What Household Pest Intruder Freaks You Out The Most?

[arwalden]

Poll question: What Household Pest Intruder Freaks You Out The Most?

You know... the ones that just make your skin crawl and that sends shivers down your spine. The ones that would make you flee into another room before you summon the courage to confront the beast (with poison, traps, nets, swatters, firearms, flame-throwers, or pointy-toed boots).

Which ones trouble you the most?


-- Allen


edit: deleted "Crickets" (zero votes) added Centipedes/Scorpions, added Bees/Wasps, combined Roaches and Palmetto Bugs.

[Bunny]

1. Boy, you're up EARLY this morning!!

Me too, and I'm off work today! Gotta get the kids to school.

Your poll? Mice/Rats get me every time. I have an inexplicable and irrational and paralyzing fear of those little fuckers.

[arwalden]

5. You're Correct...

... I had to drop the husband off at Washington National this morning for a bright-eyed flight to Omaha, by way of Chicago.

-- Allen

Mice/Rats was my choice. The last time we had a little field mouse in the house I got the vacuum cleaner and sucked the little bastard inside (once I got him cornered). --- Amazingly, he survived the ordeal and I set him free in the woods behind the house. Lucky him... if I hadn't caught him that day, it would have been good old fashioned spring-loaded wooden mousetraps to take care of things overnight.

[Shadder]

2. Had to vote "other"

You did not offer my Mother-In-Law as a choice.

[arwalden]

13. But I *DID* Include "BATS"... That's Pretty Close!

:hi:

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

3. Centipedes!!!!!!!

I can kill them if I have no other choice, but I prefer to summon Hizzoner.

Great beasty killer, especially when they're beyond reach: Pledge Grabbit or Swiffer sweeper. Lets you keep your distance. :scared:

[arwalden]

4. Never Had One Inside My House...

... so it didn't occur to me to include them. But I've seen pictures of those wild wiggly walkers on one of the nature channels... and INDEED THEY ARE freakishly frightening. WAY too many legs to grab on to ya if you get too close.

Yuk! Get it off of me!

-- Allen

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

10. Round these parts they are indoors

Big brown suckers with long legs...they favor cool damp basements in old buildings, and when it gets humid outside they come out and stretch their legslegslegslegslegslegslegs.

And then I kill them. Bastards.

[wickerwoman]

6. I'm the first vote for roaches?

I had a four inch one in my kitchen a few months back. It wasn't a roach, it was Rojilla. I ate out for the next three weeks. It's not just that they look evil, it's the noise they make bouncing off a teakettle on their way to ripping out your throat.

Fortunately, all the one's I've seen since then have been dead ones. I have six roach motels in my kitchen and I spray the floor every month.

[arwalden]

9. The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach?? (Warning, Pic Inside)

[Dogmudgeon]

7. Hornets

Every year, at least one manages to get into the house. This year, we're working on Number Four right now. Well, the first Killing Frost (which usually gets them all) is supposedly right around the corner.

--bkl

[arwalden]

11. I've Had One Or Two Opportunistic Ones Fly Inside...

... but fortunately, I've never had them take up residence inside. It's bad enough when I discover a wasp nest underneath the eave of the garage!

There was a story I read recently about someone who discovered a huge-ass beehive in their attic (or walls). It was so large (and full of nectar) that it was leaking through the wallboard and its weight was risking structural damage to the house! Amazing!

-- Allen

[Dogmudgeon]

26. Monster Beehives

They're more common than you'd believe. Every couple of years, one of them is in the news.

Some years ago, I read that a huge colony of Africanized "Killer bees" made a nest like this, which is especially unusual, since the nests of "Killer bees" are normally small. The nest was discovered after several people had been swarmed and hospitalized.

It's easy to get an infestation of wasps/hornets, too. I had relatives who bought a house with one whole room closed off and the door sealed shut with a couple layers of packing tape. It turned out that hornets had found their way into the attic when one of the roof's eves broke off, and the entryway to the attic was through that room. The exterminators found quite a number of active and abandoned nests, and estimated that it had been infested for years. The previous owners were elderly and poor, and probably lacked the money and the desire to deal with it properly.

