# The insects we hate!



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jul 21, 2008)

I'm a lover of almost all life.  I don't kill spiders (unless they are on me and I'm suprised.  Usually I try to brush them off.  I see the value of, and actually respect stinging insects such as wasps, hornets, and bees (though I see little use for fire-ants).  But there is a class of creature that I dispise and tend to kill on site, with great energy.  That insects are those that suck blood.

Any blood-sucking critter drives me nuts and gives me the heebe-jeebies. Mosquitoes are just thick this year, and though the males are important pollinators, the females drive me to distraction.  Fortunately, in my neck of the woods, they don't carry any nasty microbes.  They just bit and make you itch.  There are a few I hate even more than mosquitoes.  These are the deer-flies, yellow-flies (very similar to a deer fly), black flies, no-see-ums, gnats, *ticks, *and horse-flies.  Ticks and horse-flies freak me out the most, ticks because they may carry lime-disease, and horse flies because they take such a viscious bite.  I understand that in the arid lands, horse flies can actually kill horses due to the large numbers.  No wonder wild horses run so much.

Many are the times when as a youth, I'd be playing with freinds in the water, and a horse fly would come to pester me.  I'd splash at it, swat at it, dive under water to get away from it, and when I'd come up, there it was, waiting, ready to take a chunk out of my back shoulder, or my calf, or wherever it could land on me unoticed.  And deer flies were the main pest while walking the trout streams.  The mosquitoes are so thick back in the woods that tehy can drive people from the forest, litteraly.  

So, all in all, *I hate biting bugs*, and have a couple of recent mosquito bites to remind me.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## kitchenelf (Jul 21, 2008)

ICK!  I hate ticks too - had to pull two off of Isabella yesterday!


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## Maverick2272 (Jul 21, 2008)

Yea, I think you just did a great job of listing all the ones I hate as well! Just came back from a camping trip and despite: 
picking a site in an open area (a few trees for shade but away from the forest), lighting Citronella and Cutter repellent candles, and using bug spray, I still came home with about a dozen bites!!!!
Persistent buggers....


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## Andy M. (Jul 21, 2008)

Do you know anyone who likes them?


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## quicksilver (Jul 21, 2008)

If they are in my house, anything with more than 4 legs with a snout and waggy tail, they die. Outside, if they bite or sting, they die.
I leave them alone, and expect the same
THE END!
​


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jul 21, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> Do you know anyone who likes them?



I bet RonJohn loves 'em..  Duck and Run.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## sattie (Jul 21, 2008)

You know what... I'm not a fan of some bugs, but then there are some that I find truly amazing.  Like preying/praying mantises.  

About the ones that we find as pests... I have recently wondered if there is a way to naturally elliminate unwanted pests as opposed to using pesticides.  Just a thought in my head... seems all the pesticides we use to kill unwanted creatures will somehow come back and haunt us.  I'm sure it already is!


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jul 21, 2008)

sattie said:


> You know what... I'm not a fan of some bugs, but then there are some that I find truly amazing. Like preying/praying mantises.
> 
> About the ones that we find as pests... I have recently wondered if there is a way to naturally elliminate unwanted pests as opposed to using pesticides. Just a thought in my head... seems all the pesticides we use to kill unwanted creatures will somehow come back and haunt us. I'm sure it already is!



That's why I love hornets, wasps, spiders and such.  They are predators and eat pesky insects, including may of those I listed.  In fact, various species of wasps are used by organic gardeners, along with ladybugs, and other beneficial insects for just such purposes.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## suziquzie (Jul 21, 2008)

I hate flies, ticks, gnats, and skeeters....
They all "bug" me (haha) as soon as I walk out my door these days. 
Just once I'd love to not have the kids running inside begging for bug spray with giant welts on thier backs from the mean 'ol bugs eating them, yummy as they may be.


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## jpmcgrew (Jul 21, 2008)

I hate any bug that bites or is poisonous we get some mosquito's but where we live right here on the ranch we have no fleas,ticks,roaches etc we do get the rare black widow and I make sure they die on the spot we get a few spiders in the house and some come out at night and bite me all over and suck blood (yes spiders do suck blood as well) however I know where they tend to hide and I make sure they die. Other spiders I can live with because they eat all the mosquitoes and other unwanted bugs. I adore the huge garden spider by my porch light. Oh and any wasp or bee in the house will be anialated as I may be quite allergic I have two Epi Pens but have no desire to find out if I really need to use one.


