Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
I've been longing to blog and this evening, Franklin and I finally sat down together so he could write one of his beloved FRANKLIN FRIDAY posts.
After I picked up the laptop to help him get started, I noticed a giant palmetto bug* running around on the laptop. I guess it wanted to blog, but nope, not happening.
I screamed a few times and threw poor Lappie on the floor. Her case was already cracked and duct taped together. Now it's worse. But she still works! Best of all, she landed on the palmetto bug and killed him.
About the time that Franklin finished his post, I saw another gigantic palmetto bug run into the office and head for the opening under the TV cabinet. I screamed again as I stomped the second bug of the night to death.
I don't think I've ever had two palmetto bugs in the house in one evening. If this keeps up, we will hire an exterminator.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug, a good kind of bug
*For those of you who are unfamiliar with the horror of palmetto bugs, they are huge, flying cockroaches. I've never seen them anywhere except Florida, but perhaps they live in some other extra-hot parts of the U.S., too. Do you have palmetto bugs where you live?
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Hi Janie - not to my knowledge ... though could name a few others ... to remain unacknowledged - Good luck and good to see you or Franklin back - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hilary.
DeleteHi. We have them in GA. I have found them at most inconvenient times... of course, one has to wonder if there is ever a convenient time to have one run across you!
ReplyDeleteI went to the back door a while ago to let the dogs out and found a third in the laundry room. I gave him a thorough stomping, too.
DeleteThese buggy interactions left me wondering if the computer bugs or bug on the computer were at fault for all the fuss
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm buggy.
DeleteWelcome back to the Blogopshere, Janie! You have been missed. I can't imagine having to deal with two horrible bugs in one evening. Major bug phobia! Good thing you had your trusty lappie handy. I'm glad she survived the ordeal.
ReplyDeleteLappie will have to be replaced one of these days, but don't tell her.
DeleteIt is lovely to see you back again. I don't think we have Palmetto Bugs. Which is a surprise. We have more than our fair share of creepy (often poisonous) critters.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to say that palmetto bugs aren't poisonous.
DeleteWelcome back!! Will we see Franklin's post this Friday?
ReplyDeleteYes! In spite of the kerfuffle, he finished writing it.
DeleteWe have them in Alabama. Oh boy, do we have them! Looking forward to Franklin's post. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo now I know they're in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
DeleteWe have them in South Carolina and I despise them.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you Janie!
Thank you! We'll add South Carolina to the list.
DeleteOH NO OH NO OH NO!!
ReplyDeleteI hate bugs in the house. I get house centipedes. Kitty's one job is to slay them.
*shudder*
We used to have a cat who killed crickets. He liked to remove their legs.
DeleteI stomped one of those things this morning too.
ReplyDeleteHate is a word thT is not strong enough to describe my feelings toward those creatures.
R
I agree. "Hate" isn't strong enough. They are repulsive. I fear having one get in my bed.
DeleteI could swear I've seen them here and no, I don't like them either. Bugs belong outside!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I went out with the dogs last night, two of them were having a race on the deck railing.
DeleteNo palmetto bugs in Canada, THANK GAWD.
ReplyDeleteNice to have a post from you again. I guess work is keeping you hopping!
Franklin will tell you about "werk" (as he spells it) on Friday.
DeleteSo glad it wasn't in your ear! I would also fly into a murderous rage.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine once had one in her hair.
DeleteEww, those palmetto things do not sound good or tasty. Glad you did a double murder, though I'm sorry you had to.
ReplyDeleteLove ya.
Love you, too, cutie, and enjoyed your May Pole poem.
DeleteNone up here in the North Country, thank God!! I saw one while visiting in Florida when I was a kid and it is burned into my memory...along with locusts...and cockroaches...and scorpions! How my folks ever wanted to retire down in Florida is beyond me--LOL! I'll stay right up here where the friggin' cold kills off a lot of bugs. We have enough of them as it is. ;) Glad to see you back!! :)
ReplyDeleteWe had such a cold winter (for us) that I hoped they wouldn't be as bad this year. So far, they're worse.
