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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 12:11:08 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 12:11:08 GMT
Here in Louisiana we certainly have our share of the insect kingdom and while some are certainly bothersome (mosquitoes,cockroaches of great magnitude AKA 'palmetto 'bugs) there are many others that take to appearing certain times of year. There are various moths,some small beetles AKA 'june bugs',and other innocuous creepies and crawlies. Last night at our Tuesday potluck at my house,it was a gorgeous evening,I had all the windows and a couple of doors open to enjoy .Well you would have thought I was having auditions for The Hellstrom Chronicles the way some people were behaving.At least three people got up at different times swatting in the air,stomping on the floor,smashing walls.And all that for a few minor harmless bugs.Why the need to kill anything that moves?I tried to ignore best I could but it was really rather comical. Thank god there were a couple of us who shared my sentiments.Are you one of those people who can't stand seeing any bug in your home?(or someone else's home for that matter).
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 12:32:06 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 12:32:06 GMT
Moving from Mississippi to California as I teenager, I was flabbergasted by the reaction of Californians to any sort of insect -- they were terrified of anything on six or eight legs, no matter how harmless. They were also afraid of earthworms.
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 12:55:11 GMT
Post by happytraveller on Apr 29, 2009 12:55:11 GMT
There are very few insects that I kill. Mozzies, wasps when they are inside the house and can't find their way out anymore and extremely big and ugly spiders (inside), as I am scared if I try to catch them they crawl over me. Ugh ! Oh, and those XXXL cockroaches in Australia, if I dare to get close enough. That reminds me of some stories.. *shudder*
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 14:21:49 GMT
Post by spindrift on Apr 29, 2009 14:21:49 GMT
I am at ease with any and all BUGS
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 14:31:37 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 14:31:37 GMT
ALL bugs,spindrift? And please no offense but I am skeptical of your statement. I know that it is within your religious/spiritual philosophy and I mean no disrespect but...ALL bugs?
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 14:51:04 GMT
Post by spindrift on Apr 29, 2009 14:51:04 GMT
This has nothing to do with my spiritual philosophy! I've never minded bugs but to be honest I used to be terrified of worms. My step-sister burdened me with this phobia when I was a child. Over the past 10 years, knowing the power of the mind, I have overcome it and I can now pick up worms without bother. In fact I sometimes do this just to make sure I don't feel aversion!
I positively love spiders. I used to live in a very old farmhouse which had enormous spiders. I've seen big workmen shy away from them! And me when I let them run onto me!
I can pick up mice too if the cat's after them. Only thing is that they sometimes bite out of fright. I've had one swinging off the end of my finger with its little teeth sunk into my flesh. I've had so many tetanus shots on that farm that I can't have any more for the rest of my life.
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 14:54:53 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 14:54:53 GMT
Spiders don't bother me either -- I know that they have no reason to come after me if I leave them alone.
The only bugs that I am wary about (generally in a tropical country) are the ones that I don't recognize. They might have barbs or poison, so I keep away. Something like a cockroach, even a gigantic one, is not a problem.
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 15:15:49 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 15:15:49 GMT
I believe you S.,and am in awe of your lack of squeamishness. I love spiders too and so does Mr. C.,they are very valuable in the greenhouse. When we clean house we refer to it as "disturbing the spiders".Some do take a hit with the vacuum but I put the vacuum cleaner in the greenhouse with the hopes they'll find their way out. Now roaches,that's a whole different story...
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 17:03:12 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 17:03:12 GMT
I did not mean to imply that roaches are welcome in my home. They are not. But I don't mind them outside.
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 23:06:50 GMT
Post by rikita on Apr 29, 2009 23:06:50 GMT
well i kill mosquitos if they are stinging me, or keep constantly flying around me making noise when i try to sleep. but am too lazy to go out of my way to do so... might kill a wasp if i can't convince it to go outside and am scared i might get stung eventually. i do kill ticks that i find on me - it takes some resolve to do so, as it isn't that easy to kill a tick, but i really want to make sure they don't bite me again after i pull them out... find ticks kind of gross...
there are no poisonous insects here fortunately so i am not all that worried about them, though i wouldn't want too many inside my apartment (there are of course flies and spiders and the like occasionally)... when somewhere with poisonous insects, i do get a bit scared, or anyway try to keep away from them...
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Bugs
Apr 29, 2009 23:36:41 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 23:36:41 GMT
forgot about ticks,those I cannot take. Have to be killed,I'm scared to death of them particularly in light of MrC. contracting Erlichiosis in '05. Too scary.
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Bugs
Apr 30, 2009 6:29:06 GMT
Post by happytraveller on Apr 30, 2009 6:29:06 GMT
Roaches can carry a lot of dirty diseases so I was told by many aussies. Not something you want to have in your bedroom.
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Bugs
Apr 30, 2009 9:23:09 GMT
Post by Jazz on Apr 30, 2009 9:23:09 GMT
I don't mind bugs but I prefer them to be in their natural environment and not in my home. We mutually coexist. Spiders don't bother me at all, actually they fascinate me with their web building skills. Bees and ants are also interesting insects. But I hate cockroaches and stomp on one if I see it. (inside) They are a very significent part of our eco system.
