OmegaKnight
New Member
I went to Palmetto High School but mine was in Miami. Are you talking about the same one?thimblekisses said:
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The roaches
- Thread starter Heatherbell
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tigger1968
Well-Known Member
For what it's worth, the large flying beetles in the picture are water beetles. They typically live underwater, and catch minnows and other bugs. I think they come out at night to move to new locations or mate.....not sure though. I grew up in Winter Garden, north of WDW, and to us, Palmetto bugs were the giant wingless roaches that could get to 2-3 inches long. The flying ones were just cockroaches to us. I found a Palmetto bug HANGING FROM THE INSIDE of my mosquito netting on a campout one night. Yes, I completely freaked out. But its the monkey spiders you gotta watch out for! They are ground spiders that don't make webs, they go out and find their prey. When I was about 8, my dad killed one that was the size of his hand in our bathroom. I still get the shivers thinking about that thing, and that was 25 years ago! And while we're on the subject, Florida also had scorpions, but small ones. The sting is about like a bee sting. Got stung when I was 14.
Have I creeped everyone out yet?? :lookaroun
Have I creeped everyone out yet?? :lookaroun
sunshine
Member
stitchlvr said:
Most likely it was indeed a june bug that I ate. A supersized one! They seem to drop into swimming pools en masse at night in the summer. But yes, I agree that june bugs are nothing compared to palmettos from what I hear.
I remember gagging and my swim coach screaming out, "Protein! It's good for you! Don't be such a girl! Go, go, go!" No sympathy from him.
tigger248
Well-Known Member
We had them in my apartment when I was a cp. Sometimes they'd walk out of their hiding place in pure daylight (which always worried me about how many there must have been for one to walk across the counter in the daylight). I had friends who had them worse. One guy I knew found some roaches in his Lucky Charms when he opened the box for breakfast one morning. I'd have freaked out.
We had a lizard in our apartment once. It was in our closet. I tried to catch it, but was afraid to touch it so I got a spatula and paper plate to catch it. Well, the little booger was fast and all we caught was his tail. After his tail came off, it jumped at me, I screamed, dropped the plate, and we never found him. The tail less lizard became the ongoing joke in our apartment. Oh and we never used the spatula again either.
We had a lizard in our apartment once. It was in our closet. I tried to catch it, but was afraid to touch it so I got a spatula and paper plate to catch it. Well, the little booger was fast and all we caught was his tail. After his tail came off, it jumped at me, I screamed, dropped the plate, and we never found him. The tail less lizard became the ongoing joke in our apartment. Oh and we never used the spatula again either.
Just a word of warning , don't squash, mash, or stomp, one of those palmetto bugs. That sickening sweet odor they produce once they have been splatted is enough to make me want a Mission Space bag handy. Unfortunately I know this from running over way too many of them with the mower when I was a teen cutting grass in the neighborhood.
Some of you would have freaked out at Boardwalk and Baseball in the spring and summer when there were mole crickets everywhere at night, and the lights from the baseball fields just brought more and more of them from miles around. They were so thick, as you walked around it was just one crunch after another. :hammer:
Some of you would have freaked out at Boardwalk and Baseball in the spring and summer when there were mole crickets everywhere at night, and the lights from the baseball fields just brought more and more of them from miles around. They were so thick, as you walked around it was just one crunch after another. :hammer:
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Well, im comforted by the fact that i have a 2nd floor apartment that is pretty clean and hasnt had a roach problem. Of course Chatam isnt THAT far away.....
jaylenofan86
New Member
Oh yes, the wonderful stories of Chatam!PhotoDave219 said:
DisneyFreak529
New Member
They are sooo gross!! In June 2003 we stayed at the All Star sports hotel and the guest three rooms down complainned because they had found 3 in there room. I hate bugs!!! I have seen them at MGM the last time we went to Florida in Feb 2004 at the same spot you did! They are gross!!
Thanks for the picture!! I bet we all loved it... LOL
Thanks for the picture!! I bet we all loved it... LOL
LSUxStitch said:
EEEEEWWWWW!!!! Yup thats them. Thanks for the picture. LOL!!!!!
ClemsonTigger
Naturally Grumpy
Palmetto bugs
June Bugs
Love Bugs
anole lizards (some call them chameleons...but not)
spiders
snakes
alligators
mosquitos
ahhh, life in the swamp (paved or not)
June Bugs
Love Bugs
anole lizards (some call them chameleons...but not)
spiders
snakes
alligators
mosquitos
ahhh, life in the swamp (paved or not)
SewIn2Disney
Well-Known Member
This thread is grossing me out.....crunching bugs, spiders the size of hands, and lizards tails falling off! EW
Anyway....Are these bugs seasonal? We'll be there in June.....I'm guessing the bugs will be worse then, am I right? Usually we only go in the cooler months, so bugs were never a problem.
Anyway....Are these bugs seasonal? We'll be there in June.....I'm guessing the bugs will be worse then, am I right? Usually we only go in the cooler months, so bugs were never a problem.
tazhughes
Member
TOTguest1127 said:
umm not exactly. I'm not sure what part of Jersey you are from, but if you are familiar with the S. Jersey shore (Brigantine, AC, OC, CM) then you may have experienced Greenheads, which are supersized flys that bite and leave a welt. (yes they do have a greenhead) Or if you are from the more wooded areas of the state you may have experienced the Deer tick, which carries Lyme Disease with it. Or you may have experienced chiggers, which are these tiny microscopic bugs (the size of a pinpoint) that get under your skin and live (and itch like h**l). Not to mention the states other unofficial bird the New Jersey Gnat, which bites like a mosquito but is smaller and harder to swat away.
So I would say mosquitoes are the least of my concerns.
napnet
Active Member
We call them Water Roaches up in Tally. They grow close to 2-3 inches long and are everywhere. Most of Florida is a swamp and they love that weather. Another good place to find them is in all the Live Oak trees... they tend to hang out there. I have never seen them in a park like that but they are pretty nasty. Its really bad when they fly cause its not graceful and it actually makes a noise when they do fly. That and they tend to fly towards you! blech!
DisneySam
Active Member
tigger248 said:
I could tell many hillarious stories about chasing lizards in my apartment in St. Pete...being from Kentucky I was totally freaked out when they came into my apartment. My neighbors always joked so much about it!
I am not sure of specifics, but I noticed the bugs and reptiles got slightly better in the fall/ winter months, at least they did in St. Pete. [Glad to see I am not the only one who is afraid of frogs :lookaroun LOL
DDuckFan130
Well-Known Member
I was going to ask the same thing since I live in Miami also.OmegaKnight said:
tommyboy12099
Member
Note to self: Do not eat your lunch while reading a thread about big bugs. :hurl:
SewIn2Disney
Well-Known Member
Heh...I'm from the Wooded area in OC, NJ, but go to Seaside all summer along.....you hit the nail on the head with all those pests! (But the greenheads are the worst!)tazhughes said:
FYI. Most lizards as a defense mechanism will drop off thier tail, this way they can escape and all the preditor is left with is the tail. I have no problem with reptiles and have many as pets. Bugs are another story. I would have been screaming if large flying roaches were by me. I am sort of surprised that for as many times as I have been to Florida I have never been unfortunate enough to see one. One time at WDW I saw a huge spider on one of the neighbors hotel room doors. It was so big we almost thought it was fake till it moved...tigger248 said: