Gross Start to My Morning!

[Virgo6]

Ran down to the basement to do wash when I smelled something really
funky down there. Thought maybe the pipes had overflowed. Also checked
the empty fish tanks, Mr. Virgo had down there to hold the fish we
have in a pond over the winter....but the smell wasn't coming from pipes or tanks. I suddenly saw something moving on a shelf we have down there holding cans of paint and such. Didn't have my glasses on so I moved closer and the smell was overpowering!!!! Stupid me (and I didn't tell Mr. Virgo this) had defrosted the little extra freezer we have down there and must have forgotten to put back a steak and package of sausage.
Well, that was a couple of days ago and in this heat and humidity maggots were in the rotting meat. The fly must have actually bit holes into the packages to lay the eggs. I wanted to heave my breakfast:Pukeface:
They were huge and GROSS! but I had to clean it up. Mr. V was out for his walk.....he would not have been happy to lose a really nice sirloin steak!!!! lolololol I have been such a scatterbrain recently.........trying to do too much. Son is getting married in 3 weeks, company all coming here, trying to clean, cook ahead for rehearsal dinner, make the yard nice, and organize our 2 week trip to Alaska a few days after the wedding. I even forgot to pay the second half of my taxes this month and now we will get penalties. Am I losing my mind????? I used to be so organized. Felt so disgusting after cleaning those things up! ewwwwwwwwwwww!!!:curse:

[snip the elf]

Everyone goes through times like this. It's a daily thing for me lol. One time I left out a FULL but of frozen boneless skinless chicken breast on the floor while trying to make room in the freezer for it. I couldnt fit it in so moved all this food over to one side and seen all this room and though I did a great job and just closed the door without actually putting the box in the freezer! lol
Hopefully things will get better for you after all these wedding things are over :luck:

[Slitter]

Ewwww, yuck! Was it the sight, smell or combination that nearly did you in? I'm glad I didn't read this right after eating.

But look at the bright side - you found it and not one of your guests. It would have been a zillion times more embarassing if it happened 3 weeks from now. :hug2:

[Irishlass]

((((Virgo)))), children's weddings have a way of totally messing with mother's brains and health. As the mother-of-the bride...........twice, once for each of my daughters, I can tell you I'm VERY glad that is behind me. Don't get yourself really stressed out and run down. Less than a week after my youngest got married, I had pneumonia. Hopefully, you can keep your eye on the prize at the end (that wonderful Alaskan trip) and make it through. GOOD LUCK!

The maggot episode totally freaked me out............YUK!

[AvecLion]

You have to ask, Sli? Just the description was nearly enough for me - and I'm a state or two away. But at least you found it before it started walking around.

This is from the woman who always forgets to clean out the bottom drawers on the fridge and finds liquefied fruits and veggies seasons later. I feel your pain - and I know your nausea. ;)

[pocket]

No, I think she'd cotton that something was definitely amiss when the flies started appearing.

Yuck, yuck, yuck!

I had one experience with maggots that I didn't cause. We lived in Navy housing and it had old floors that I tried to improve with paste wax. I'd done the wood floors with the kind with stain in it, and the plain for the old kitchen floor and even used the buffer. Later I walked into the room, and there were maggots crossing the floor....from the vicinity of the door. I went into a full-blown tizzy getting rid of the ones I saw. Then I saw where they were coming from....the door had a damaged panel, and they were coming out of the crack. I don't know if one of the kids had poked something in there or what, but it's a wonder we weren't all aphixiated by bug spray.

[Virgo6]

Irish,
I married my middle daughter off twice and I didn't have the stress this wedding is causing me. Its different when you aren't the one in control. My dentist who has known my family for over 30 yrs. recently married off his son and said "Go as a guest and keep your mouth shut" lolololol What upsets me is the fact that I used to be so organized and now I keep screwing up big time. I mean the other night I went to a wake and I ended up at the wrong funeral parlor with people I didn't know. It was an honest mistake because these parlors were only two blocks apart..........but how embarrassing. The funeral director asked if he could help cause I was walking around with my Mass Card in my hand thinking "Is this the Twilight Zone". He told me I was probably at the wrong one. I made some kind of stupid response and then rushed to the nearest exit. Quite awhile ago when my youngest daughter was to sing at a school function I was in one of these rushing around modes.........I ended up taking her to the wrong school. Our district has 11 elementary schools and they would all have concerts around the same date. To accomodate all the parents, etc. who go to those concerts they would delegate one of the 3 junior highs for the grade schools to use. Since all our schools have American Indian names, many starting with the same letter I took her to the one that was closest to my house. I went to it down, while she went to meet her chorus in the cafeteria. She found me and was crying. She said "Mom, I don't know anyone and that isn't my chorus teacher". She had the opening solo and we must have looked like raging idiots running out the door to the parking lot.
I broke every driving rule there was but I got her to the right school which was across town in a record speed and she made it to the risers to sing on time. She didn't speak to me for a day. Glad to hear I am not the only one messing up Snip! Thanks guys for the support! This site has become my sanctuary.....do some chores and then come in here for a much needed break and tons of laughs. Oh, and the maggots have gone to the happy garbage dump in the skies where they can feast forever. I poured like a half a bottle of ammonia in the bag and trash can they are now "Resting" in.
UGH!!!!!!!!!

