in my bathroom and a smaller one, the rest i find barely alive, on their back kicking one leg. i have rented my apartment for two months and have slept their twice, during the day. as for hearing that they dont like the light..the one alive one i saw was during the day in sunshine and the huge one flew right past the brightly lit bedroom (i even keep a nightlight in the kitchen on the floor). i am terrified of them. my neighbors have had them hit their head and stick to their hair, i am so grateful to not have had this experience. i dont think its funny or irrational to fear them, besides for being freaking creepy with their speed,size,slithering out of drains and flying ability, they carry disease and poop on the ground and infest your food. that is enough to be a scary movie..perhaps the episode from creepshow, for instance. ugh. i feel so much better knowing others are so bothered by them. i really do.

  • mk87
    12 years ago

    Wow, this thread just WILL. NOT. DIE. (Much like the darned palmetto bugs, right?) I think it's a testament to how violently and vehemently we hate these bugs down here in the South. It's part of our lore. Everybody has a gross/scary palmetto bug story and everybody has a remedy for getting rid of them. Unfortunately, it's as much a part of being from the South as BBQ and blues! Good luck everyone with hopefully an easy bug-season and we'll probably all talk about this again next year on this same thread! :)

  • tac1_bellsouth_net
    12 years ago

    Okay, you think you had a bad event?...
    I was in my late teens and had recently completed a course in self confidence. Part of the lesson was to overcome your fears. Bugs was one of mine. So while at home a few months later I saw a palmetto bug on the kitchen counter. I did not allow myself to panic, reached for a paper towel and grabbed the bug and smushed it my fist while declaring that it was not going to scare me. WELL, while I was smushing it, it's juices squired out right in my eye!!! It burned horribly and I screamed. My parents came running in and thought I was doing drugs again and had tried to shoot drugs in my eye! True story.

  • savgatom_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    When I was a kid in Savannah, we had a bedroom with glossily varnished knotty wood paneling. Outside were lots of live oak trees and PBs. The knots in the paneling were approximately the size, color, and shiny varnished appearance as the roachy subject of this thread. Additionally, the bugs could hunker down in the knot holes. Every summer going to bed was an adventure, always accompanied by a rolled copy of the Savannah Morning News at the ready for swatting real (though oft imaginary) Palmetto bugs. Wallopped some bugs and clobbered a lot of pine knot paneling. Those bugs were BIG! One had a tattoo on his shoulder and carried a switch blade. Luckily, these bugs seemed to prefer outdoors, because they did not appear in large numbers, only one at a time.
    Decorator tip for the Savannah environs: Don't use knotty paneling if you are freaked by roaches you can throw saddles on.

  • erpoore_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    I just spent 30 minutes standing on my bathroom counter bc I unsuccessfully shot raid at a palmetto bug on my ceiling that looked like a bird of prey. He fell off the ceiling onto the floor and ran under my shower curtain and of course by the time that bug even thought about hitting the floor I was standing on the cabinets. I stood there trying to talk myself into moving my curtain back to look for it bc there wasnt a chance in you know where I would sleep tonight knowing I didn't kill that thing. I finally did and grabbed the first thing I could to kill it, which was my hair brush lol. That's the first live one I've seen inside and hopefully the last! I bought raid bug barrier this afternoon and sprayed the entire bottle all over my apartment, in ever crack,base board, and door I have!

  • warehouse714_aol_com
    12 years ago

    Augusta GA is the Palmetto Bug city, when over half the trees are pines dropping straw everywhere with an average 85% humidity even in the winter, its a neverending battle. Kill kill them all. I do the boric acid at the doors, replaced all my weatherstripping, and always keep EcoSmart Roach killer spray handy. All natural, and makes everything smell like peppermints.

  • AncientDragonfly
    12 years ago

    Have any of you heard about the zombie cockroaches? We need to start a breeding program for the Emerald Cockroach Wasp (Ampulex compressa).

    There are YouTube videos of the wasp in action, if you can care to (or can stand to) watch.

  • shebarie
    11 years ago

    I've seen these bugs in my garage and now they are coming in my home one at a time. To make myself feel better, I called them water bugs but deep down inside, I knew they were some type of cockroach. After doing more research, what I've got are ugly, big, nasty smoky cockroaches! Now I'm not afraid of any bug, insect, etc. but just knowing where these nasty things might have been or crawled through (I have a storm water drain on my front curb) gives me the the heebie jeebies. And I can't stand the thought of one sneaking up on me waving its damn antennae.

    Well one came into my den today and I didn't have any ammunition. I saw the thing scale the wall and I hit it with some Febreze to slow it down until I found something better. It got away, but it was still around. I found a can of Off! in the garage and hit it with that when I found it crawling on a box on my little table that I eat from in the den. I hit the box and it fell to the floor and I ran to get some packing tape - aha! - got you sucka! I brought the tape above it and taped it to my floor, even lightly pressing on it with my flip flop to make sure it had contact with the tape. Knowing I had it secure until I figured out how I would torture it, I went to the kitchen to feed my dog (who is blind and didn't know what all the rustling around was about).

    Yep - you guessed it. When I came back to look at my prisoner, it was gone! And none of its legs or any body part was left on the packing tape. BTW, it had crawled over my foot at one point and the feeling of that crawl stuck there until I found an alcohol wipe and scrubbed the area almost raw. So I had to find it because I couldn't stand the thought of it crawling on me whilst I napped on the couch. I saw it on the floor trying to hide on the chair leg and I found an almost used up Yankee Candle in a glass jar and "caught" it. Now I'm really hoping it doesn't find its way out from under that while I find something else to hold it while I figure out how to I would like to kill it.

    Normally I would probably leave a bug alone. Except for mosquitoes and houseflies - they get squashed ASAP. And I will torture a tick as long as possible. Thankfully I haven't had to do that in years. But I grew up in military housing that had roaches that were combat trained (we could never get rid of them no matter how hard we tried!) and these just reminded me of those damn things times a thousand - uck!

    I laughed out loud at some of the stories here - thanks for sharing. I don't have Aquanet but I do have some Aussie Sprunch Spray that I will be bringing into the den as part of my arsenal for future smokies.

    I found this on youtube about a 4" roach in Costa Rica who eventually made friends with these tourists - DO NOT view if you get nightmares about big bugs.

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

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    I giggling so loud y'all should be able to hear me! What awesome stories. I was looking for a non toxic way to kill palmetto bugs and this site popped up. Still not sure about using Boric acid around my cat. He loves to catch them in his mouth and carry them around. LOL! The first time he did it, he had the Cheshire cat look on his face and he was meowing funny. The next thing I know he opens his mouth and a big Palmetto bug runs out! I couldn't scream because it was 2 am and I was in the living room and I didn't want to wake my husband. I almost puked. I'm afraid to use any chemicals because he always has them in is mouth. Any natural remedies? They are really bad now. We had 5 inches of rain a few weeks ago.

  • girlgroupgirl
    10 years ago

    Clearly the cat is your natural remedy. He was just showing you his work!
    My cats take care of all our palmetto bugs unless they are up too high. Then I merely brush them to the floor and someone stomps on them.
    Monkee in particular likes to squish them and then suck their guts out. I find empty shells under the small rugs because the kitten likes to play carpet/bug shell games.

    I no longer get squeemy about it all, I just let them take care of it and Monkee seems to be none the worse for his bug diet.

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    I want them gone!! I had one crawl across my leg last night when I was in bed. I am squeemy. I don't like to kill anything except weeds and skeeters!

  • usmcdragonlover
    10 years ago

    I was looking up what exactly IS a palmetto bug vs a roach when I stumbled here. Innocent victims of bug bullying! I couldn't help but giggle, nod, check my blankets and walls a few dozen times and agree with all of the posts. I live in southern GA a few miles from the river so palmetto bugs are a norm here. An unpleasant norm. I don't have the luck of a cat (or a dog for that matter as my little girl is just that...she met one and ran into the other room until it was dead and gone) but I have found that 409 kills on contact or pretty darn close. Just don't use on carpeted areas or you'll have bleached out spots.