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## quicksilver (Jul 21, 2008)

Yup. I take it back. There is one, just one, I'd put up with. LADYBUG.
I don't want all of them dead, just the one's living by me. Anti-social, I am. Besides, what would the beneficials eat?
​


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## GrillingFool (Jul 21, 2008)

Ticks. Nasty disgusting worthless creatures. 
Roaches also worthless.
Otherwise, bugs are cool. I like bugs. 
I especially like bugs that don't bother me. 
My favorite bugs are hive creatures. Fascinating!


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## babetoo (Jul 21, 2008)

i can live and let live. as long as they stay outside where they belong. 

babe


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## radhuni (Jul 22, 2008)

I don't hate insects so much as I hate reptiles, especially house lizard or _Hemidactylis frenatus._


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## Mama (Jul 22, 2008)

North and South Georgia are seperated but what's known here as the gnat line.  Nobody has to tell you when you've crossed it.  You'll know.  If you get out of your car south of the gnat line on a hot summer day, they will attack your eyes, ears, nose and mouth with a vengence.  They'll have you heading for cover in a hurry!


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## ronjohn55 (Jul 22, 2008)

Goodweed of the North said:


> I bet RonJohn loves 'em..  Duck and Run.
> 
> Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North



It's not like they hurt (or you can even feel 'em bite)!!


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## elaine l (Jul 22, 2008)

Mama said:


> North and South Georgia are seperated but what's known here as the gnat line.  Nobody has to tell you when you've crossed it.  You'll know.  If you get out of your car south of the gnat line on a hot summer day, they will attack your eyes, ears, nose and mouth with a vengence.  They'll have you heading for cover in a hurry!




You're not kidding about those gnats.  Went to Perry GA last July and couldn't even sit outside!


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## simplicity (Jul 22, 2008)

There are two I despise.  One is termites.  They live very well outside, feasting on soft wood, dead branches, etc.  All they need to survive is a little water.  Every spring they swarm and every spring I watch them to make sure they are not enticed by my house.  I watch for tunnels.  I have the house inspected annually,  They are destructive.

The other is fire ants.  First they bite, then they sting, injecting  some sort of venom.  We don't get bitten by one or two, but by 10-20.  It makes me angry that these little critters cause so much discomfort.


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## LadyCook61 (Jul 22, 2008)

With all the birds I get around here,  one would think they keep the bugs away by eating them.  Perhaps I should take down my bird feeders.


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## Robo410 (Jul 22, 2008)

bugs and such like belong outside. If they come to visit me inside, they will not live long, sorry. Other than that I'm pretty tolerant.


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## Michelemarie (Jul 22, 2008)

Right now I HATE JAPANESE BEETLES!

They have demolished my white birch in my front yard and did quite a number on my purple plum in my  back yard next to my pool!!!! We had such a bad infestation - I'm talking a gazillion beetles!!! You could hear them munching! Yuck, now I'm itchy!


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## Bigjim68 (Jul 22, 2008)

I'm with you on the beetles.  Each year I wage a running battle with the beetles wanting to get to my basil.  They love basil.  So far, the battle is about 90-10 their favor.  Their grubs also account for the moles in my yard.  I have spent hours and hundreds getting rid of them, and so far they are winning.


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## LadyCook61 (Jul 22, 2008)

Michelemarie said:


> Right now I HATE JAPANESE BEETLES!
> 
> They have demolished my white birch in my front yard and did quite a number on my purple plum in my back yard next to my pool!!!! We had such a bad infestation - I'm talking a gazillion beetles!!! You could hear them munching! Yuck, now I'm itchy!


 
I feel the same way.  Nasty critters. ugh.


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## MexicoKaren (Jul 22, 2008)

radhuni said:


> I don't hate insects so much as I hate reptiles, especially house lizard or _Hemidactylis frenatus._



Had to do some googling to figure out that _Hemidactylis frenatus _is a gecko. Gosh, Radhuni, we love our geckos. Usually several in sight, especially during the evening, and they keep to themselves, staying on the ceiling or upper walls, doing their job - *eating bugs*! We have an assortment of unusual and interesting bugs here in the tropics, including huge cockroaches. I don't mind any of them, unless (I agree with Goodweed here) they want to bite me. All bets are off then. This time of year, we have lots of mosquitos (who carry dengue fever), and little bitty bugs that bite your feet and legs, called _jejenes_. They are almost worse than mosquitoes. Bug repellent is a regular feature of our lives, as well as spraying the yard and patio regularly to get rid of ticks, fleas and scorpions. All this bugginess is really the only downside to living here.