[Typhoonmary]

... I suddenly saw something moving on a shelf we have down there holding cans of paint and such. Didn't have my glasses on so I moved closer and the smell was overpowering!!!! Stupid me (and I didn't tell Mr. Virgo this) had defrosted the little extra freezer we have down there and must have forgotten to put back a steak and package of sausage.
Well, that was a couple of days ago and in this heat and humidity maggots were in the rotting meat. The fly must have actually bit holes into the packages to lay the eggs. I wanted to heave my breakfast:Pukeface:
They were huge and GROSS! but I had to clean it up. :curse:

Think of the flies as Nature's way of getting rid of the smell....and the meat. A few years ago, as I was dozing in front of the TV, I awakened to the sight of a rat (probably a fruit rat) running across the top of the fireplace and dropping down into the organ. YUK. Home Depot was still open, so I drove over and bought everything from snap traps to poison blocks. When I got home, I set the snap traps with cheese and managed to take a chunk out of my thumb at the same time. I "used to" be able to set a rat trap, but I struggled with these. They have more tension on them than mouse traps. My racing heartbeat and shaking hands may have had something to do with my difficulties. In the morning, both traps had been raided with no rats in evidence. I probably should have used cantaloupe or some other fragrant fruit.

That evening, I heard strange non-musical sounds coming from the organ. I came prepared, this time, using the ever successful Ecology class recipe: mix dry oatmeal, peanut butter with beer and put it in an appropriately sized Have-a-Heart trap and set it out. In the morning, I found there had been no takers. I was somewhat relieved because being successful would mean that I would have to get the captured rat into a gallon jar utilizing a chloroform filled rag.

Finally, on the third night I thought "Enough is enough. I guess I'm through with the quick methods." I set out a couple of waxy "killer" blocks. The next morning both were gone. Not knowing how much was enough, I repeated this a couple of nights with the same results. After about a week, there was somewhat of an odor of death, but I couldn't find out where it was coming from. I guess the poison was a desiccant. About three days later when I returned home from work, there were a couple of large flies buzzing around.

Back to Home Depot. I bought two of those old fashioned sticky coils of paper and caught about a dozen to twenty big flies.

My question was "If there were no flies in the house, where did the original female come from?" Either it was a case for spontaneous generation or I had to assume that the female fly had a terrific nose for news and very good problem solving skills. She found her way in and then found the putrifying rat. That rat apparently brought its own decay bacteria with her/him.

Subsequently I had the palm tree cut down. I have found no additional evidence for rats, although the neighbors have a guava tree in the back yard, and rats are known to travel telephone wires.:splat:

[Fuel]

I don't know, when I think of maggots. I think CSI.

That sounds really icky though.

[Slitter]

Here ya go, Virgo - not that you've got avatars all figured out. :) ;)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/littlemaggot.jpg

[Virgo6]

Thanks Slitter!!!!! that is too cute not like the white things I saw this morning! Looks more like those inch worms I talk about.......thank God, those things are just about done. I am sick of worm cockie on everything. The joy of warm weather. Give me the FALL and early Spring before all the gross things come out.

[Slitter]

Well, my ant isn't as yucky as the real thing either. I can even put the red circle thing on it if you want.

[Virgo6]

sure go ahead..........would be cute thanks

[Slitter]

He ya go.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/littlemaggotwithcirc.gif

[Kramer]

Ok, that was totally gross :rofl: Im so sorry you had that happen to you. I hope it NEVER happens to you again!

[Virgo6]

Well, thanks to Slitter I have a new avator..........hahahahhahehehehehe

[Irishlass]

LOL, I love it. I wondered where you came up with that. It's perfect.
If it's out there, Slitter will find it.