    I have to add one of my traumatic experiences...actually it happened to my husband:

    My hubby, former Marine, Mr. tough guy. We were making dinner one night and I just happened to sense the evil bug lurking. And there it was: inching it's way across the top of the door...the door OUT of the kitchen. I went to the other side of the room, as far as I could and made him try to take it out with one of his work boots. I swear this roach/bug/devil spawn look at him, let out a karate yell and leaped at his face. I've never seen my husband move that fast! He did manage to stomp on it. But the beast laughed and shrugged it off. When my husband managed to stun the creature and toss it outside, it landed with a clearly audible THWACK in the grass and ran off. Them critters are TOUGH!

    ok, now that i've shared my horror story, I feel a little better knowing there are others out there who have been traumatized as badly as I have.

  • xelorwatch
    10 years ago

    I have been thinking of the Palmetto Bug and how to handle it in different situations as I live in NJ but soon will be relocating some where in the deep south. I do think preventive sealant measures are definitely a must. However, one of them could simply fly in with you when entering/leaving. Now, If the insect is on wall/ceiling I like the Hairspray suggestions as it will definitely immobilize it. But on counter/floor I'm wondering to avoid a mess, and I've never stepped on a living thing since childhood - so I'm thinking a simple zippered medium size storage bag to cover it and then maneuver bag so as to quickly zipper bag across. Therefore, I could use even a heavy book to murder it with all the mess contained in a throw bag. But the bed thing is still unresolved as a net wouldn't be practical as I occasionally get up several times. Hum? And since I have enough trouble getting to, and staying asleep, the last thing I need to worry about is some creature traveling around my body. Lol

    This post was edited by xelorwatch on Tue, Jul 23, 13 at 7:51

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    xelorwatch, they move very fast at my house. I have a fly swatter in my bathroom now and I have gotten like 1 in 10. The cat doesn't always catch them either. They are good wall climbers. In the 26 years I have lived down south I only had the one bold one, crawl across me in bed. Sticky traps work, but then you have to look at their pathetic eyes staring at you and the antennas wiggling. I end up just throwing the sticky trap out. Trying a 50-50 mix of baking soda and sugar mixed with a little water now in a bottle cap. Placed in strategic places. The article said to keep it away from pets. Supposedly they eat it and they explode. I hope this is true. Not like the cornmeal and ant one that doesn't work.

  • xelorwatch
    10 years ago

    Zackey, thx much for the info! Sorry about my Ziplock plastic bag suggestion as I had read somewhere that they move very slow. Also, good to know it took 26yrs. for a bed intrusion LOL. I plan on all walls painted semi-gloss white as I enjoy brightness in the home; but just thought that that may posse a climbing problem? Tho I doubt it from the online images of there legs. What are Sticky Traps? Sorry, but I don't concur with you when they're stuck; I'll be a woman living alone and It's survival of the fittest. And they truly are a roach as they do chose creature comforts. Ever notice a beetle or fly when died? Always on window sill or on floor very close to window. They know the way out and so do these Palmetto/American roaches but they chose to eat our good. Even birds of all kind flock around fast food restaurants cause they're Addicted to the salty foods. No mercy have I concerning them. When they pay my property taxes - I'll give it some thought LOL.

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    Sticky traps are sold under that name here. In the pest control section. I bought mine at Lowe's. They have a picture of a rat on the front of the box. They are a black plastic rectangular shaped thing with very sticky goo inside. It is completely open. When something runs across it, it gets stuck. I don't have sympathy for them, I just can't stand looking at them when they are stuck. Not sure about the glossy walls. Boric acid is supposed to work. But since I have a cat I don't want to use chemicals.

  • dustytoes
    10 years ago

    Hello fellow bug battlers! Palmetto bugs have made this (wet) summer a battleground for me. I have bought boric acid, a gallon of professional strength spray for outside perimeters and inside cracks and crevices, Raid House and Garden spray, and sticky traps. (My sticky straps were purchased at Dollar Tree and are like open-ended match boxes.) I never leave fruit (or any food) out at night and I remove my dry dog food from the kitchen. All dishes are cleaned and put away before I turn out the lights. Trash is tied up and out in the closed can before bed. STILL, I see those darned bugs!!! I hate cold weather, but I am looking forward to winter this year just to have a rest from palmetto bugs. I lived farther south in Georgia as a child and I never saw a palmetto bug. They must be multiplying and expanding their range. I am in Atlanta and we all have them in the summer. I wish you all victorious battles! :)

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the well wishes and advice. I guess we will have to spray outside. We live in a trailer and it seems like we have them all year round. We are surrounded by miles of forests and weeds, so it is probably a great place for them to thrive!