Between the hornets in my house and the yellow jackets that were seen in Nunavut this summer, thre's been a little too much stinging-insect news for my liking. But winter is coming.

--bkl

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[lakemonster11]

8. Ants

I've moved now, but in my last apartment I was waging this war against an army of enemy ants that was ravaging my kitchen. I would get out the supplies to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and before I would even get the peanut butter onto the bread, there would be hundreds---if not thousands---of tiny little ants swarming all over the counter!

Mice are okay---the only ones I've ever had in my house were little black field mice. I don't like finding their droppings, though, and I don't like having to kill them, even when I know it's necessary. I chased one out the door once, and my dad used to catch them in bags and take them outside. He said it impressed my mom.

Rats are incredibly nasty---there was one in my Latin class a few months ago! They're greasy and have nasty rat tails and evil little noses. They can jump like monkeys!

[Swamp Rat]

12. Giant flying cockroaches here in New Orleans.

Any extermination method is fine but flame-throwers are best.

[Misunderestimator]

14. Snakes

Had a big black snake almost get in the house last year... My cat was playing with the damn thing on the lanai... no clue how it got in since it's screened in. He was throwing it up in the air... I thought it was a belt or something. Went over to see what the cat was playing with, and it slithered fast toward me... scared the crap out of me. With heart beatly wildly, I took a broomstick and ushered it out the door. I've seen it many times since then (from the outside) when the cat rushes the screen and it slithers away. "Good kitty..."

I've been up since 5 myself... damn lawn mowers.

[LizW]

15. I'm irrational about bats

I know they're harmless (well, rabies issues aside), and that they supposedly eat their weight in mosquitos, but they're just horrifying to me.

Those little eyes, the little claws, those little bones inside the membraneous wings ------AAAACCCKKKKKKKK!

[Donkeyboy75]

16. Earwigs.

They're ugly little fuckers.

[DemWitch]

45. Havta agree...

most disgusting little critters on the planet...

[Bark Bark Bark]

17. I Got You All Beat

BEDBUGS.

God, my old apartment building was infested. They crawl over you as you sleep (and sometimes when you're awake) and suck your blood. They crap blood on your books and clothes, and their crap has a sickly-sweet raspberry-like odor that is unmistakable once you've smashed one of the little bastards between your fingers.

Sad story: ran into a nice little old lady in a drug store...who REEKED of bedbugs. She probably had no idea. What can you do? "Come with me, Grandma, we're gonna spray you down..."

When I moved, I packed everything myself, and dropped moth balls into each box I packed. The boxes remained closed for four months--just to ensure I didn't bring the little bastards with me alive.

Oh, how they tried. Pulled a couple of electronics out of their boxes early, and caught about four of the creeps as they came out over the next couple of days and tried to make a meal of me.

I am bug-free at last. (Well, bedbug-free. Tiny little spiders in the bathroom and window. No problem. Welcome, little fellers--the enemy of my enemy is my friend.)

Funny story: searching for information about bedbugs led me to...FreeRepublic.com! Guess who the freeptards think is responsible for the spread of bedbugs across America?

"Immigants! I knew it was dem! Even when it was the bears, I knew it was dem!"
--Moe

[Quetzal]

18. CENTIPEDES!!!!!

And I have had a first hand experience with them!!!!

Here in Hawaii, you will find at least one in your house once a year.

The one I was bit by looked exactly like this one



You will be out of commission for at least a week to two weeks if you ever suffer from its bite.

[Skittles]

19. fleas

If I feel a solitary flea bite I will go nuts and flea-bomb my apartment like there is no tomorrow.

[arwalden]

21. Oh, I Completely Forgot About Fleas!!

Too late to add them to the poll... but that's definitely a bad one. When I lived in Florida, we had a horrid flea infestation. In the house, lawn, sandy areas... we ended up having to fumigate AND spray the carpet as well as spray "Rid-A-Bug" concentrate all over the lawn.