[Slitter]

Virgo, I got a little more creative today. Thought I'd share in case you like this one more:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggot90.gif

[patchiepoopoo]

Slitter, that is a riot !! :biglaugh:

[Virgo6]

You are killing me Slitter!!!!!!!! that is too much and what is so funny is that I act in a Haunted Theater in Oct. I am the greeter and crowd control. This past Fall I made myself this character and went all over the place to find a thing to go through my head like that. All the kids were grossed out cause I looked so ugly. LOL I love it!!!! If you are that interested in my maggots I think I can create a few more by leaving something out to rot and I will send them to you!!!! lololol:trip:

[Slitter]

Glad you like it. It just popped into my head so I decided to see if I could do it. It took a lot of false starts but I thought it was pretty funny when I had it finished. Kinda gives him a reason for that expression on his face. :)

[pocket]

omg, how funny!

[frawniemae]

Y'all are having way too much fun in here!!:)

[poppy]

LOL- Slitter- :roflmao:
Oh that's great- exactly how I would like to remember my Aussie maggots- Could I possibly get that avatar too? Maybe mine could wear a little hat- :ices: just joking.

Poppy

[UkraineMom]

LOL Sitter.. ya know you are one crazy lady!

[Slitter]

Poppy, I thought an Aussie maggot would want an Aussie hat. Don't you agree?

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggothat.gif

I've GOT to get a better hobby! ;)

ETA, I just noticed I put these in the wrong thread! :bonk: Lemme see if I can put them where they belong.

[Virgo6]

Hey Slitter,
You could start a new business........maggot clothing line. Clothes and accessories for the distinquished maggot. Outfits for all occasions...tight spandex pants for squirming through garbage, loungewear for those lazy evenings relaxing in a hunk of steak, etc. Start your own tv program...instead of Project Runway, it could be called "Project Jiggle and Wiggle" You could be famous.....hahahahaha:silly:

[Typhoonmary]

Hey Slitter,
You could start a new business........maggot clothing line. Clothes and accessories for the distinquished maggot. Outfits for all occasions...tight spandex pants for squirming through garbage, loungewear for those lazy evenings relaxing in a hunk of steak, etc. Start your own tv program...instead of Project Runway, it could be called "Project Jiggle and Wiggle" You could be famous.....hahahahaha:silly:
Maybe you could even include sound effects of a thousand maggots eating. Once you've heard it, you don't forget.
:lickingli

[Slitter]

This just in from CNN - Huge maggot outbreak in Guadalajara!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggotmex.gif

[pocket]

:roflmao: O.......M........G! Too funny!

[Virgo6]

OH, MERCY! Slitter stop it, I can't take it anymore! Tears are coming down from face from laughing!!!! How did I know my precious little maggots would take over the world........lol

[Slitter]

Does than mean I should give up on "Maggot goes to Mardi Gras"?

[UkraineMom]

OH Slitter! Maybe we should find you your own reality show

[Irishlass]

If it's out there, Slitter will find it.

And, if it's not out there, Slitter will design it.

:roflmao:

[Slitter]

OK, I will stop after this if you want but I only had the beads left and you wouldn't have wanted me to waste all that effort would you? ;)

Maggot goes to Mardi Gras:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggotmardigras.gif

[UkraineMom]

I think we need an Uncle Sam Maggot for the 4th of July

[Slitter]

Is that a request? :)

I know this is silly but I have really been having a ball with it!

[Slitter]

LOL, that was easy!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggotsam.gif

[Virgo6]

HOORAY FOR THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE

Can you just imagine a whole bunch of these little critters marching in a line across your kitchen countertop. Would you KILL them or put them on "Amazing Pets"?

[pocket]

If they were dressed in outfits designed by Slitter, I'd put them on Project Runway.......that is if they can high step.

[poppy]

:ices: Oh Slitter- I love the little Mag smileys- My faves are mardi gras Mag and Aussie Mag.

Sorry for the late reply- was looking in the other thread:crazy:

Could you please tell me how I can make my avatar the Aussie Mag or Mardi Gras Mag. Mardi Gras is a huge thing in Sydney so either mag would be great.