DeleteI didn't know what a palmetto bug was, so I looked it up. Hawaii is the only other place I know that has those flying roaches. One flew on my leg when I was a kid visiting my grandma in Hawaii. I was wearing shorts since it's hot and muggy there like in Florida. I wasn't familiar with them since I'm from California, so when we were outside saying goodbye to some relatives, it flew on my leg and I flipped out. Everyone just laughed at me.
ReplyDeleteWhere I live now in California, we get the occasional water bug that crawls into the house from the kitchen or bathroom drain when it gets really hot outside or if there is construction going on nearby. They don't fly, but they are big and slow moving.
Around my gym one year, they had a lot of electrical problems and were fixing the lines underground. This must have disturbed the water bugs since they live underground. When I got into the gym shower, I didn't look down which I normally do. For the first time in years, I didn't look down so I didn't see the water bug. When I turned on the shower, the water bug jumped on my leg. Of course I screamed. Luckily, I had slippers on and stomped the thing to death. I was so freaked out.
A similar thing happened to me in Hawaii at my aunt's house who has a dark brown tub so I didn't see the roach right away. I have bad eyesight, but I saw something moving at the end of the tub. When I got closer to see better, I started screaming for my aunt. I was a kid then, but again the family just laughed.
But I can't believe your laptop fell on the bug and killed it! What luck! At first I thought it was a made-up story, but I guess it was just divine intervention. lol
Definitely not a product of my imagination. I wouldn't laugh at you if you were screaming because of a bug. I'd scream right along with you.
DeleteGood grief, a flying cockroach??? No wonder you trounced it with your computer.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I stomp on them, but I have to stomp so hard that it hurts my leg. They're virtually indestructible.
DeleteACK...we don't have those bugs here. Thank GAWD for that. At least you didn't pick up Franklin and throw him at it :) Looking forward to his post. And happy to have one from you!
ReplyDeleteFranklin weighs 68 pounds. I won't toss him around anytime soon. I can barely pick up Penelope at 41 pounds.
DeleteWikipedia tells me palmetto bugs like it warm, so maybe your cold winter has driven them inside. Wikipedia also says they prefer to be outside rather than inside. Does that help? No?
ReplyDeleteNo wonder. They are pretty ugly bugs (oxymoron!)
The nearest comparable ugly bug we have is the June bug, which is ironic, is it not?? :) But even those ones would rather be outside, so if one gets in the house I put it back out.
Looking forward to Franklin's post! You've been missed, you guys :)
It's starting to warm up, though, so it seems they should want to be outside. I think they get inside and then they don't know what to do.
DeleteHi Janie,
ReplyDeleteI read your post around 4 in the morning and cracked up when I got to the part about you throwing the laptop and squishing the palmetto bug! I laughed out loud and woke the dogs up! haha
I hate those things. I see them around here when it's really hot out, but they rarely get in the house. I see them outside sometimes on the deck and I freak out. They are the grossest things ever!
Thanks for the laugh! I needed that...
I'm finally getting back to blogging. Lots of stuff happened around here, some of which is in my latest post. But I'll share more later too...
Are you doing BOTB on the 15th? Will be my first battle in a few months.
talk soon. Have a great weekend,
Michele at Angels Bark
I don't know if I feel creative enough for BOTB. I guess I can add Texas to the list of palmetto bug states. They are the grossest things ever, except maybe for rats. And snakes.
DeleteUGH! Palmettos bugs. Some years ago, our older son took a job in Florida. He hated it. Hated the job, hated the heat, and hated being away from us. He moved back home with us for a couple weeks, and then went back out on his own again. When he stayed with us, he brought some of his furniture into the house, and unfortunately, the storage area under his coffee table was infested with palmettos bugs. Took me forever to get rid of those SOBs. (And I don't mean Sweet Ol' Bugs!)
ReplyDeleteI've never found a particular spot in my house--or in the furniture--where they hang out. I'm sure that's a good thing.
DeleteOh, yuck! Yuck! Yuck! An exterminator sounds good!
ReplyDelete