La Cucaracha!

[Chaos_and_Company]

Living in the South, where it is warm and humid seven months out of the year, you can imagine that we have a lot of flying bugs, moths, and a whole lot of other creepy crawlys creeping about.

One in particular that really grosses me out is the Palmetto Insect, or Pine Roach, as the natives call them.
Purposedly these insects are supposed to live in the pine straw outside, but because of the two and a half years draught, that we have been in, they have been migrating into people's homes.

As most houses do not have cellars, but crawl spaces, the Pine Roaches crawl up, the plumbing pipes around your sink, and bathroom vanities. I can only describe them as looking like giant cockroaches.

One evening I was relaxing in front of the television, enjoying A & E's Pride and Prejudice, and had became very engrossed in the character Darcy, who was dancing across the screen with the heroine, and thinking to myself, how handsome he was!

Chaos and Deco were all snuggled on my lap fast asleep in La, La Land, when I felt this feather like feeling moving up my arm, being absorbed in the story, and thinking, that it was an odd sensation on my arm, I did not look right away.

Finally out of the corner of my eye, I looked over at my arm, and screamed in terror! There was this gigantic, God Awful, Palmetto Bug walking up my arm very nonchalantly.

I must have jumped six feet into the air, from a sitting position, two cats went flying in the air along with me. The cats walked away with a look of disgust on their faces, at such a wimpy human, being out psyche by a bug. I felt like I was prancing around to that Mexican ditty La Cucaracha, as I brushed myself off of imaginary bugs. I can tell you that after the fact, I still felt crawly all over, from having that bug on my person.

I did not want to sit down in the chair again, because I didn't know where the Pine Roach, had skittered away to. I thought he might be hiding in the chair, ready to come out and get close and personal again.

I know it sounds funny that a five foot three inch person is afraid of a three-inch bug, but I am petrified of them, and although you spray there is always one or two "That go where no bugs have gone before."
Just wanted to share that with you, and wondered if anyone else has had an in your face experience with a creepy crawly?

Bobbie

[Ann]

I've gone cold all over just reading that. They sound horrible!

My "thing" is spiders. However much I tell myself they're tiny and far more frightened of me than I am of them, it doesn't make a blind bit of difference. My favourite spider story is from some years ago. We were getting some very large ones (only by British standards) one autumn. My line of defense was to trap them under a washing up bowl and then phone a neighbour to come and remove them for me. (I don't like killing any living thing.) This particular evening, I dialled Margaret next door's number, a voice said "Hello" and I said, "Come quick and rescue me, there's a huge one crawling across my carpet and I need some help." Unfortunately, not only did I have a wrong number, but the lady on the other end of the phone clearly thought she was getting an obscene phone call!

The other instance I recall was when my then neighbour on the other side, who at that time was white haired and in her late seventies, came and bailed me out. We were great friends. I'd just heard that you were supposed to take the spider right past the garden, and release it onto the pavement, at the same time telling it not to come back. Then, so the theory went, it wouldn't return to the house. Naturally I passed this onto Non. She duly caught the spider, took it to the pavement and, just as she was telling it perfectly straightfaced, not to come back, 2 strangers walked past her and heard every word. I think they thought she had a bad case of senile dementia. Luckily she had a great sense of humour!

Ann

[Chaos_and_Company]

Ann,

What we go through to get rid of insects or spiders. I have often wondered why most of us have this aversion, or fear of them. There always seems to be a funny side though, you and your neighbor's experiences were hilarious.

Chaos and Deco use to like to catch and play with the lone pine roach, that ventured into the house. The pine roach moves very swiftly, and the cats thought them great fun to chase.

Unfortunately, one night they mistook a scorpion for a pine roach, and when I got up in the morning, I found one dead scorpion, and two sick cats.

The Scorpions in Georgia will sting you, and make you sick, but are not like the lethal ones elsewhere. Needless to say after that experience, the Dixie Darlings have never played with pine roaches again.