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## deelady (Jul 22, 2008)

I think I finally have an advantage, at the moment at least, on those dang beetles! I have a jar in the yard to where everytime I see one I enclose them inside and search for any leaves with eggs and also jar them. I have them sitting on my deck as a "This could happen to you!" warning. In the last week or so I have only seen about two!


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## Michelemarie (Jul 22, 2008)

deelady said:


> I think I finally have an advantage, at the moment at least, on those dang beetles! I have a jar in the yard to where everytime I see one I enclose them inside and search for any leaves with eggs and also jar them. I have them sitting on my deck as a "This could happen to you!" warning. In the last week or so I have only seen about two!



Good job! I heard that a jar or bucket of soapy water will kill them. I know chlorine doesn't kill them because they were swimming in my pool!  Unfortunately, we had so many in the front and back we  had to resort to a harsh chemical - the next morning it looked like a battle field, piles of beetles all over the place! Unfortunately, my tomatoes and herbs were nearby. We covered them but the leaves are all turning so we will not be eating anything from the garden this year.  It is amazing how fast these beetles can destroy! We have had two specialists come out to look at the problem - weird thing is we never had this problem in the past!  We had the lawn treated for grubs last fall (topical and instant as we had bad grub damage) and again mid-June - systemic - to get rid of any beetles hatching eggs and eating. We will watch very closely this September because we were told we had so many beetles we may need a "boost".  I just hope we didn't lose our white birch, they can be so tempermental!


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## GrantsKat (Jul 22, 2008)

Well being raised in Queens, NY, I wasnt subjected to many bugs, but boy did that change when I moved to Florida!! The ants here bite and not just once!! Ouch! Then there are the roaches that look like they are on steroids I dont remember what they are called but they are easily 2 inches long!! YUCK!! The no-see-ums and nats are a REAL nuisance. Sometimes the mosquitos get so bad that I cant even get in my car fast enough, I wind up with literally 10 of them buzzing around in my vanThen theres the spiders, which I dont mind unless they are the black widows or brown recluses....
The ticks and fleas are harrassing my poor kitty The wasps here really scare me!! Im constantly "melting" their mud nests
Other than that I dont have any complaints


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## suziquzie (Jul 22, 2008)

My mom was raised on Long Island and me in the Bronx. 
I live in the middle of nowhere MN now but my mother will forever be a city person. My parents are in the twin cities. 
She freaks out about bugs and mosquitos when she comes here and it really irritates me because she acts like I live in filth, and can't leave here fast enough. 
She's a little OCD I think, she hoses herself w bugspray to walk to her garage at her house in the city. 
Freak.


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## middie (Jul 22, 2008)

If it has more than 4 legs I hate it and if I don't run away first yeah I'm squishin it


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## Mama (Jul 22, 2008)

elaine l said:


> You're not kidding about those gnats. Went to Perry GA last July and couldn't even sit outside!


 
Yep!  Round about Macon is the gnat line!


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## quicksilver (Jul 22, 2008)

GrantsKat said:


> Well being raised in Queens, NY, I wasnt subjected to many bugs, but boy did that change when I moved to Florida!! The ants here bite and not just once!! Ouch! Then there are the roaches that look like they are on steroids I dont remember what they are called but they are easily 2 inches long!! YUCK!! The no-see-ums and nats are a REAL nuisance. Sometimes the mosquitos get so bad that I cant even get in my car fast enough, I wind up with literally 10 of them buzzing around in my vanThen theres the spiders, which I dont mind unless they are the black widows or brown recluses....
> The ticks and fleas are harrassing my poor kitty The wasps here really scare me!! Im constantly "melting" their mud nests
> Other than that I dont have any complaints


 
Grant, 1 *BIG DITTO*!!!!!


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## roadfix (Jul 22, 2008)

A local Thai restaurant, _Typhoon_, offers several grilled insect appetizers.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jul 22, 2008)

roadfix said:


> A local Thai restaurant, _Typhoon_, offers several grilled insect appetizers.


 
Ya gotta love those grilled insect appetizers.  I'll have some grilled centipedes on toast points please, with a hint of your best EVOO and a quail egg please.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## LadyCook61 (Jul 22, 2008)

roadfix said:


> A local Thai restaurant, _Typhoon_, offers several grilled insect appetizers.