  • poaky1
    10 years ago

    Zackey, I am the poster who asked you about low property tax areas in Ga. I have read this thread to see about these bugs. I am really glad you mentioned living in a trailer, I had planned on maybe living one as well, being a likely cheaper home to purchase than a site built home, that is if I moved to Ga. I used to have a double-wide here in Pa, and we had mice coming in, being about 100 yards from a field annually planted with corn, wheat or soybeans in rotation. Have you sealed the areas where your pipes come under your sinks and bath-tub, or shower? I always thought if I would have done that, the mice can't come in, and likely any bugs. The spray in insulation could be chewed by mice I guess. I also read that scorpions live in Ga, that was surprising. Some of these posts are hilarious, but terrifying also. My sister used to live in an apartment in WV, and I stayed with her once, and she had these giant 2 inches long, or 3" long water bugs in her bathroom. She knew they were there and didn't kill them or remove them. I guess they stayed in the bathroom, I was about 17 yrs old then. I wonder what they ate. They stayed mostly in her bathroom closet. I was also shocked that those grand old Georgia mansions had these bugs in them, you don't think of that when you live up north and want to tour these homes on your vacation. I still want to even after hearing this though.

  • Aquae
    10 years ago

    Me and my husband moved into our rental home last October and were horrified to learn that it had NASTY smoky brown roaches in the crawl space under the house. EW! They would occasionally get inside the house and I just couldn't stand it. I HATE roaches. On top of keeping the house spotless, we bought Combat roach bait at Walmart for like $8 and started putting it all around the entrances to the crawl spaces. The nasty creatures ate it like candy and it completely decimated their population.

    It apparently works by turning them into little poison bombs. They eat the bait and it doesn't kill them immediately, they have time to crawl on back to their nest where they die. Cockroaches eat their own dead, so they eat the dead poisoned cockroach, get poisoned, die. - And the cycle continues until they're wiped out! We haven't seen a roach since! HIGHLY recommend the Combat roach bait!

  • Tropicalfox
    9 years ago

    I read this thread when we started coming down to Augusta from PA in April '13 searching for our future home due to a job transfer. Why in God's name I just reread it from beginning to end, I have no clue!!! I must be a masochist, at the very least an emotional one since all I can do right now is drool from babbling like an idiot in fear of being in the presence of one of these beasts!!! Now I'm going to have to get someone to make our house a fortress against them by sealing everything in the crawlspace, and spraying that expanding foam into every crevice in this house, including some kind of old-style heating unit type vents in the walls of the older side of the house which is where our bedroom happens to be...
    All I can do is pray that my 6 Chihuahuas step up to the plate and at least corral any that might get inside so hubby can kill it since when I do it I usually hit them so hard that they disappear by bursting into tiny pieces, spreading out into the air and onto anything nearby..
    Having lived in the Caribbean, I have found that hairspray, Windex, spray starch, and even silly string work wonders to stop them in their tracks until a more deadly attack can be inflicted... even a drop of dishwashing liquid on their back will kill them by suffocating them...
    I thought I had left them all behind me when I moved to PA... I hadn't seen one for over 15 years, until we moved to the Augusta area mid-November '13... I had nightmares after reading this thread the first time and did not look forward to moving here but I will suck it up, and put on my big girl warrior panties and roooooaaaarrrr!!!!!
    I'm gonna get you suckers!!!

  • zzackey
    9 years ago

    It still beats shoveling snow! My cat is a good bug hunter. I don't have them every day. Maybe twice a month?

