Hoggirl Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 (edited) FYI: The mosquitos in Arkansas couldn't hold a candle to those we had in Wisconsin. In fact, IMHO, Arkansas doesn't even have mosquitos. We can go outside at night and NOT use bug spray. In Kenosha, WI, If you are out in the county, you can not even walk from the house to the barn without it. It was horrible. Around those rice paddies it is like driving through RAIN, the mosquitoes are so thick. They are not bad at all in NWA, but if you go to the eastern part of the state...whoo, doggie! Edited March 24, 2011 by Hoggirl typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Be afraid. Be Very Afraid. : What she said!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nature Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 :ack2: In MN, we also have horrible mosquitoes and lots of ticks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoftwinboys Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I was born in upstate NY but spent most of my life in the South. I personally don't think the bugs are any worse than up north. As far as ticks, yes they are disgusting but the NE has WAY more cases of Lymes disease than the South. I haven't seen 1 cockaroach since we moved to N.C.(we previously lived in FL). I live on over 5 acres of mostly woodland and I've been here almost a year and have yet to see a snake(although I'm sure they are here). It's really, imo, not a reason not to move here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 when I was in college in Texas, one time I was taking a shower and on the shower curtain was one of those huge flying bugs. I feaked out and ran down the hall of the dorm with just my towel (good thing the dorm had not become co-ed yet). another time I was wearing pants with big cuffs (mid 70's) and the biggest centipide fell into one of the cuffs. Luckly all my jumping around caused it to fly out of the cuff. When I told my dd that story, she said she would have had to strip right there and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Gulf Coast - near Pensacola, about a block from the water: *Ticks: horrible, but we've only ever gotten them on our dogs. Advantix works *Mosquitos: pretty bad, gotta use Deet *Palmetto Bugs: about 1 a week wanders indoors - cat eats them :) They don't infest houses unless the house is basically abandoned (not like German Roaches at all) Yes - flying ones. *Poisonous snakes: We have them all, pretty much: Coral, Eastern Rattler, Pygmy Rattler, Cottonmouth/Water Mocasin. We have had a coral snake in the house - had to call animal control (she was more scared than I was....). Snakes are shy by nature, though, and you'll rarely see them. Also - snakes eat bugs. We like snakes. *Alligators: Yep - very rare to actually see one, and you're not going to see them wanderring down the road where I live. Stupid people feed them pizza and chicken over their back fences - those are the ones who loose pets. They really aren't a threat to people, they only get aggressive if they feel their nests are threatened. No one here has been attacked that I have ever heard of. We have frequently swam where there are known alligators, and never even seen one. *Sharks: Yep - fact of life. We do have shark attacks every year - but usually the person is breaking the shark rules: No swimming at sunset or sunrise (dusk/dawn); do not siwm in the "bait-line"; do not swim near piers where people fish; do not swim where there are a lot of fishermen. *Geckos & Tree Frogs: Cute little buggers :) They also eat bugs.... Here are the things to actually worry about, because none of the above are anything that is a problem (and I have a phobia of the cockroaches): Sunburn, rip tides, mold and mildew in the house if you don't run the A/C enough, homeonwers insurance if you live in a bad hurricane area, termites, mowing the lawn in August, and getting the "love bug" goo off your car twice a year during the swarms :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootsnwings Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Ya'll haven't mentioned my absolutely favorite bug: The Firefly! :) I had no idea this was a southern thing until I posted a video of my kids chasing them last summer and an online friend from Oregon was like, amazed! LOL!! See, not all "southern" bugs are bad!!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Ya'll haven't mentioned my absolutely favorite bug: The Firefly! :) I had no idea this was a southern thing until I posted a video of my kids chasing them last summer and an online friend from Oregon was like, amazed! LOL!! See, not all "southern" bugs are bad!!! :D I am so sad about this- the fireflies here have all been killed by the mosquito abatement measures the county uses :( I'd love to see them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I grew up in MD and VA. I've been to Florida and was amazed at the bugs. Yeah, it's creepy. Then we moved to Texas a couple of years ago. In Texas: We've had enormous spiders running across the floor. I can't tell you how many. We've had black widows bigger than what is listed in the encyclopedias and field guides! Black widows are in every state though, maybe not Hawaii. We've had giant roaches, but they only come in one or two at a time, maybe 2 or 3 inches long. And fire ants. We have alligators in the lakes. Frogs, snakes, and lizards, not uncommon. Killer bees are here too. And we get snow too in north central TX, the DFW area. It can be really cold in Texas. Spring will always come sooner in Texas. Summer is so hot. And you can always get a good pest company to take care of all those creepy crawlies. There are lots of transplants from the north in the south. Come on down! You will eventually love it.