A big one is in my shower and it has nothing to do with Willy Dunne Wooters.
It's a dead palmetto bug. I photographed it so if you've never seen one, here's your chance.
If you don't want to see a giant cockroach on its back, then don't scroll down. Head for the emergency exits immediately.
Normally, I wouldn't photograph a palmetto bug inside my house. They move too fast, and when I've stomped on one to kill it, they're pretty flat.
This one somehow made its way to my shower and died. It's not merely dead; it's really most sincerely dead (are those the correct words from The Wizard of Oz?). Since it's in a contained space and it definitely can't get up to run away, I offer photos.
Here he is from a distance:
Now we'll get as close as I can without screaming (doesn't matter that it's dead--I always scream when I see them):
He's not the biggest one I've ever seen (and no, I'm not putting some common object next to him to help you judge his size). He's about average.
I've seen a couple other dead ones in the house since the night that I had to kill three of them. They're unusually bad this year, which surprises me, first, because we're not well into summer, and second, because we had such a cold winter (for us).
The winter does seem to have affected the lizards. I've seen very few outside and haven't had a single one in the house.
Next step: Get rid of the dead palmetto bug. I don't picture that being done by turning on the water. It's too big to go down the drain.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
Hate 'em! There was one in our cafeteria kitchen yesterday. I sprayed him with every chemical I could find and he was still moving! Then I took a long mop handle and shoved him into a floor drain and ran hot hot water down into it. It was very satisfying.
ReplyDeleteI have some heavy-duty bug spray. I can soak them in it and they don't stop. It is lovely to kill them, but I'd rather not be bothered by them all all.
DeleteThis reminds me of my own dreadful shower experience. I was washing my hair when I felt something bite me. When I looked at my hand I had a rotten spider latched on to it. The spider died. I am obviously more poisonous to spiders than that one was to me. And yes I shrieked.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your ability to kill. How about visiting my ex-husband?
DeleteI am unkind to these bugs too. Often after I stomp, I twist my boot and shout - take that you MoFo.
ReplyDeleteI use a lot of naughty language in between my shrieks.
DeleteYuck, Yuckety, Yuck! He is the length of your tile and that is big. Thankfully I do not have that in my home
ReplyDeleteBe glad, Birgit. Be very glad.
DeleteI remember the day I decided to go through the trouble and trap/release a bug from the kitchen into our garden, and felt the exhilaration of the power of life and death over one creature. A shiver went through me when it occurred to me this power (in reverse) might be the feeling serial killers are after... Since then, I go through ridiculous machinachinations to trap & release them all.
ReplyDeleteRIP your shower guy.
I can't trap and release. I MUST KILL.
DeleteI had to take a moment before I could scroll down. Oh, yes! They are as ugly and gross as I remember!! And I do know they come bigger than that. *shudders* Let's hope the bug spray has been doing them in. Spray away, Baby!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the bug spray is the reason I've been finding dead ones around the house. I've also been told that they die if they don't have access to water. I had taken a shower the night before, but by morning the shower was totally dry.
DeleteGlad the sucker was already dead when you found it.
ReplyDeleteMy least favorite insect is the earwig.
I don't like earwigs, but to me, they're nothing compared to palmetto bugs.
DeleteWell, that made my day. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteAlways happy to please.
DeleteWow, he IS a biggun... We've got roaches that are coming in from somewhere that we find in the shower on occasion, but nothing quite that big. We do see palmetto bugs on occasion, but they usually find themselves in the living room, where the cats play with them....
ReplyDeleteGreat entertainment for cats. One year I had regular roaches in the kitchen, but a good spraying got rid of them.
DeleteThat is SO much bigger than any bugs we have here. Brrr!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what he died from? What is the lifespan of a palmetto bug? Did he have a broken heart, a bleeding ulcer, a stroke? Inquiring minds want to know . . .
Oh, dear. I'm afraid it's too late to perform an autopsy.
DeleteNo, no, not down the drain. He won't clear the trap and just make more trouble. I wanted to tell you about the big red cockroaches at my great grandmother's house, but I cannot find it when I look up Ohio cockroaches. And, there are hundreds of them available in Ohio!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen a red cockroach.
DeleteACK! I shouldn't have visited before we ate :( I think having to get rid of it would freak me right out!
ReplyDeleteI've found that the best way to deal with them is to suck them up into the vacuum cleaner. It's the kind with a bag that's removed and thrown in the garbage. Picking them up with a wad of toilet paper and flushing them is my second choice, but I scream the entire time.
DeleteYou would not like it here. We have them all over here. And they will sometimes take off and fly right as you go to swat them. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteAs the summer heats up, my deck is covered with them at night. I hate opening the door to let Franklin and Penelope out.
DeleteYUK! As I told you in an earlier post, I'm not a fan of those bugs. They're like VW-sized roaches.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there are so many of them this year because of all the rain you've had? Have a super weekend, kiddo.
It was very dry here until this week.
DeleteYick!
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteMy sister gets them in South Carolina. I like to call them roaches just to upset her. I'll tell her I saw another roach in her laundry room and she gets all huffy and says, "They're Palmetto bugs." Always good fun.
ReplyDeleteYes, they're always good for a laugh.
DeleteI lived in St. Mary's, Georgia when I was a teenager, so I have seen palmetto bugs, thank you!
ReplyDeleteWe used to drive to Jacksonville to go shopping, the bridges there were scary! At least they were when I was 14!
I rarely go anyplace that requires me to go over a bridge. They are kind of scary.
DeleteHi Janie - thankfully I can manage bugs et al .. and 'switch off' while I deal with them - I won't give you the pleasure of life up here ... too many nasties ... Hope you cleared it out easily ... and now it's forgotten - 'cept you posted about it ... so it'll remain for ever more! cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in the Pacific Northwest, we had a lot of slugs. I loved pouring salt on them so they shriveled up and died.
DeleteGood grief! That sucker's a monster.
ReplyDeleteI really hate it when they fly around. I'm so afraid they'll land on me.
DeleteYuck ! uggie ! nono no no no !
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
"Uggie" is a good description.
DeleteOh yuck! I hate bugs and the size of that one makes me cringe. Something with a long handle is needed here, so you can dispose of it without getting too close.
ReplyDeleteI use a long attachment on the vacuum cleaner. When it's time to replace the bag, it will be a job for Favorite Young Man.
DeleteYuck! This post actually got me to google "palmetto bug" to get a closer look. Shouldn't have done that...
ReplyDeleteStopping by from Joey's. Nice blog despite the blecch factor!
Welcome. I don't think I'm usually blecch.
DeleteIn AZ we have a bug man that sprays inside and outside the house every month. Often we arrive and I find quite a few dead cockroaches on their back. The only good thing is they are dead!
ReplyDeleteI'll probably have to get a professional exterminator. My efforts aren't working.
DeleteCockroaches are a very successful lifeform. You have my sympathy! I'd just as soon not see them. Especially in my shower. I'd run screaming!
ReplyDeleteI wondered if he was in the shower with me the night before, helping me shampoo my golden tresses.
DeleteThere must be some construction going on nearby that is making them crawl up from the drains into your house.
ReplyDeleteI think if you squirt dishwashing liquid down the drain that might break their water-resistant barrier and drown them. You don't even need a lot. That's just my theory, though. I would do it when you're done with your shower so the liquid sits down there.
I know that if you put apple cider vinegar in a jar and a DROP of dishwashing liquid in it with an upside down paper cone lid, that will kill the fruit flies in the house. That's what I'm basing my theory on. I've trapped and killed dozens of fruit flies that way.
Good luck!