  • cenny
    9 years ago

    I really hope I don't sound silly, but I feel a bit sad now after reading this thread. I stumbled across this thread / forum after doing research on palmetto bugs in fl and I just NEVER KNEW that it could be that bad. I truly think I have a phobia of those nasty things. I live in NJ but was raised in the NY area and I HATE roaches. I hate waterbugs and then I find out that there are things called palmetto bugs (some call the flying waterbugs palmetto) and I FREAKED. My hubby and I are seriously considering a move to FL or GA and I have to say after reading all of this, I don't think I can move. I even thought, well, maybe if I can desensitize myself to these nasty things, why let it keep me from living a great life in the south, by the beach. I looked up the phobia of such things and came across videos / articles that Anderson Cooper has the same phobia of creepy-crawly things. Many of the stories here are super funny (because it didn't happen to me, lol) and honestly I think I would have been able to deal with them (NOT in my house) BUT ONCE I READ that many have actually walked on people, AAACKKK!!! That's scary to me, too too scary. Groan....I didn't want to live my later years in the winter, but guess I might just do that. Thanks for the heads up everyone! :)

  • honeybun73
    8 years ago

    Ugh, we are in Austin, TX and the Palmetto bugs are just HORRIBLE here! Even though we live in the city and keep everything immaculately clean, never leave food out, etc., each year, from April through November, every few days one of the 3" sized beasts would give us a heart attack. We'd be watching TV in the early evening and one would start charging towards me -- and they are SO fast for such big buggers!!! They creep me out so much - for the longest time I thought this was something we'd just a part of living in Texas, but it really made my skin crawl. My husband usually would try to smash them with a shoe, but they'd often get away. If it's just me, I'd run to get the vacuum and hope that I could find it by the time I got the thing plugged in -- otherwise I'd have the willies all night long. HOWEVER, we found a solution that actually worked!!!! We found these large roach traps on Amazon that are meant for the 2-3" long nasties, read through a bunch of the reviews (there are hundreds of them - all positive) and immediately ordered some. I couldn't believe it, but they worked!!! And fast!! Within a couple of days of putting out the traps, we stopped seeing the Palmetto bugs completely!!!


    We're approaching our 4th summer here in Austin, but this time we are armed with the traps so I am no longer dreading anything about the summer except for the HEAT. Man those bugs used to freak me out!!! Get the traps -- they totally work!! Seriously - we used to feel like we were living in some kind of horror film b/c every time we'd see a giant one running up a wall or across the floor it would get your adrenaline pumping b/c you knew if you didn't act fast and kill it, then you'd know that the bug was somewhere inside the house...try going to sleep after that. OMG, I'm so glad we no longer have to deal with that!!!!! PHEW!

  • zzackey
    8 years ago

    cenny, don't let it deter you from moving to the south. You will have deal with something unpleasant wherever you live. If you don't have pets boric acid bait is a good remedy for them.

  • poaky1
    8 years ago

    I am in Pa and we don't have them, but we have stink bugs. I would agree with zackey, it's better than the bitter cold and snow. A friend of mine used to live in Florida, and mentioned the Palmetto bugs. Unless they attack people or kill plants, I would think they aren't more than a nuisance. I think I would be more worried about fire ants if moving to the deep south. I visited Florida 3 times and got bitten by fire ants, but saw no Palmetto bugs. I must add that in the south you will surely need to be more aware of possible venomous snakes being around, as apposed to the northern states. I must say though, the only snake I've ever seen in the south was a "Black racer". I saw the same type of snake in my yard in Pa. I will share my story of when I saw the black racer in Florida, my friend was looking at a property in the keys, and her and the snake saw each other about the same time and both took off in opposite directions really fast. I couldn't help but laugh. I am sure if the snake could have screamed too, it would have screamed as much as my friend did also. I saw one here in my Pa yard. It had been trying to climb out Colorado spruce which had birds nest in it. My mom's Miniature Collie mix got a hold of it and injured it, but, I moved it out of the dog fence and in a pasture across from our house, and I assume it recovered, it wasn't there when I checked later. Poaky1


  • poaky1
    8 years ago

    Oh, I think Zackey had told me a while back that the stink bugs are in the south also. Well, whatever anyway, the south has lots of benefits over the bitter winters of the north. Poaky1


  • zzackey
    8 years ago

    I've only seen 4 poisonous snakes in the 26 years I've lived here.


  • poaky1
    8 years ago

    I have just seen one here (copperhead) but, we don't have as many types of them in Pa either. I think as long as they are outdoors where you expect them, no biggie. Now if they ever came in the house/trailer, I would spazz out big time. Thanks for the reply Zackey. Poaky1


  • vthokiebyrd2
    8 years ago

    As I read these comments and laugh I have killed three in the last half hour.I've lived in Ga for 2 years now and this is the first time I've been invaded by these nasty devils. Back in Va we had stink bugs and I thought they were bad.....Heck no....these darn things are 3 inches long and those antennas wiggling while they are starring you down....ugggg...even my 3 dogs are no help....

  • User
    8 years ago

    I use food grade diatomaceous earth inside and out, caulked around pipes under sinks, and use sticky traps in the corners of the rooms. This works most times but when big rains come the big boys find their way in anyway. These bugs have been around for a millennium I doubt we can truly stop them.

  • poaky1
    8 years ago

    We still have them in and outdoors. They are the worst when they go in your cup of water (if you keep one by your bed in the dark) like I do. You can smell it before you actually drink it thank goodness. They showed up here again about a month or so ago, after a brief respite. They help our kitten be amused in between her bringing in mice and birds (dead and alive) we have a doggie door and the animals come and go, so all the cats bring in things. The day they bring a snake in I'm gonna flip out. I've heard about the Palmetto bugs being worse. My sister had a huge water bug in here apartment when she was staying in Wv. She never got rid of it, she joked it was her "pet". I am not sure what it ate to stay alive. It lived in her bathroom closet. I know "weird".

  • zzackey
    8 years ago

    gmom74, what kind of soda do you use?

  • zzackey
    8 years ago

    So far, we have only had stink bugs outside. They raise havoc with my tomato plants.

  • poaky1
    8 years ago

    Zackey, your lucky you don't have em indoors. I am almost getting used to them. A lid and straw in my cup and I'm fine. They don't bite, as far as I know so far. It COULD be spiders. That is one way to hate them less. I DO wonder though, what do they eat when they are in your house?

  • Suzie Stearms
    8 years ago

    Wow, and I thought I was unreasonable about my fear of the big bugs. I see I am not alone! I moved from central NC to coastal NC recently. We did not have these bugs in the central part of the state. I swear, I have considered moving back. I just cant take it. I have my house exterminated 4 times a year. I have been here over a year now. I spray ortho's home defense inside and out. I would have to say that the bugs are controlled, but still, sometimes they show up, all areas of the house, crawling up to the ceiling or across the floor, and about every third morning, I find one or two on their backs, still kicking. Sometimes I let them lie there for a while, just so they have time to get "real dead". I cant stand to pick them up with the paper towel while they are still moving. After reading these comments, I will get them up immediately...from now on. Don't trust them not to get away, or to give birth! I am always on the look out for them. I keep flip flops by my bed for when I have to go to the bathroom during the night. Every morning, first thing, as I walk out from my room, my eyes are scanning the floor. I am paranoid about dishes too. I keep silverware in a wooden box and other utensils in air tight containers. I bought pencil boxes when school was starting and supplies were in the stores. I keep extra utensils in them, and I rinse every dish, pot, and glass I use from the cupboards. This is exhausting and I hate it. I have taken advice tonight from the person who turns his air down. I am freezing now. I read on another site, that there is a gadget that emits a high frequency sound that promises to work to keep them out of the house. I will be ordering one. Forgot the name, but we can find it, I'm sure. BTW...I laughed so hard when reading when silvercatcody said that the bugs looked at each other when she flipped her kitchen light on! Anyway, thanks everybody. I feel a little more normal realizing I am not alone in this.

    sucieq



  • oktobersky
    8 years ago

    1/3 boric acid, 1/3 baking soda, 1/3 sugar. mix up a little, put teensy bit in lid/cap of 2 Liter bottle. Keep it away from your pets and do not let it get wet. Kills em dead. They go to eat the sugar, and the baking soda makes them thirsty, so they drink water and activate the boric acid inside their disgusting bodies and they die. Most you will see is one go across the floor and collapse dead. gone..bye bye nasty horrible creatures.

