Re: water bugs
> I've never heard of anything called "water bug" that would be crawling
> around in the garden, not living in the water, so I can't help you there.
> Might I ask, though, why you've decided that they must be eradicated?
> Have you seen them eating anything, or seen the results of their
> feasting, or what? If there's no indication that they're actually doing
> any harm, there's really no reason to kill them, is there?
>
> Sorry, but I get edgy at the immediate response of "How do I kill it?"
> whenever someone sees an insect or similar creature.
>
> Dean Sliger
> Warren, Michigan, USA
Oh, Dean. Trust me, if you ever saw a Water Bug (highly unlikely to see
just one - if you see one, there's certain to be thousands) , your first
thought would be of how to dispose of it (and not necessarily humanely -
"splat!"). They're called water bugs because they thrive in damp and wet
situations and can travel through plumbing. They look like steriod-eating
and iron-pumping cockroaches; they're at least triple the size of an average
cockroach, and I swear that they get much bigger. I lived in New Orleans
most of my life, and before one went to bed, it was always wise to dump a
bit of bleach down the sinks to keep the things from making their way into
the house through the plumbing. With the high ceilings (14 foot on average)
in some of the older homes it was a gymnastic trial to try and kill one of
the things if it did make it into the house. Oh, did I mention that they're
giant, FLYING cockroaches??? And they will fy straight for you for some
reason. As for damage, they will chew on tender plants, but the real
concern is disease and filth, not to mention the Yuck Factor (try having a
dinner party with one of these loathesome things banging around). A sure
fire way to find out if you have them is to let the dog pee on the kitchen
floor, turn out the lights, and leave the room for five minutes. If you
have them, they'll be in the dog urine. I only tell you this to illustrate
how filthy they are. BTW, some friends of mine discovered this while house
training a puppy. I ended up with the puppy for a week while they had the
place fumigated.
A horrific aside:
I live outside of Buffalo, NY now, and do/did a lot of volunteer work for
the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. The place is infested with
the things since it is the perfect environment for them. BTW, they're also
called Palmetto Bugs, since, in the wild they thrive in Palmetto Palms, and
it's certain that they were introduced to the Botanical Gardens via an
infested Palm. Anyway......every Easter they do the usual Easter Bunny and
egg hunt at the Botans for the kiddies. One of the County workers will don
an Easter Bunny outfit that has been stored in a basement closet. Well, I
arrived at the Botans one day while the event was in progress, and noticed
that Mr. Bunny was all but banging against the walls and barely able to
hop/walk a straight path. I asked the director of the Botans if they had to
get the worker "lubricated" before he'd humiliate himself by putting on the
costume. He became concerned and made a few inquiries. Turns out that when
the worker took the costume out of storage it was i-n-f-e-s-t-e-d with Water
Bugs, so he (the worker) sprayed it heavily with a pesticide. I didn't know
whether to congratulate the worker for his efforts, so that the children
wouldn't be dissapointed, or submit his name to those who are responsible
for the Darwin Awards.
Keith, WNY zone 5
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