Ohmigosh Ohmigosh Ohmigosh Ohmigosh Ohmigosh Ohmigosh
Imagine being claustrophobic AND being stuck in the shower stall with a GIANT roach!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! There was one in my towel and when I reached for it, it fluttered into the shower and scared me to death. I leaped from the shower and stood 5 feet from the door, naked, for 20 minutes with a chemical shower spray in my hands waiting for him to come out from behind the trashcan to spray him (and hopefully at least slow him down). No luck. I got dressed with my head out of the closet to keep my eye on the bathroom doorway and quickly put on only deodorant, face lotion and sunscreen with my eye on the bathroom door. I haven’t been upstairs all day since. Yuck.
These giant roaches (Palmetto bugs??) are my greatest fear combined with being claustrophobic with them inside. I thought we’d rid the house of them last summer. Nope. They’re back, the same week as last year. Needless to say the husband has a big job to do when he gets home: find the roach and dispose of it…if he can. We did Terminix last year, but I’m not doing it again (wasn’t very effective) so I need other options. Any suggestions??
So the event threw a damper in my day. I went to the gym at 11:30 and came home pretty hungry. By the time I got down from the episode, I decided on a MorningStar Veggie Burger in a pita with Havarti cheese, spinach, K+M, pickles and jalapeño –
Along with a carrot, which I ate most of while cooking –
Plus cottage cheese, fresh pineapple and TJ’s high fiber cereal –
This lunch was super filling –
I made my dinner and must hit the road and eat on the run to return my textbook that I found cheaper online before tonight’s deadline. Grrrr!
Hasta luego…
Still shaking…
we dont have palmetto bugs in seattle but we had a family reunion is florida one year and the first time i saw one i almost threw up. They are too big to not be evil.
UGH! So gross. I hate those nasty roaches. I would have reacted the same exact way!! Hopefully the hubby can take care of them 🙂
I completly sympathize with you! I HATE roaches…I am still traumatized from an expirience when I was little. I fell into the large box which held my dress-up clothes and wasn’t able to get out while about 12 roaches crawled all over me…uck!!!!
They have invaded my apartment complex since our landlord let in a few unclean people. I can’t stand it. My Mother passed away recently, dealing with depression. Had breast Cancer, clean for 6 years now. I look around our apartment. We have to move. From what I have read and understand, the roaches will NEVER go away. No matter how much they “bomb” the place. I am definitely having a nervous breakdown. I can’t take it anymore. We will be breaking our lease, and shaking EVERYTHING out prior to moving. Yeah, January, what a wonderful time to move ….
What weird timing to find that roach! I saw a MASSIVE roach in our spice cabinet last night and then told my mom about the problem you had last summer… I think I jinxed you, sorry!
We sprayed for bugs today so good luck!
They are big, disgusting, but harmless.If you have carpet on the floor go to Wal-Mart and buy some Borax, then sprinkle some on the carpet, and use a broom sweeping back and forth to work the Borax into the carpet. I guarantree you will find the bugs dead all over the floor in just a little while. It attacks their nervous system through their feet. Just sprinkle the Borax on the other type floors around the base boards and it will work there also. It is the cheapest way to get rid of Roaches
AGHH!!! I live in Charleston, SC and have a palmetto tree in my yard (palmetto tree=palmetto bugs). My little old house is definitely not airtight and they sneak in ALL the time. The other night I had the misfortune of stepping on one. Barefoot. Yech!
I was in a hurry and forgot to mention where the comment comes from. Read this, it’s interesting..
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:swaqUddAqJcJ:www.blufftontoday.com/node/3048+palmetto+bugs+harm&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3
Kath, you are too funny. The husband has a big job to do tonight! Hopefully he finds it and kills it.
we used to get them in the bathroom/whole office cause the people i work with are diirrrrtttyyy!
but i live in philly so i’m used to seeing em crawling around the streets in certain neighborhoods. ick.
in non-disgusting news, i just ordered the latest edition of YOU: The Owner’s Manual. I was looking for a nutrition book, but this one covers all the bio and chemistry of the body systems but in a humorous, quirky way. it seemed like it would be up your (and a lot of readers’) alley. i’ll totally give you a report back if it’s worth checking out.
keep your fingers crossed – i’m a few days away from submitting my grad school application to Super Duper Ivy League School for my own nutrition/rd adventure. good luck, kath. your schedule is nuts but i did it working 9-5 every day. you can do it!!!!
AHHHH!!! Kudos to you for handling the situation – I’m PETRIFIED of bugs!!! **shivers**
Best of luck with chem tonight!
Ewwww!!!!!!!
We don’t have cockroaches here, but I was trapped with one in a shower once in Mexico. I about had a heart attack!
Ugh, just reading that made me shudder…I am not a bug person.
Haha… my family lived in FL when I was little and my mom actually walked in on my one day about to stick a cockroach in my mouth! Apparently at age 1 1/2 I found that appealing… don’t worry, not anymore 😉
OK, I’m laughing because my old apartment in Chapel Hill had these nasty long wood roaches that were harmless but gross. One morning I woke up and reached down to pick up what I thought was a rubber band/hair tie I’d knocked off the nightstand. No, it was a HUGE ROACH and it scared the crap out of me when it wiggled through my fingers. EWWWWW!
Awww Kath- I would have done the same thing! Usually I just put a cup or something over the bug and wait for the bf to get home and take care of it! 😉
Random Question about the blue spoon! Do you put yours in the dishwasher? I don’t know if I can and I don’t want to break it!
Lots of luck at school this afternoon!
oh, and I meant to say if they ARE wood roaches, pesticides don’t really kill them. You have to find out how they’re getting in and just block entry. For us we found a tiny crack in our door and sealed it.
Heeby jeebies is all I have to say!!!
Hey Kath…are you up for making some oatmeal bars…granola bars….something of that nature? I have a craving and looking for a new sweet, chewy, healthy recipe?
I have a solution! I live in Houston and get these little guys in my apartment occasionally. However, my kitty LOVES to play with them and kill them. It’s pretty entertaining to watch her bat them around, stick them in her mouth and run around with them. She doesn’t eat them…just plays with them til they die 🙂 I don’t hafta worry about someone getting rid of them thanks to my cat!
Hahah, poor Kath!
🙂
EW! I don’t have any roach-removal suggestions, but I do sympathize… those are nasty! And I can’t bring myself to step on them either. Blech.
oh god i would have screamed so loud if that had happened to me…i HATE HATE HATE roaches!! i went to miami for spring break to build a house for habitat for humanity, and the church we stayed in was INFESTED. ugh. i could hardly sleep, much less go in the kitchen. nasty things. hate.
KATH! I totally sympathize. I HATE and am terrified of bugs. ALL BUGS. If there are any bugs in my house, I put a cup on top of it with a heavy book on top of that. Then I wait for my husband to dispose of it. But there have been times when I try to put the cup over the bug and it flees! I look like a screaming madwoman!!
I think I remember your post from last year regarding these ugly things! Poor Kath! I’m sure the husband will find it later tonight. But I know you’ll be anxious until it’s found, right? hang in there!
Sorry I don’t have any suggestions…I figured the exterminator could solve the problem.
Keep us posted!
We had them in our family condo in Palm Springs. It was like a horror movie. I refused to stay there again until the exterminators had come twice.
That sucks Kath, I’m sorry.
Yuck!! Good luck with the roaches.
HA! now there is a title for a post!! But Kath, sadly my post was titled “back to the grind” this morning….does that mean I’m boring?! haha oh well…. Maybe I should do something like “Piercing screams dark woods….banana oatmeal for breakfast.” I’ll work on them, you’ll see!
Ahhh! I am originally from TN and we got these big-ass cicadas in the summer. They are fat and slimy and they FLY . They are the devil. Here in CO (in the city) we don’t get anything that scary but I did have to call up the bf to come be my big,strong bug killer last night. Something was on the wall and I was sooo glad I did not have my contacts in to get a clear view of what it was. I find if you call a man your big strong, ANYTHING he is more than happy to do whatever digusting job you are trying to get him to do. Good Luck!
Ortho Home Defense, all around your house and around the windows will keep the palmettos out. Also, make sure you clean up every crumb of food, keep your bathroom floors dry and garbage disposal clean.
Oma
Oh yeah..
Palmettos are actually American CockRoaches. They aren’t like the German CockRoaches. Palmettos eat wood and leaf debris so keeping your yard clean is a good way to stay rid of them. They eat bark and fallen leaves. In the summer, they start running out of sources of cellulose and water so you will find them in your house looking for wet paper, cloth, etc.
Baiting them doesn’t help. Your real help is a repellent and keep away the things they want to eat.
Oh my gosh! I had the same thing happen to me! I was in the middle of my shower and I found one crawling up the shower curtain. Needless to say I screamed and my roommate had to come deal with the roach…and every other one I encountered during the time we were living together. I never liked them before but after that incident I cannot handle them!
You poor thing! I hope the Husband takes care of it for you!
Just reading your post scared me and grossed me out! Sick. I hate them too.
Eeek. When I was little my family had a beach house in FL — I nearly had a nervous breakdown the first time I encountered a Palmetto bug!! Between those and the terrifying praying mantid plastered to the bedroom windows, my parents were calling Terminix every other day. Unfortunately, I have no helpful palmetto-removal suggestions, other than keeping the house as dry and leak-free as possible. Those little critters LOVE moisture.
Thanks for all the bug advice!! I’m going to try some of those..
Allyson ,
I do put it in the dishwasher, but I did have one of my green ones break, so the washer could have weakened it.
Jen ,
I have an oatmeal bar recipe in ED&BV (i think) that I’ve been wanting to try. Maybe next week!?
Em ,
Not boring!! It’s so true. I started writing it and just though “I’ve used this one before…” 🙂
Kath
Yuck! Suggestion…look under your sinks and make sure where the pipe comes in for water that there are no gaps. If so, fill it with steel wool, which you can buy at any hardware store. They won’t be able to get through that.
AND..more importantly, since you had terminix there LAST year, it’s time to have them back…or any pest control company. It’s kind of an ongoing process, b/c bugs will still find there way back in to your house. Good luck!
OMG! What a traumatic experience! I absolutely hate roaches! They scare me to death along with spiders and other buggy things. Reading your post I immediately picked up my feet and looked around with goosebumps all over. haha.
Do you remember what Terminex did to the house when they supposedly got rid of the pests? I have had roach problems in the past and have bombed the place. I don’t know if you’ve done that before, but it’s fairly inexpensive and easy to do. All you have to do is cover everything up nicely and follow the directions on the package. “bomb” the house. and leave for a day.
Hope this helps and those giant things go away soon!