Poppy:wavey:

[poppy]

OH Virgo you are hilarious - :rofl: :silly:

This is toooo funny- "Project Jiggle and Wiggle"- :ices:


"You could start a new business........maggot clothing line. Clothes and accessories for the distinquished maggot. Outfits for all occasions...tight spandex pants for squirming through garbage, loungewear for those lazy evenings relaxing in a hunk of steak, etc. Start your own tv program...instead of Project Runway, it could be called "Project Jiggle and Wiggle" You could be famous.....hahahahaha"

[Virgo6]

Oh my, I feel so bad that I killed them all. Who knew the possibilities?

A new CSI from the maggots point of view, ER medical maggot, Maggot Extreme Makeover, a soap opera called "As The Meat Rots", (instead of World Turns), Mork and Maggot, So You Think You Can Wiggle?" (instead of dance)..............the options are endless.

[poppy]

LOL- Virgo- well I hired someone to kill mine so I guess I am a Maggot assassin

:crazy:

[Slitter]

Can you just imagine a whole bunch of these little critters marching in a line across your kitchen countertop. Would you KILL them or put them on "Amazing Pets"?

I think I'd get myself admitted to the nearest hospital. :crazy:

Poppy, you might want to check with Virgo and see if she objects to another maggot avatar.

To change or add and avatar:

There's a couple of ways to do this, but this is the best IMO. Right click on the image you want to use (note it cannot be larger than 90X90 pixels) and save it to your computer where you can find it again.

Go to the top of the boards page and find "User CP" and click on that. There are a bunch of options on the left side of the screen, including "edit Avatar". Click on that.

Scroll down to near the bottom of that screen and click on the Browse button. Use the window that opens to find the pic you saved on your computer. Click on the file name once to highlight it and then click on the Open button. That makes the window go away and you'll see the file name in the little box of the Avatar screen. Click on the "Save Changes" button.

That's all there is to it.

[Slitter]

Virgo - more reality TV! Survivor Venison, Survivor Pork Loin, Survivor Chuck Roast, etc. Or maybe it could have a dating theme like Joe Maggot. :)

[Virgo6]

Poppy, no problem here..........use whatever avator you want. I am willing to share my maggots.......hahahahahaha

Oh and by the way, the inch worms are cocooning, but lo and behold now the Gypsy moth caterpillars are here. They damage all the oak trees, not to mention everything else and if you get one on you they can cause a rash.
And if we have one more day of rain here in the north east I will SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Slitter]

Are you trying to get me to diversify? ;)

Maggot gets artsy:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggotpaint.jpg

[poppy]

LOL-Slitter- that's a cute 1!

Virgo- thanks for sharing your maggots with me- I would have gladly shared my aussie maggots with you 2:awink:

[Virgo6]

How about a celebrity maggot......Mr. Magoo Maggot, Marilyn Monroe Maggot, Mickey Mouse Maggot....lol
Can you imagine anyone lurking around here reading this stuff........must think we are all nuts.

[Slitter]

Think? THINK???? :crazy:

[poppy]

LOL- How about Survivor Maggot with little Tiki torches- there could be all the allstar survivors. Jonny Fairplay maggot too- :crazy:

[Slitter]

Oh, Mr. Maggot, you've done it again!!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggotmagoo.jpg

[patchiepoopoo]

I think you have all LOST your maggots :biglaugh:
I liked the Mr. Maggot, good one.

[Virgo6]

OMG Slitter! that is precious! brings back memories. How about Mighty Maggot....Here I Come to Save the Day! You crack me up!

[Slitter]

OK, I just don't even want to post Marilyn Maggot. I couldn't get the dress to work at all (that must be more on Fuel's level than mine) and with just the blond hair, I think it is about the butt-ugliest thing I have ever seen! LOL, makes real maggots look good by comparison. :Pukeface:

I'll have to think about how to do a Survivor one. I have a couple of ideas but I don't have a whole picture in mind right off the bat.

Ahh, Mighty Mouse - we must have watched the same cartoons when we were kids, Virgo. I'll look into it. The tough part there is what to do about the missing limbs? :huh:

[Sunburntbeatle]

OMG! This thread is hilarious!!

[Slitter]

Here he comes to save the daaaaaaay! It's Mighty Maggot!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/mightymaggot.gif

That one was REALLY hard!

[patchiepoopoo]

That would make a darling Halloween costume........lol, loved it.

[UkraineMom]

funny funny funny

[Virgo6]

It was hard, BUT you did it!!!!! yeah!!! I need a Mighty Mouse in my life right now. Even a maggot one. You are too cool Slitter!

[pocket]

:rofl: Oh, Slitter! Words fail me.


:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[Slitter]

We knew he was a maggot all along - Fairplay Maggot!