  • Suzie Stearms
    8 years ago

    Oh, boy do I know where you are coming from, Scotland1! I live on the coast of North Carolina, and they are bad here too. I think what we have are called American roaches...not quite as big as palmettos, but close. The only thing good about our cold winters (short lived) is that they arent around very much. I get my house exterminated 4 times a year, HOWEVER, this past fall season, I bought Raid Bug Barrier. It said it "keeps bugs out", so I gave it a try. I spray (and it has an option to spray a pretty far distance with a steady stream...so if a bug is crawling up the wall around the corners at the ceiling. As they do here!) Anyway, I spray outside on my patio, around doors and windows, and even on the house. I spray inside just a little where I suspect they might enter. Ever since I started this, I have seen only two bugs, and they were about to kill over. I will never be out of this stuff.

  • zzackey
    8 years ago

    poaky1. I do have them indoors! I see a palmetto bug almost every day or night in my house. I just killed a German cockroach last week. I opened up my kitchen drawer and the darn thing was running around in it. Luckily I was fast on the squish. Lately I been seeing another indoor bug. Teeny tiny black ones with a faint yellow stripe. I don't know if they are in the roach family or not. They are in my bedroom and bathroom now. I don't want to use any chemicals because of my cat. I put an ant button behind my toilet a few years ago when I had a fire ant invasion and the next thing I know my cat is walking around with the ant button in his mouth!!

  • poaky1
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    There is a slight mixup Zzackey, I am seeing "stink bugs" not Palmetto bugs. I have a friend that used to get them when he lived in Florida, but, anyhoo, they are both unwanted bugs. Now the fire ant in your home thing, you got me beat on the "horrible bug" radar. I accidentally got a few of them on my foot when my BBF and her BF invited me to go to Fla with them a few years ago. We do have 'stink bugs" here. I went to make some coffee in our single cup brewer, there was a stink bug carcass where you put the water, blehk! But, I must say the "palmetto bugs" being larger, would likely be worse. Despite the bigger bugs you have, you have a nicer climate, I would trade any day zzackey!

  • poaky1
    8 years ago

    I will just add that if you (Zzackey) see lotsa snakes, I don't envy you anymore. But, You likely don't see many around your home. I think I asked you about that in the past. I am NOT a fan of snakes. Sorry if I am repeating myself. Poaky1

  • zzackey
    8 years ago

    I see very few snakes. We have a black runner near the house now. I don't mind snakes, as long as I know they are bad ones.

  • zzackey
    8 years ago

    What can I tell you poaky1. We pay for our sunshine. I am from northern Pa, I'd rather deal with bugs than snow and cold weather!

  • poaky1
    8 years ago

    I agree that would be a good trade-off. I am from SW Pa, and still here. This winter was really mild here, I wish they all were this mild. We went down to 3 F as the ultimate low, and some teens, and 1 night of 9F. the rest were from 30's to 60's. I have a Live oak that is fine here, I did put christmas lights on it though. And it is the most hardy Live oak available, the Quartz mountain Live oak. But, none the less I am happy and think this winter was good for the newly planted Live oak to get settled in. Hope you had a happy easter Zzackey. Poaky1

  • ronmassonron
    7 years ago

    I personally use this stuff called Suspend SC insecticide that you can order off Amazon. You use 1.5 ounces to one gallon of water. You'll need a sprayer and you spray around the outside of your house including window sills etc. They also have the powder for inside, but if you have pets I wouldn't use it unless it's behind furniture and appliances. Professionals use this in warehouses etc. In the summer I spray once every 21 days and once every 2 months in the winter. I live by the coast here in NC and they get bad here, but what's great with the palmetto aka roach is they die off in the winter unlike their German cousins. But keep spraying in winter, because they try their damnest to get in. I see one or two here and there, but they're pretty much dying. Highly recommended this spray. Welcome to the south. I still takes these over blizzards.

  • Clayton Holland
    4 years ago

    Once I was sleeping and I saw a palmetto bug crawling on my nose I got so scared cuz I am only 10 years old my sister found one on on her bed and she got scared cuz the cat was looking at it and it was scary because my sister was screaming cuz she was only 4 years old she was very scared because my mom and my dad went there it was only my grandma my grandma is very old she is she is 95 years old and it sucked

  • poaky1
    4 years ago

    I think that I would've freaked out and I'm almost 50 years old. I don't think they'd ever hurt a person though.

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