 

eeewwww


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## MexicoKaren (Jul 28, 2008)

I'm going to revive this thread to share with all of you the amazing insect we found in our yard yesterday, beneath a stack of bamboo. This guy is called a tailless whip scorpion. With legs and all, he is the size of A DINNER PLATE (note that he is on a 2" X 4" and his body is almost 4" long.) He is NOT venomous, and is actually considered good luck, because he eats scorpions. The two "arms" in front are like crab pincers. Isn't he a magnificent specimen?


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## GrantsKat (Jul 28, 2008)

magnificent indeed....but keep him there with you please


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## jpmcgrew (Jul 28, 2008)

I absolutely hate, hate scorpions and those big centipedes. We don't have them here but when I worked in Texas where they have a lot of them they totally creep me out. I found a scorpion on my purse which was on my bed I totally flipped I was cussing words that only come out of a sailers mouth out, it was about 2 1/2" long. I slept lightly with the lights on that night. The next few years after that I would put up a Mombasa mosquito net that tucks well under the mattress,  slept well as long as I had the net.


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## JillBurgh (Jul 28, 2008)

I hate the grease ants (aka thief ants) that are infesting my house RIGHT NOW! I am heading straight to the ant trap store after work. Found em INSIDE my crisco and all over poor kitty's food. Yuk! Extra protein for him, I guess...


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## suziquzie (Jul 28, 2008)

OMG Karen, living in Mexico sounded just perfectly perfect to me, UNTIL JUST NOW!!!!
That would have me running for the border!


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## JohnL (Jul 28, 2008)

The skeeters in our neighborhood are just terrible.
We can't sit on our deck after dark. Citronella candles don't do anything except give the darn things light so they can see where they're biting!
I installed two ceiling fans on the front porch that help keep them away.


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## MexicoKaren (Jul 28, 2008)

suziquzie said:
			
		

> OMG Karen, living in Mexico sounded just perfectly perfect to me, UNTIL JUST NOW!!!!



But hey, this big bug doesn't bite people - only other bugs! He is a little creepy looking, but I am happy coexisting with any bug that doesn't bite me. And this is a very shy creature. Mexican friends we talked with last night say that they love having them live in their kitchens, because they keep the bad scorpions away. I'm not sure about that, I think I am glad he is in the yard, not the house.


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## luvs (Jul 28, 2008)

i hate bugs. japanese beetles & ladbugs i despise- they're attracted to my wool & land on me in crowds.
skeeters just annoy me.
i got bit by them lately & itch like crazy. 
spiders i try not to smush, & if they're in my sink or shower & i get them wet, i try to dry them. except for black fuzzy jumping spiders or wood spiders. then i scream for Dad or jake or my brother. i haven't seen a spider yet here in pittsburgh.
now junebugs- they terrify me. i scream when i see junebugs land on me or if they fly by my ear buzzing away. they like wool, too. i get kinda hysterical. dagnabbin bugs.


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## jpmcgrew (Jul 28, 2008)

JohnL said:


> The skeeters in our neighborhood are just terrible.
> We can't sit on our deck after dark. Citronella candles don't do anything except give the darn things light so they can see where they're biting!
> I installed two ceiling fans on the front porch that help keep them away.


 


 Try this I can't because we don't have it bad with mosquitos let me know if it works. I got this in an Email a while back so the messed up writing came when I scanned it. Let me know if it really works.*
Subject: UNIQUE SPRAY FOR MOSQUITOS
The best way of getting off mosquitoes is Listerine., the original medicinal type. The Dollar Store-type works, to. I was at a deck party awhile back, and the bugs were having a ball biting everyone. A man at the party sprayed the lawn and deck floor with Listerine. and the little demons disappeared. The next year I filled a 4-ounze spray bottle and used it around my seat whenever I saw mosquitos. . And voila! That worked as we!!. It worked at a picnic where we sprayed the area around the food table, the children's swing area, and the standing water nearby. During the
**summer- I don't leave home without it. I tried this on my deck and around all around my doors. It works - in fact, it killed them Instantly. I bought my bottle from Target and it cost me $1.89. it really doesn't take much, and it is a big bottle too so it is not as axpensive to use as the can of spray you buy that doesn't !a«t 30 minutes. Sof try this, It wiii iast a coupie of days. Dont spray directly on wood door (like your front door), but spray around the frame. i Spray around the window frames and even inside the dog house if you have one. Also can be used to dab any bites you receive. It will stop the itching quicker and go away faster.
*


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## AllenOK (Jul 28, 2008)

Let's see.  Skeeters.  Chiggers.  Ticks.  Roaches.  Termites.  Flies.