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/johnnymaggot.gif

[Virgo6]

That maggot is too good for that piece of you know what! Did you ever see him on that show on MTV or one of those channels. I was flipping by and caught that he went to the bathroom on one of the other players bed. He is so GROSS! If I saw that maggot I would step on it for sure!!! but it does resemble him! Good job.

[poppy]

LOL- Slitter- the maggot looks better than the original fairplay:crazy:

[snip the elf]

Ahh hahaha these are great! Too funny! :roflmao:





Oh and by the way, the inch worms are cocooning, but lo and behold now the Gypsy moth caterpillars are here. They damage all the oak trees, not to mention everything else and if you get one on you they can cause a rash.

We don't even have them here yet, they don't show here till around the last of July! Annn I can walk under a tree with no worries. :brow:

[Slitter]

Geisha Maggot

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/geishamaggot.gif

[poppy]

:crying: :ices: :crying: :ices: - laughing so much I am crying- almost peeing my pants- they need a smiley for that!

LOL_ slitter- That is now one of my faves

[Slitter]

I confess I am quite partial to the hair. :)

[UkraineMom]

OK I am loosing my mind

[Virgo6]

Okay Slitter.........my insides hurt! That is toooooooooo wild! Aren't you glad I introduced everyone to the wonderful world of Maggots. Who knew they could be soooooooo much fun! They are taking over the world.....How about Maggots from Mars!!!!! :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh: :roflmao:

[Slitter]

I sure am, Virgo! LOL, I haven't had this much fun since I got a Mr. Potato Head! ;)

Mars, huh? That sounds do-able (I think).

[Slitter]

Hmmm, I hear this guy has a cousin named Marvin. ;)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/martianmaggot.gif

[Slitter]

OMG, guys, I think this is the funniest one yet! Maggot learns to walk like an Egyptian.

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggottut.gif

[poppy]

:ices: :ices: :ices:

:crazy: :crazy:

:notworthy :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy Slitter Rulezzz:thumb:

[Virgo6]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL I gotta go! laughing tooooo hard again!!!


KING MAGGTUT!!!!! LOVE HIM:roflmao: :roflmao:

[pocket]

:spit: :rofl: That'll teach me to drink coffee and check out this thread at the same time!

[Slitter]

Maggot gets a job (LOL - gee, where'd that idea come from?)

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/maggotwork.gif

[Virgo6]

Slitter, did you watch The Closer last night?.........it was a serious story and I was laughing when I saw a cameo of our maggots. There was a scene where two bodies were found in a warehouse and they were covered in flies and maggots. I don't think they will win an Emmy for the scene cause all they were doing is squirming around.....not even in costumes. LOL! sick! I am sick! hahahahahaha I will never look at maggots the same way. Will always think they should be dressed up. :silly:

[UkraineMom]

Slitter, did you watch The Closer last night?.........it was a serious story and I was laughing when I saw a cameo of our maggots. There was a scene where two bodies were found in a warehouse and they were covered in flies and maggots. I don't think they will win an Emmy for the scene cause all they were doing is squirming around.....not even in costumes. LOL! sick! I am sick! hahahahahaha I will never look at maggots the same way. Will always think they should be dressed up. :silly:


Virgo I was thinking the exact same thing!!!!! I was giggling over dead bodies thinking they needed snazzy litle outfits

[Virgo6]

UK we are a bunch of weird people huh? laughing over dead bodies. Too funny. I am so glad I read on here about that show. I never watched it last season, but I caught up by watching the marathon on Sat. Really good show. Watched the one after it also. But since I have a cold and didn't feel that great, I kind of missed the ending cause I got sleepy. I had never watched LOST either until my oldest daughter told me about it. She said "Mom you have to watch this show". I watched the reruns in the summer and caught up on that too.

[UkraineMom]

I know this place addds to my adictions all the time...
I watched 5 episodes on Sat too... I feel a bit caight up, the Closer is very good

[Slitter]

No, dang it, I missed it! It cracks me up that it made you think of our little friend here when you saw the unadorned maggots on the TV.