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Bugs
Apr 30, 2009 14:23:05 GMT
Post by rikita on Apr 30, 2009 14:23:05 GMT
i once was told that you shouldn't stomp on cockroaches as if it carries eggs you will allow them to spread into your house.
what is erlichiosis? i know of two diseases carried by ticks, but i only know their german names... one is meningitis in english i think (like, the brain inflammation), the other one i know various people who have had it, in most cases it got healed completely, but i know one guy who didn't realize it in time, and he has problems because of it still...
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Bugs
Apr 30, 2009 14:57:46 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2009 14:57:46 GMT
Erlichiosis is one of the deer tick borne illnesses along with Lyme disease that emerged in the last 20 years or so.High fever,exhaustion,body aches that can evolve into all kinds of complications and compromises if gone undetected and un treated.Very scary stuff.
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Bugs
Apr 30, 2009 16:42:17 GMT
Post by rikita on Apr 30, 2009 16:42:17 GMT
i see... well, i get tick bites occasionally, and always get worried though the doctor keeps telling me not to worry... had a tick bite a few weeks ago...
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Bugs
Apr 30, 2009 21:37:50 GMT
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2009 21:37:50 GMT
I think it's fairly regionalized but haven't checked in a long time. Just be careful!
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Bugs
Apr 30, 2009 22:10:31 GMT
Post by rikita on Apr 30, 2009 22:10:31 GMT
well i know that meningitis is regional too, though i have gotten a tick bite once in a region for that... after that i got shots against it...
ah found some articles in google about erlichiosis...
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 6:56:30 GMT
Post by happytraveller on May 1, 2009 6:56:30 GMT
Rikita, re killing ticks, I flush them down the toilet.
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 9:16:34 GMT
Post by rikita on May 1, 2009 9:16:34 GMT
yeah that is what i did, but i wanted it dead before i did that. am paranoid enough to see it crawling back up and biting my ass... so first i crushed it with the tweezers ( pinzette?) i had pulled it out with.
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 9:33:43 GMT
Post by happytraveller on May 1, 2009 9:33:43 GMT
What an imagination Rikita ! *shudder*
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 10:25:55 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2009 10:25:55 GMT
I can relate rikita
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 12:04:28 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2009 12:04:28 GMT
In the Deep South, we had a dog, a really dirty spaniel, who always had ticks. Anyone in the family with nothing better to do would go through his fur and rip them out whenever possible. My brother and I would do it, and sometimes he would yelp and squirm away because it was a painful process -- ticks can be very hard to pull out. But when my mother would do it, he would sit patiently and accept whatever she would do. Then he would lick her hands to thank her for all the work.
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 13:32:24 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2009 13:32:24 GMT
What a wonderful recollection.Do you think your mother would recall this? Last year I found a tick on my dog,naturally took it off,disposed of it. Then I found one on me,did same. I was naturally concerned about an infestation and spoke with vet and another person. Both recommended spraying the yard,house and shed with a pretty heavy duty tick/flea insecticide. I was beside myself as I have an ecosystem going on here that has survived without chemicals for as long as I've been here and I despaired at the thought of the whole thing being decimated. So,I resisted the idea.A friend of mine told me his job growing up with a dog was to pick the ticks off the dog each evening and then I remembered our family dogs on the farm and us having to do same.Thankfully,saw no more ticks and assumed he picked it up on a walk.But the over the top reaction by the vet and others really bothered me and has me wondering just how many people follow that advice and wipe out whole food chains and ecosystems at the sight of ONE tick. Very disconcerting.
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 13:47:37 GMT
Post by happytraveller on May 1, 2009 13:47:37 GMT
Nowadays you can get very good anti tick drops that you put on your dogs back. It lasts for a couple of months and works really well. Our dog had only one or two ticks last season. Without the drops it would have been a hundred probably.
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 14:47:25 GMT
Post by bixaorellana on May 1, 2009 14:47:25 GMT
Frontline. DeltamethrinCasimira, if you've only found a tick or two on the dog, you are wise not to upset the ecology of your environment by over-reacting with chemicals. However .......... for major infestations, I highly recommend the two products above. My Ginger was a street dog & when I first got him, he had a stomach-turning tick attack. I say use the Frontline spray, rather than the spot-on types of tick control. You simply bathe the dog and ruffle his fur the wrong way as you apply the spray. It may well be another year before you find a tick attached to the animal. The other product is in case there are ticks on your property that will re-attack your pet.
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 15:34:55 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2009 15:34:55 GMT
Papi was on the product ADVANTAGE at the time,I was not however. I won't tell where I found the one on me but you can take a wild guess.
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 16:45:07 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2009 16:45:07 GMT
My mother said she had one there once, and back then the best way to get a tick off a human was reputedly to approach a lighted match to it and it would drop off. She said that that solution was out of the question as she would have risked starting a brush fire.
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Bugs
May 1, 2009 21:09:19 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 1, 2009 21:09:19 GMT
Despite my panic at the time I remembered an e mail I had gotten a couple of years ago from a fellow lepidopterist.You apply cotton that been doused/saturated with dish washing liquid and apply. It smothers the tick.It worked. Since then I've heard mineral oil,petroleum jelly will also do the trick. I had only heard about the fire thing before this.Eisch!
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Bugs
May 2, 2009 4:05:38 GMT
Post by hwinpp on May 2, 2009 4:05:38 GMT
Ticks! I burn them with my lighter until they pop. And I feel good!
Otherwise no problem with critters.
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