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilymax Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I call her "Orkin" ;) :lol: That was the ONE amusing thing about palmetto bugs. Our cat didn't just eat them, she tortured them. We'd get up in the morning to find her guarding a roach on its back, one or two of its legs flicking feebly in the air, the other legs scattered around its body. I could never stand squashing them. Not only was the crunch disgusting, but they were so big, they splattered nasty yellow-green goo everywhere. A generous spray of Lysol was as effective as any brand of bug spray. And as someone else mentioned, they don't infest a house. You do only see them one or two at a time when they wander in. I think we had them so bad in Biloxi because the house we lived in was old, sat empty for year before we rented it, and was surrounded by pine trees. But even one or two at a time was TOO much for me. I feel nauseous just writing about them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Ya'll haven't mentioned my absolutely favorite bug: The Firefly! :) I had no idea this was a southern thing until I posted a video of my kids chasing them last summer and an online friend from Oregon was like, amazed! LOL!! See, not all "southern" bugs are bad!!! :D Really? I've seen fireflies living in NY, OH, KY, and IL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Are there any areas without freaky bugs? I want to move again someday and this scares me. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccabillington Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I would trade back all the Texas size bugs in the world not to have to deal with Ticks and Lyme disease here in MA :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Really? I've seen fireflies living in NY, OH, KY, and IL. We saw tons more fireflies when we lived in KY than we've seen here in GA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 We're in VA and have stinkbugs that supposedly smell terrible when you kill them -- but dh and I can't smell them at all! I'm from PA and I would move here again in a heartbeat. Love the pace of life, the friendliness of the people, the natural beauty. And bugs? That's what I have boys for! (The killing of bugs, that is!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnsinkableKristen Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I moved to Texas from Indiana and the biggest things I noticed were the fire ants. It took me YEARS to realize that walking barefoot in your backyard was not something you could do casually here unless you had used lots of preventative measures like fire ant bait and weedkiller. I think I spent the first year in our house here permanently covered in tiny stickers and fire ant bites :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticamethyst Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Don't forget the junebugs. Woke up this morning and found 2 dead junebugs in my sink, not even sure how they got in the house. Ugh, buggy season is here for sure but will take bugs over shoveling and freezing any day. Plus, I have big,strong, bug killing boys.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
journeytolily Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 We saw tons more fireflies when we lived in KY than we've seen here in GA. I grew up in FL, then lived in SC for awhile. As a child, I remember seeing fireflies in Miami. Then they seemed to all be gone. We moved here to MI a little over a year ago, and I was so exited to see fireflies again! I actually thought they might be extinct! As far as living in the South goes, I never want to live there again. Too HOT, for too long, and too many BUGS! Oh, and hurricanes and tornados. And gators. And snakes. Oh, and spiders - I really hate spiders! I have to admit, I love it here in the north. I knew I'd be much cooler, but it was such a pleasant surprise to find out that MI doesn't have many bugs!!! Or gators..or snakes. Once in a while I'll see a spider, but they've been small and not too scary. Veronica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 These stories are nightmarish. I lived in the Baltimore suburbs and rarely saw a bug. Now I live an hour's drive north in PA, and there are a few more bugs (we're in farm country here), but nothing like what is described in this thread. (I did have that run-in with bedbugs back in September, but that was a freaky thing and, hopefully, just a one time thing.