Funny thing: The "Rid-A-Bug" concentrate was especially labeled "for fleas"... but it was the exact same ingredients as "for roaches and waterbugs".

-- Allen

[Skittles]

23. haven't had a flea infestation in quite some time

but lord, it's a major problem when it happens. And those little f***ers pack a MEAN bite. :o

[Misunderestimator]

20. Oh yeah... and when I was growing up in TX... scorpions

Woke up one morning when I was 12 or so with one staring at me from my chest. I flung that critter clear across the room... while screaming bloody murder.

I often found them trapped in sinks or bathtubs... you'd know by all the clicking noises they make trying to crawl up the sides to get out... which they couldn't seem to do. Click click click click click click click click click .... ick.

[arwalden]

22. I've Only Had Those Mini Scorpions When I Lived In FL...

but even then, they only infested certain dry areas of a greenhouse.

Actually, I'm not sure if they were "mini" scorpions or just juvenile scorpions, but they were albino-looking. Kind of a creme off-white color.

Bugs! Hate 'em!

-- Allen

[slappypan]

24. bears

I live in Upper Michigan.

[LWolf]

25. bush campaigners/voters.

Telemarketers, door-to-door salespeople and "witnesses."

Insects and reptiles don't bother me.

[Bonhomme Richard]

27. Jehova Witnesses.................LOL

[artboy]

28. hahahaha

Yup I'd have to agree with ya!!!

Jehova's scare me too!

[CO Liberal]

42. I Was Gonna Say That, Too

Last Saturday, there was a knock on my front dor - I opened it so see two men with Bibles. Before they had a chance to say anything, I said, "We're not Christians - we're not interested - go away!"

And I closed the door.

[medeak]

65. Mormon missionaries

def more frightening.

Found out that if you visit temple in SLC and if you sign someone else's name (like someone you hate) a visit will be made upon them.

[kick-ass-bob]

29. Those big fuckin' wood roaches!!

nasty lookin' and fast! I know they aren't the nasty ones, but they are not what you want to see dropping in from the fan in the bathroom!

[latebloomer]

30. Mice and rats need to be in separate categories

Rats totally repel and terrify me. I have recurrent nightmares about rats, although-- thank Goddess- I have never encountered one in my house.

Mice? Small, relatively harmless, and my fat tomcat makes short work of them.

[mosin]

31. Roaches

They freak my wife out and she makes me kill them. :)

[Carson]

32. Cave (Camel) Crickets

This nasty critters resemble a field cricket that's been exposed to massive doses of radiation. An albino-looking cross between a cricket and a spider. *shudder*

I lived in a house that was INFESTED with them.

[curse10]

33. Mice and rats just don't bother me at all

I think they are cute.

But anything creepy crawly? Blech!!!!!!! Especially cock roaches (luckily I've never had one in my house).

[Lavender Brown]

34. my roommate

:P (j/k)

[noonwitch]

35. Mice and rats, although I've never had rats

I see huge rats in Detroit all the time. I saw one downtown one time that was bigger than my cat. Ick.

I had mice in my old house until I got a cat. Then I had a couple of dead mice, and never saw another mouse again. She's a little cat, but is an efficient killer of mice and centipedes.

Spiders have never bothered me. They eat bugs, after all.

[cmf]

36. We only get two types (knock on wood) at our house

Yellow jackets and spiders. I can handle the spiders, but yellow jackets freak me the hell out.

[scarlet_owl]

37. Earwigs! I hate fucking earwigs!

Spiders, too, but they aren't that big of a problem.

[bif]

38. Lenny Kravitz--I fuckin' hate Lenny Kravitz

when he invades my home!

[skygazer]

39. Nobody's said silverfish?

They're gross. Roaches are very gross but I don't get them here (when I lived in Alabama, I had huge monster roaches).

I'm not squeamish at all but silverfish give me the creeps.