Most other insects don't bother me.  Wasps, bees, and hornets I usually leave alone, and they leave me alone.

My MIL saw a scorpion, a wee little thing, on the front porch a few days ago.  I'm not terribly surprised, but it did shock the dickens out of her.  I got my clip-on UV fishing light out, and used that to try to spot it, but because of all the cig butts out there from MIL smoking, I was unable to spot the critter.  Yes, scorpions will flouresce under UV light.  That's a great way to hunt for them, at night, by turning over rocks and logs, and then shining a UV light on the spot.

I don't think killer bees have made it this far north, yet.  I do know they are in OK, but it's in the southern part of the state.

Has anyone ever seen a swarm of locusts?  I have, once, back in '82.  My family and I were on our way back to my grandmother's from Stillwater.  We were on a stretch of lonely road when all of the sudden, there were bugs everywhere!  I mean, visibility was so low that we had to slow down to about 5 mph just to stay on the road!  That lasted for about 5 minutes.  Then, the darndest thing happened.  The swarm of locusts was being followed by a swarm of birds!  LOL!  Every dang bird in the county was following those locusts, and eating their fill.


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## babetoo (Jul 28, 2008)

MexicoKaren said:


> I'm going to revive this thread to share with all of you the amazing insect we found in our yard yesterday, beneath a stack of bamboo. This guy is called a tailless whip scorpion. With legs and all, he is the size of A DINNER PLATE (note that he is on a 2" X 4" and his body is almost 4" long.) He is NOT venomous, and is actually considered good luck, because he eats scorpions. The two "arms" in front are like crab pincers. Isn't he a magnificent specimen?


 

now that is a scary bug. i'll take your word that it is harmless. lol

babe


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## Dove (Jul 28, 2008)

*My son Kevin has been finding Black Widow spiders everywhere they shouldn't be this year. Not in the usual dark and damp places. I had a small cardboard box that a case of Pepsi came in under my patio table. he reached for a garden tool and jumped back like he was bit. there was a BW belly up..and the remains of the male. Then the next day at my DIL's he came across another on as he was trimming her hedge.*


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## Claire (Jul 29, 2008)

I personally believe that most animals belong outside, in nature.  We've spent many, many years domesticating dogs (and perhaps cats, but I'm not sure they are domesticated!).  Insects?  OUTSIDE.  My husband almost died because of a wasp attack, so I am a bit paranoid about stinging insects.


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## expatgirl (Jul 29, 2008)

well, in additon to all that has been mentioned I'll add love bugs and fleas..........I also abhor flies...........love bugs don't bite and I'm sure that they are a good source of food for the local birds  and bats but they swarm in the spring and splat on your car while driving....you have to wash your car.......their bodies contain some kind of chemical (probably an acid---not sure) and will ruin the paint job otherwise..........my granmma used to send us out on her back porch with flyswatters and we'd have contests to the number of flies we'd splat.........I was good......even today if a fly gains entry into my home he is dead meat.......I move ahead of them..........learned that from gramma's back porch.........the favorites were those "hitching a ride".......two with one swat...........now I know what they were really doing..........carnal carnage..........


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## JohnL (Jul 30, 2008)

Thanks jpm,
I'll certainly give it a shot.


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## luvs (Jul 30, 2008)

ewwwww, i didn't write gnats. they SWARM, icky bugs need a hobby.


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## skilletlicker (Jul 30, 2008)

radhuni said:


> I don't hate insects so much as I hate reptiles, especially house lizard or Hemidactylis frenatus_._


Isn't that the guy selling Geico car insurance on TV? I think he's pretty cool.


GrantsKat said:


> Well being raised in Queens, NY, I wasnt subjected to many bugs, but boy did that change when I moved to Florida!! ... Then there are the roaches that look like they are on steroids I dont remember what they are called but they are easily 2 inches long!! YUCK!!


They're called palmetto bugs and although they look disgusting they aren't the little guys who infest your house. They usually just wander in from outside one at a time.

I wish I had one of Mexico Karens critters as a pet.

Mosquitos are bothering us a bit around here; for some reason there isn't any eradication this year.


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## jpmcgrew (Jul 30, 2008)

JohnL said:


> Thanks jpm,
> I'll certainly give it a shot.


  Cool, be sure to let us know if it actually works.


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