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Honey, skip the bugs and come to Lancaster County, PA :) We don't have fire ants, mosquitos, or roaches. If you live in the country, the only thing you will see are mice and centipedes (small ones). If you live in town or the city, you don't even have those. *displaced from Charleston, SC* Yes! Lancaster County or the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia... I have such wonderful memories of time spent in these places. I would love to live in either place. Good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Ya'll haven't mentioned my absolutely favorite bug: The Firefly! :) I had no idea this was a southern thing until I posted a video of my kids chasing them last summer and an online friend from Oregon was like, amazed! LOL!! See, not all "southern" bugs are bad!!! :D :iagree: The first summer after we were married, my husband and I were taking a lovely evening stroll. All of a sudden, the fireflies started lighting up. My husband said, "What was that? Over there! Again! Again!" He started running around, shouting and laughing all over the place. He's a big man, but that evening, he was like a little kid set free on the last day of school. It was hilarious. All my life, growing up in New Jersey, catching fireflies was a summer ritual. My husband grew up in California. He had heard of fireflies, but had never seen them. He was so impressed at how I caught them and handled them. We still laugh about that every summer now, as we watch the girls run around the lawn in bare feet, catching fireflies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 Are the bugs really this big? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Yes. I grew up in Florida - don't google banana spiders. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 Yes. I grew up in Florida - don't google banana spiders. :001_smile: Compelled, we did. LOL! We are never moving to FL! :lol: My girls are all running around screaming.... :willy_nilly::willy_nilly::willy_nilly: My husband says, "One more reason we're staying in Jersey." :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciyates Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 All the talk of fire ants, blood sucking mosquitos and flying roaches makes me miss home! That saying knee high to a grass hopper takes on a whole new meaning when you realize how big we grow 'em down south. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhjmom Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Are the bugs really this big? Ummm, when I was about 12, my cousins and I caught a giant centipede larger than that. We had to use a stick to keep knocking it down off the side of the 5-gallon bucket we were carrying it in because it was long enough to push itself all the way up to the top (and still have its hind-section on the bottom of the bucket for support). Not the smartest stunt of my childhood... There is a plateau on the way to our family ranch that is infested with tarantulas at certain times of the year. Driving down the road at 60 MPH you can see daylight between their bodies and the ground. You also feel them crunch under the tires. :tongue_smilie: Mom would never stop and let me catch one... A scorpion came up the drain into the bathtub with me one time. Fire-ants are actually imported but have taken over much of the South. They are nastier than just about all our native critters combined. I hate fire-ants. My natural remedy is to pour Malt-o-Meal around their bed; they eat it and puff up and explode. It takes a few applications sometimes but I don't like to use poisonous chemicals on my yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeFe Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 In Georgia we had poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, ticks, ants, termites, mosquitoes, and gnats. Oh, and carpenter bees...ugh, I hated those things! We now live in Indiana and I rarely see bugs in the house. Of course there are some outside but nothing major. I miss the south this time of year when we have yet to hit 60 degrees and they're already picking flowers in their flip-flops. In a few weeks they'll be BAKING in heat and humidity and battling bugs and I'll be outside barefoot in my grass playing corn-hole with the kids - without bug spray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Suddenly, living in the frozen north (Edmonton, Alberta) seems to have its benefits...:willy_nilly::willy_nilly::willy_nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Being in a military family, I have lived in a lot of places. Florida where we lived wasn't bad about bugs. We lived in Brevard County on the East Coast (SPace Coast) and lived on the barrier island. There were love bugs twice a year but that was just bad for cars, not biting anyone. The last season we were there, there were very few so I was thinking maybe some animal had decided to finally eat them. They are only for a few days though. We saw only a few Palmetto Bugs. No ant problems, no particular spider issues, no other weird bugs and less mosquitos than here in VA, even though the original name of the county was Mosquito County and the first Spanish explorers were so attacked, they buried everything but their heads in the sand to sleep. They do a wonderful job of mosquito abatement and the DC area would be wise to learn about it. Now where we may be living next sounds more frightening- hilly AZ where javelinas come down and the most poisonous type of scorpion is the most common intruder into homes. Other fun things there are rattlesnakes, coral snakes, Gila monsters, killer bees, and I am sure I am leaving out some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 While living outside Atlanta, my husband took me to visit his parents in south Georgia. We saw a rattlesnake...my first ever. When we got back home, I found a scorpion in my newly washed laundry. I killed it and took it to throw in the outside garbage can, not wanting it in my house for a second longer. Opened the trash can lid and there looking back at me was a black widow. We moved to northern Illinois about a year later. When we had the first bat in our house, I just reached up and grabbed it and took it outside. After the critters in the south, a bat was no big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in Texas Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 There is a plateau on the way to our family ranch that is infested with tarantulas at certain times of the year. Driving down the road at 60 MPH you can see daylight between their bodies and the ground. You also feel them crunch under the tires. :tongue_smilie: Mom would never stop and let me catch one... I need to know where this plateau is. I have to avoid it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 We moved from NH (and its terrible winters) to NC, and I've yet to regret it. Sure there are different bugs here, but they are tolerable, and as others have said, investing in a monthly bug service helps immensely. Learn what is dangerous (brown recluses and black widows) before you come, and you will be fine. I HATE spiders, but the quality of life and great weather I've gained by moving completely surpasses the off-chance of seeing the spiders. As for mosquitoes, we were eaten alive in NH all the time, and we couldn't do anything in the evenings without bug spray. I can't remember the last time I put on bug spray since moving here. There are fire ants, but they are easily avoidable since their mounds are very recognizable. I couldn't handle going north again... no way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbt1294 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I'm a native North Carolinian and I detest bugs. I think it just depends on where you live. 4 years ago we were closer to the coast (45 min) and the roaches were aweful! Those flying cockroaches are HUGE!!! People say they aren't roaches, BUT THEY ARE!!! Now we live in northern part of the state and we have Black Widows. I don't see them in the house, but in the garage. At least they are easy to kill! Has anyone mentioned the Cow Ants aka Cow killers or velvet ants??? Those are fun! Sometimes they are so big they look like a rubber toy! They aren't really ants at all, but wingless wasps. STAY AWAY from those. But, even with the detestable bugs, I still LOVE NC!!!! Especially the Mnts!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbt1294 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Ohhh I'm really starting to miss FL now!! The bugs down there aren't as bad or as big as the bugs in SC. I grew up in FL, so I'm use to all those creepy crawlies. But in SC, we were driving down the road, and a huge green grasshopper jumped on the windshield. HUGE! In FL, you never see them bigger than an inch. THIS ONE WAS MASSIVE. We have these cricket things that love the bathroom areas here. They jump at you too!! Those things make me scream!! The ants are horrible here in SC. If you run the water hose during the summer, you can actually watch the ground come to life with ants. I thought they would drown, nope!!! In FL, the ants run from water. The things I've seen here...yuck!! I'd rather be in FL with the palmetto bugs, hurricanes, and those wonderful alligators any day!! And some one posted about the gator calling....I know that mama call....in FL you teach your kids to watch for that sound, cause that means there are babies, which means mama is very near by. Just like you teach your kids to listen out for the sound of the rattler. Oh I can't wait to get back to FL!!! :) LOL Oh yeah I forgot about the Camel Crickets!!! I hate those things too! Totally harmless, but AAAAAAAAHHH!!! They JUMP!!!!! I used to call them Spider Crickets. They look really spidery!