Don't be too hard ob them though. Maybe they're just nudists. No, wait though. A nudist maggot on TV would probably look like this:

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i169/stlslitter/nakedmaggot.jpg

[patchiepoopoo]

Yikes........you have gone off the deep end !
:eek:

[UkraineMom]

OK Slitter I am looking for a support group..... :)

[Slitter]

Great - I can't wait to see the Maggots Anonymous web page. ;)

[Slitter]

Bumping this thread so An-g_BB can find it! Hey, it came up at dinner the other night. :)

[Virgo6]

Excellent table conversation...........MAGGOTS!!!! lololol they are still showing up in various garbages cans this time of year. All decked out in their finest outfits for sure. Found an earwig in the bathroom sink yesterday. Hate them just as much. Oh, and this time of year produces these huge spiders that make webs from one side of the yard to another. I hate coming in at dark and carry a flashlight this time of year. They are D I S G U S T I N G! never remember them as a kid. Biggest spider was a Daddy Longlegs. I know these spiders are suppose to be good for the garden...but THEY MUST DIE! use like a quarter can of Raid on these suckers and they still charge at ya.

[patchiepoopoo]

Oh Slitter you are toooo funny, yeah Ang has to read about this. I on the other hand have ANTS but thankfully not inside the house. They are in and out of the garbage cans. Been washing them and spraying and trying to find what is attracting them. I'm talkin hundreds.

[UkraineMom]

I am being plagued by fruit flies... cleaned everything in sight.. no help UGH

[pocket]

UM...do you have potted plants in the house? One summer we had gnats driving us mad, and they were breeding in the plant saucers.

This past week, we had 10 inches of rain one day and night. As a result I started finding pests in the house. Next trip to the store, I stocked up on insecticides. It got so I was afraid to turn on a light in a dark room, for fear of finding another bug. The creapiest was a 2 1/2 inch long millipede or centipede in my bathroom.

[Slitter]

Yuck!!! I am lucky. No major bug issues here. I took my ants to Chicago. Well, I was accused of doing that anyway. :)

[patchiepoopoo]

ahhhhh nothing but DEAD ants in the garbage can now, RAID to the rescue.
I think your problem could be house plants too UK, I had that samething happen in the past from the soil. Goodluck.
Oh that big ole centipede you found is gross, I get them by me alot, had a whole family, got em all and then one day big ole grand daddy came out he was the biggest I'd ever seen, had to close my eyes to get him, yuck.

[Virgo6]

Guys, those long disgusting Centipedes are called House Centipedes. They live both inside and out, but they love damp places like crawl spaces, bathrooms, closets, etc. They can bite if they are trapped and defensive.
But pretty much what they do is eat roaches, small spiders, earwigs, and other gross insects. The reason I know about these is several years ago when we made a bedroom for one of our daughters out of part of the garage.......(no more room in the house when we had a 3rd daughter...if it was a boy we could have done bunkbeds). Anyway, one day Kris is screaming bloody murder that there is a monster bug in her room and its behind her dresser. The cement under her carpet and padding made it an ideal place for these creatures to live. Well, we found it and while she was jumping up and down yelling "Kill it" I managed to squash it dead. Looked it up in my nature book. As far as fruitflies go, make sure they are fruitflies and not gnats or drain flies which fly around the house also. First remove any fruit, especially soft bananas or other fruit that could have soft or rotting sections. That is where they lay their eggs. Check and clean all your garbage cans, places you might store onions, potatoes, etc. and recyclable cans too. If you clean up those areas and they have no source of food they will eventually kick the bucket. Gnats can come from the plant saucers and drain flies live in the pipes and drains of sinks and bathtubs. I have had both before. The drain flies you can see hanging around your sinks. They are tiny and black or dark brown. Good luck.

[Slitter]

I looked up the house centipedes. UGH! Very nasty. Their only redeeming feature appears to be that they don't get very big. Still, I wouldn't want to see even a small one {shiver}. Here's a pic:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/House_centipede.jpg/250px-House_centipede.jpg

I have never even seen drain flies. Gnats and fruit flies, yes but not those. I tend to get houseflies now and then. Those big black ones that like to dive bomb you. They've never bred inside but one gets in now and then. Best defense I've found for them is a good, old fashioned fly swatter.

[Virgo6]

Slitter, there are different size house centipedes and they can be quite large. Probably a difference in size between males and females also. The ones I have seen were about 2 1/2 inches which included their tails. I am only guessing what everyone was talking about were the house ones, but I am sure every area of the country and the world have their own kind.
What about those HUGE millipedes from Africa or South America that people have to eat on the reality shows.

[Slitter]

Ewwww, the things I read said they only got to an inch or an inch and a half. They all said it was a beneficial critter (as I believe you also said) but it would be hard not to instinctively squish something so nasty looking - especially if it was big! YUCK

[Fuel]

Ewwww...