[Tafiti]

40. I admit it, I'm afraid of spiders.

[qnr]

41. Scorpions & Tornados (OK sux)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

48. I know...

:hug: We'll get throught it together.
Duckie

[sundog]

43. Psycho killers with a mask & butcher knife. They really suck...

[Magrittes Pipe]

47. Allen specifically said "intruders."

You INVITED me in. It's on your shoulders, brother.

[sundog]

49. OK, just clean up some of the blood on your way out

I don't want to have to do everything

[Magrittes Pipe]

50. You get to eat the guy, and I have to clean up?

Asshole.

[arwalden]

61. Okay... You Guys Are Starting To Creep Me Out.

:hi:

[Magrittes Pipe]

62. You opened the door, Allen.

We just walked in.

[CBHagman]

44. As one who's dealt with squirrel and mouse invasions...

...I would take the squirrel any day. At least you see them coming and can call the animal control people to intervene. It's hard to shift a squirrel, though; they can climb over anything and anybody.

But dirty rodents -- UGH. Once they're there, you have to deal with them. I'd rather not let them in in the first place.

On edit: Having lived in South Carolina, I have too much experience with the palmetto bug/cockroach. They are like bad houseguests who won't leave, and they are like Rasputin, in that you have to kill them several times.

In fact, there have been too many pests in my life, Republicans included. :-)

[GingerSnaps]

46. Assholes that show up at my door unannounced

:evilgrin:

Centipedes :scared:

[BiggJawn]

51. Cops.

I'd rather have cockroaches crawling on me than cops busting in...

[Blue-Jay]

55. Does that happen a lot, John?

Maybe you should move.

[BiggJawn]

63. No, no roaches, either....

Nor mice....Now, spiders? Oh, HAY-ell, yes we got spiders! But they don't bother me, and they eat every other little critter that comes in on the houseplants...

[Gothic Sponge]

52. FReepers!

[Downtown Hound]

53. Bill O'Reilly

Every so often he used to invade my house via the TV screen, like Poltergeist. Nasty bastard, and incredibly obnoxious.

[Xithras]

54. Foxes, they kill cats

A number of years back I had the misfortune of finding three cats ripped apart on my back lawn three days in a row. I thought it was a dog or a sick neighbor (I was having some neighbor problems at the time), but when I called an SPCA investigator out they found a hole that a fox had dug under my house. The investigator told me that fox invasions really aren't that uncommon in this part of California, and that he probably handled one or two pet kills a week caused by them. Still, it was kind of depressing when they ended up having to put the thing down.

[HalfManHalfBiscuit]

56. The undisputable champion - Potato Bugs

http://www.potatobugs.com/

A friend of mine had these fuckers in his house in Auburn, CA. Some get as big as a small mouse.

[mockmonkey]

57. Centipedes!

They are nasty and quiet and when I used to smash them (B/F won't let me anymore) the legs would keep dancing around.

We've have rats and mice as pets and I think they are cute. I wouldn't care to see any wild rats roaming around here though. And I've worked in places where there were mice running up the walls and that does take away from the cuteness factor.

No scorpions around here and I know I would hate them even more than centipedes.

My B/F just got some Hermit Crabs as pets and I really am trying to like them...but ewww they are just too spidery? looking.

[flamingyouth]

58. Mice or rats for sure

I can't even bear the thought.:scared:

[yardwork]

59. Black Widow Spiders

They live in our crawl space. They get in our garage. One came in the house during an ice storm. Ugly bulbous shiny things with nasty legs.

Ugh.

[WoodrowFan]

60. camel back crickets

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[terrya]

64. Crabs. I hate them. HATE them!

[donheld]

66. Occasionally i used to find Centipedes in my place

the freek the bejesus out of me.:nuke:

[geniph]

67. My stepsons' friends

nasty, smelly, noisy things!

[Lady Effingbroke]

68. this one...

This common pest is difficult to completely eradicate from your household, since it has sunk its slimy tentacles so deeply into every dank recess of society; however, skillful manipulation of the TV remote and careful filtration of rightwingnut "nooze" orifices may limit infestation...:scared: