British Expats - Pet Peeves?

They're tiny. Half an inch would be a big one round my way. Plus they're kind of cute, too, in a sort of eight-legged, spidery way.

I mean, look at it's little face:

Spoiler:

Suppose I should spoiler tag it for arachnophobes :eek:

Nutek

Mar 6th 2017 6:45 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing (Post 12198602)

They're tiny. Half an inch would be a big one round my way. Plus they're kind of cute, too, in a sort of eight-legged, spidery way.

I mean, look at it's little face:

Spoiler:

Suppose I should spoiler tag it for arachnophobes :eek:

Spoiler:

SultanOfSwing

Mar 6th 2017 6:49 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutek (Post 12198603)

Spoiler:

They are remarkably talented.

Steerpike

Mar 6th 2017 7:52 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 12198577)

Good grief...it looks like it spends most of its time at the gym lifting weights. :eek:

On my first visit to Florida I found a huge palmetto bug in the room. The hotel was on the beach...palm trees were outside the window and there was a hole in the bug screen. I sat up all night and checked out the next morning.

During a holiday in Fiji I found a roach the size of a mouse in the bathroom. Hubby said my scream woke everyone in the hotel. I insisted we were moved to a higher floor immediately. I know it's silly to think height will make a difference...but it made me feel better.

In Rarotonga there were geckos running around the room after dark. When complaining I was told they are lucky as they eat the roaches.

I once spent lots of time in Hong Kong on business. On my first visit I had a pool-side room at the Hilton, very upscale (and now demolished, alas - built in 63, demolished 95 ... typical Hong Kong!). I remember a big roach crawling out of the shower vent as I was showering; it flew around for a while before I could kill it. I moved to a more conventional room in the 'tower', and didn't see any more roaches. On a vacation in Hawaii, saw several Roaches in our room and hardly slept ... I just can't come to terms with these things!

Nutmegger

Mar 6th 2017 8:32 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

I spent my very first night in the US at my boyfriend's rathole apartment in the Bronx. I put a glass of water beside the bed as I always do and woke up and took a sip during the night. All these hard things were knocking against my teeth. I turned the lamp on and found the surface of the water completely covered in roaches, merrily thrashing around. Welcome to America!

SultanOfSwing

Mar 6th 2017 8:36 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutmegger (Post 12198679)

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Also, nope.

yellowroom

Mar 6th 2017 9:32 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutmegger (Post 12198679)

That would put me in therapy for years.:scarper::scarper::scarper:

Nutek

Mar 6th 2017 9:37 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutmegger (Post 12198679)

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...xmKHdV8-Ti.gif

tom169

Mar 6th 2017 9:39 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutmegger (Post 12198679)

WTF :blink:

Nutmegger

Mar 6th 2017 9:49 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing (Post 12198683)

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Also, nope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellowroom (Post 12198704)

That would put me in therapy for years.:scarper::scarper::scarper:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutek (Post 12198707)

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...xmKHdV8-Ti.gif

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom169 (Post 12198711)

WTF :blink:

Happily, the boyfriend in question was extremely easy on the eye ;) and I proceeded to live in said roach motel for four years after I moved to the US! :ohmy:

dc koop

Mar 6th 2017 10:27 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutmegger (Post 12198679)

Roaches make good eating. Pop em in the microwave for around 5 seconds. Excellent source of protein

zzrmark

Mar 6th 2017 11:13 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Roaches, centipedes, mantis and the like aren't pleasant but at least they are unlikely to mess you up. I spend a lot of my time under vehicles in my garage so the recent discovery of an 18" Rattler in there was a tad disconcerting..not too sure what happened to it after it disappeared under my tool rack but I haven't seen it again!!!

Recluse and Black Widow spiders are a tad unsettling when you find them in areas you are working in, makes the odd scorpion turning up in the kitchen seem like small fry!!

scrubbedexpat097

Mar 6th 2017 11:27 am

Re: Pet Peeves?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steerpike (Post 12198558)

Oh my ... I believe that is beyond my limit of tolerance! Worst thing I've ever seen here in CA is a 'potatoe bug'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YHxIlKlWfc
similarly 'delicate' if I recall correctly. Haven't seen one in like 15 years ... and I still remember it quite vividly!

I once stayed at a hotel in Matagorda, Texas (near the gulf coast). I had to stay there for several days, and each day massive roaches (I called them texas longhorn roaches!) came in under the door and wandered about my room. I was on the second floor. I bought bug spray and saturated towels in the spray and shoved them into the (big) gap under the door ... with only limited success. One day, one of them flew ... and that just freaked me out even more. I used to dread coming back to the hotel each day. To this day, I avoid tropical / humid places because of these types of bug!

Well your first mistake was staying anywhere in Matagorda:lol: (it's the next county over from where we live)

The flying roaches are known as wood roaches here. They are more common closer to the coast, especially if there are a lot of banana trees or certain palm trees growing close by. And yes, even after 28 years they still freak me out!