My wife would disagree with you, she would try to pick it up and look at it then place it outside.

[pocket]

You wouldn't like the centipides in Hawaii. They are enormous, gigantic (about a half inch thick and 4-5 inches long)and they have a nasty sting. I helped my neighbor kill one once. Neither one of us wanted to step on it with our sandals....afraid they'd whip that tail around and get us, so I emptied a whole can of Raid on it and it was still kicking. We finally had to find a rock to end the battle. Her husband was a parachute rigger in the navy, and he pulled on coveralls when he went to work. One was inside his coveralls, and stung him. Seems to me, if I remember right, that the only thing that stops the burn is ammonia. (OH! I just had a flashback of Kathy peeing on someone's hand after a sting of some sort) I am SO glad we don't have those monsters here.

[Virgo6]

Pocket, you have your creepy crawlies too. LOLOLOL When we were going to Texas to visit my friend outside of Dallas, I asked her about insects, etc. we would have to look out for. She said...."Oh, we have an exterminator all the time so you won't see anything". We stayed in her mom's nearby apt. and the first night there we walked outside to find a Tarantula sitting on the front step. Took a photo of it. HUGE! but it was more afraid of us than we were of him. Then the next night, when I turned on the light in the bathroom, I found a small roach in the bristles of my toothbrush and others all over the apt. I told my husband not to take anything out of the suitcase....keep it zippered all the time. Every area has something creepy like our gypsy moths caterpillars and other things. Oh, and this is a hoot....when we got home I made my husband bring our suitcases right down to our basement so I could empty them out with a can of Raid in my hand. I wanted to wash everything just in case something came along with us. Sure enough when I threw my husband's pants (big pocket pants from years ago ) into the water, a big Mama Roach came out and she was loaded with eggs. She had her burial at SEA....hahahahaha

[pocket]

Oh ick! Roaches are a constant presence around here. Not in my house, tg, but always trying to get in the house, somehow. We have the gi-normous water bug roaches that give me the heebie-jeebies, and pine bugs (they have different names, depending on who you talk to) that look like huge roaches and FLY! When we first moved to the piney woods, I was up reading late, and heard a rustling sound behind me. I got up and looked up on the wall and there was what I thought was a water bug. He was opening his "wings". I jumped to find something to hit it with, and it flew at me. Talk about having a bug fit! I was dancing around and flapping my arms---woke up everyone in the house. Another time, I was in bed, my ear turned to my pillow, and I actually heard this bug coming, running over my pillow, over my head and down the side of the bed. I screamed loud enough to wake the dead. I don't think I slept another wink in that house until we were able to get bug bombs and set them off. It's worse when we've had a lot of rain. I used to scream for my DH to come kill bugs, but I've had to learn to grit my teeth and do the deed myself.
As gross as they are, german roaches are worse. They'll smaller and fast. They multiply like crazy, and if you ever get them in the house, it's a pain getting rid of them. I bought a trunk from a garage sale, once and learned NEVER bring in a piece of furniture until it's fumigated. I bought a wardrobe to use as an entertainment center...left it outside to clean it and refinish it. When I started cleaning the inside, I found several dead black widow spiders. I didn't trust that there weren't any live ones till I fumigated it, too. Living in a hot, humid climate ain't for sissies. I have lots of bug stories...don't get me started.

[TigerLily]

LOL pocket, sounds like you are started ;) I too have lots of bug stories. Like when we moved into the manse (we were renting it from the church) and the basement hadn't been done up properly (it was all cement) but we weren't going to do that, so we start painting the walls and lo and behold, there's these bugs. Dad says, "Oh, those are potato bugs, just paint over them." So that basement now holds the souls of many dead potato bugs and spiders. I swear it was the worst for daddy-long legs. Every time I went to put my hand on a wall in that basement, it would end up right beside (And i'm talking less than inch) one. Of course, I also got my first kiss in that basement, so not all the memories are bad ;)

[Slitter]

Oh Pocket, those flying roaches are SO gross! I haven't come across many this far north but I have seen them now and then. One year in college they were pretty bad.

I was in Dallas once on a business trip and I found this HUGE roach (about 4" long) on the bed cover. I captured it in a glass - with the hand cardboard cover - and took it to the front desk. I asked if they intended to charge me for double occupancy. It didn't seem to bother the desk clerk a bit. She told me you just had to expect that sort of thing in Texas! I know BS when I hear it so I cancelled the rest of my reservation and moved to a different hotel - one that didn't have roaches.

