• shalafi@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Second night in Florida I was in my shitty rental room’s bathroom, no lights. I thought there was a bat stuck in there with me. And that’s when I learned what a Palmetto bug was.

    • gws@programming.dev
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      1 day ago

      Palmetto bugs are fine, they don’t bother and if they’re in your house it’s 'cause they got lost. American cockroaches are big enough to be funny to watch and also don’t cause trouble. The smaller German roach is the nasty pest to kill with fire.

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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      2 days ago

      I learned that the worst thing to do is spray a Florida roach with bug spray. Now he’s just pissed at you and looking for revenge.

      I agree with the others. I actually think even the common roach color is pretty and they’re fascinating creatures, it’s how they behave that triggers a primordial panic.

      • MeatPilot@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I was in the Florida Keys sitting on the patio of a restaurant at night. Suddenly I saw a large mouse scuttling along the wall, but then it took flight and my brain went through several stages of “what the fuck”.

        Yeah it wasn’t a mouse.

      • Gustephan@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Context tells me that was probably a joke, but if youre actually having trouble spraying palmetto bugs try spraying them with windex. They actually breath through their carapace, and the surface tension of windex makes it so they almost immediately stop getting oxygen --> stop moving. Gruesome, but you stop thinking about that the first time you wake up to one of those fuckers in your bed

      • kautau@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        It always surprises me when insects I see go like straight for the eyes when I confront them. I don’t know if it’s an instinctual thing but it feels like some part of evolution has gotten into tiny insect brains of like “go for the face for the big boss fights” and it genuinely works