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMomof4 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Ummm, when I was about 12, my cousins and I caught a giant centipede larger than that. We had to use a stick to keep knocking it down off the side of the 5-gallon bucket we were carrying it in because it was long enough to push itself all the way up to the top (and still have its hind-section on the bottom of the bucket for support). Not the smartest stunt of my childhood... There is a plateau on the way to our family ranch that is infested with tarantulas at certain times of the year. Driving down the road at 60 MPH you can see daylight between their bodies and the ground. You also feel them crunch under the tires. :tongue_smilie: Mom would never stop and let me catch one... A scorpion came up the drain into the bathtub with me one time. Fire-ants are actually imported but have taken over much of the South. They are nastier than just about all our native critters combined. I hate fire-ants. My natural remedy is to pour Malt-o-Meal around their bed; they eat it and puff up and explode. It takes a few applications sometimes but I don't like to use poisonous chemicals on my yard. True story here - this summer my sister and I were driving down the highway in W. Texas while all the tarantulas were crossing the road. I don't know why they do it, but about 4pm they are all over the road. I thought it would be great to stop and catch one to show my kids. I pull over, get the little cooler out of the back of the car and pick up a smashed can to flip the giant spider into the cooler. The d*(& thing flipped over onto my foot. I threw the can one direction, the cooler another and ran screaming down the road. Luckily, no one was on the road at this particular time - they would have crashed while laughing at me. My sister calmly picked up the cooler, flipped the stupid bug in and closed the lid. Eventually I got back in the car - the kids weren't that impressed, but we do call freak out dances the "Tarantula Twist" now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 True story here - this summer my sister and I were driving down the highway in W. Texas while all the tarantulas were crossing the road. I don't know why they do it, but about 4pm they are all over the road. I thought it would be great to stop and catch one to show my kids. I pull over, get the little cooler out of the back of the car and pick up a smashed can to flip the giant spider into the cooler. The d*(& thing flipped over onto my foot. I threw the can one direction, the cooler another and ran screaming down the road. Luckily, no one was on the road at this particular time - they would have crashed while laughing at me. My sister calmly picked up the cooler, flipped the stupid bug in and closed the lid. Eventually I got back in the car - the kids weren't that impressed, but we do call freak out dances the "Tarantula Twist" now. I cannot grasp the concept of intentionally getting out of a car to try to catch a tarantula. But this story is really funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tagglelim Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Ooooooooooooo....the palmetto bugs and banana spiders. Memories that still cause my spine to chill. We dealt with them so much that we decided to make it interesting. :tongue_smilie: Living in Savannah, we would find at least 5 palmetto bugs in our apartment each day. My poor husband got tired of hearing me shriek like a banshee and purchased the BEST thing ever - a bug vacuum. From a lovely 3ft away, one can suck up a bug and thoroughly electrocute it. Even better, I had my HUSBAND use my gift so that I might stand on the sofa and avoid shrieking altogether. Then Mr. Spider came. She parked herself outside our living room window and grew to the size of our hands. Yes, our HANDS. Since she set up shop and since we had sooooooo many palmetto bugs, we decided we might as well feed her. It became a great pastime. We would spot a palmetto bug and spring into action! My husband would grab the vacuum and suck the bug without using the electricity. My daughter and I would run to the window to get ready for the show. A minute later my husband would appear by the web and use the vacuum to fling the bug onto Mr. Spider's home. WHAM!!!! The poor bug didn't even have a chance - Mr. Spider would be sucking it's guts before it even fully landed on the web. Apart from the major ICK factor, it was kind of cool. :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Y'all are creeping me out! Given the choice between flying bugs in the South and snow in the North, I'd choose southern California and avoid them all. When we lived there we didn't have screens on our windows because there just aren't many flying bugs. No snow either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Um. It's amazing what you can get used to over a few years... ;) So true. It's really not that bad. We've learned some lessons- kids have been attacked by fire ants when walking through the park and a neighbor's yard and the ants bit their exposed skin because they were wearing sandals. And I sat in the sandbox at the park with my kids and literally had ants in my pants once. Those fire ants sting! I even have small scars on my toes. Now we really look before we sit. And fire ant bites aren't as bad as childbirth. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 And fire ant bites aren't as bad as childbirth. :lol: Black widow bites though? Just about even. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Black widow bites though? Just about even. :glare: Yikes! I'm hoping not to come across one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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