Jumping spiders are my most hated local creepy-crawlie. You don't find them in the city but they are in rural areas of the state. They are big (about 3 inches long) and covered with hair. I don't know how far they can really jump but it seems like about a quarter mile, lol.

Suddently I have no desire whatsoever to visit Hawaii. That's not a centipede, that's a snake!! :eek:

[frawniemae]

Every 3-5 years we will have an influx of giant grasshoppers. The largest I ever measured was nearly 3 inches long. They are harmless to humans (they do spit "tobacco juice" when messed with though) but eat lots of vegetation. I've only seen them near a water source such as a marsh or river bottom.

When we crossed the state line between Texas and Louisiana last weekend coming home, they were all over the place at the Welcome to Texas Travel Center. I bet there were a few people thinking "Dang, everything is bigger in Texas!" I thought it was funny!

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/orn/lubber_bladult.htm

[Mouse9]

When I lived in New Mexico they had the same kind of centipedes that Pocket was talking about. They are UGLY!!!! Well, we had just gotten our baby Juliet and I didn't want any of them to come crawling around her. My husband and I were renting the middle of a triplex. On the night Juliet was born in Colorado, we packed, put any boxed food we could into the refrigerator and set off 3 of those smoke bombs that are suppose to rid you of all of those pests. We then left for Colorado to pick up our baby and then go on to Iowa to show all of our relatives.

We came back about two weeks later.

Our elderly woman neighbor told me about a horrible night she had about two weeks earlier - while we were gone. She was sitting on her couch and all of a sudden bugs and centipedes galore began walking across her living room floor, going east and kept going dissappearing into crevices in her kitchen. The next morning she called our landlord and they then sprayed all three apartments, inside and outside.

I didn't have the heart to tell her we put off those bombs to get rid of the centipedes in our apt. It didn't even occur to me where they would go. Our neighbor on the other side must've had the same thing happen but didn't know because they went to bed earlier. (We left around 10:00 p.m. for Colorado.)

I am happy to report we didn't see another centipede while we lived there for only another 4 months.

You have to have a good arm to kill those centipedes. They are like little steel tubes with legs.

[Virgo6]

EW, from reading this thread I am starting to feel all yukky and constantly looking around the room for things moving. My cats are good bug watchers. I always know when a spider or something is creeping around. All 3 just sit there staring at the wall or floor. Sometimes they actually kill the invaders, but most of the time they wait for me to do it.
My daughter, her friend and I were attacked once by a Praying Mantis. Now when I was alittle girl and we had them on our bushes and all, my dad used to say "Don't kill them, they are good and protected by the government...there is a $50 fine for harming them". I stupidly believed him. The story might have been true years ago, but people must not have listened because I have only seen a couple in all the 37 yrs. we have been living in this house. About 12 years ago we had a nest of them in one of our bushes in the front yard. The little babies were cute and we left them alone. They do eat all the nasty bugs around the yard and are good.........but don't let anyone tell you they won't harm humans. One day we spotted the "Mama" and she was very large. Her babies were all gone and out on their own, so there was no need for her to be aggressive to protect her children. I was showing my daughter and her friend what a full grown one looked like and how they eat their male counterparts after they mate, etc. When suddenly this Mantis spreads its wings (I didn't even know they had them) and it starts charging at us. It was making this horrible noise too. Picture one of those old B horror movies with some Japanese monster.
That damn thing jumped off the bush and chased us clear across the front yard to the road. We were screaming like idiots. Never saw anything like that before. It went away and many years later I found a nest in a bush and squished it. Don't tell the government....lol lol :biglaugh: or I might be facing a fine of up to a million dollars cause there were a lot of eggs in that nest. hahaha

[pocket]

That sounds like a great scenario for a movie, Virgo. In fact, I'm not sure I haven't seen it. I saw lots of scarey movies when I was younger. I don't know why I loved being scared then....not now. Now, I'm a big chicken.

We were a military family, and moved around a lot, so we have lived in different climates and tackled different kinds of pests. I hate those jumping spiders, too. (that's unnatural...spiders are supposed to lay there and get squished) My daughter is in Kansas now, and she tells me spider stories all the time. Crossing the panhandle of Texas once, we literally ran across thousands of tarantulas crossing the road. I have no idea why. Talk about heebie-jeebies. I was terrified we'd get a flat tire. Frawnie, I know grasshoppers don't bite, but I hate 'em anyway. If they get on you, they're scratchy....yuck. I need to get on with things and forget about bugs.