Warning: There’s a bug picture in this post!
I’m wondering if I’ll ever get used to the bugs and critters around here. I grew up in southwest Louisiana so it isn’t like I haven’t lived with bugs but the creatures around here . . they’re huge and they scare me.
Monday night when I got in the shower, without my glasses, I reached for my little bath scrubby – those ball things made out of net. Mine is blue. I saw something brown in it. I figured it was mud because sometimes, I do have mud on me when I get in the shower. Thankfully I decided to pick it up and look at it a little better and it was a scorpion. Can you imagine if I’d started scrubbing myself and that thing had stung me?
The next night I went into the bathroom and happened to look up and there was a centipede on the ceiling. Vince was asleep. I wanted to wake him up and tell him I was moving to some place more civilized ask him to come kill it but decided to be a brave little Texan and kill it my own self.
The next evening (yes, this all happened three days in a row and I’m still here!) I went out to the sewing room to get something. As I was leaving, I opened the door, looked down and saw this! OMG! I’m not sure if you get the idea in this picture how big this thing is but it is HUGE! I knew Vince was outside but I wasn’t sure where so I calmly yelled “VINCE! Come to the sewing room!” He heard me and said “What’s wrong?” I said “PLEASE COME TO THE SEWING ROOM!”
He came. He said he had never seen a tarantula so big. He didn’t even think we had them here. Oh, yes, dear! Anything big and scary and deadly . . they have them here! And I think they’ve all moved to the Yellow Jacket Ranch. And besides that . . everything is bigger in Texas. Maybe we should change the name of the ranch to “The Bug Killer Ranch”. Maybe all the critters have gotten the idea that because we’re named “Yellow Jacket Ranch”, that we love bugs. No! We do NOT!
Where is safe? Not in my shower, not in my bathroom, not in my sewing room. Every night I turn the covers back on the bed, I look way down at the foot of the bed to make sure there’s nothing under there. I look under my pillow, I look inside my pillowcase. And even then, I know that some night, there’s going to be a critter in the bed with me and then . . I’ll no longer be a Texan!
Sharon Spingler says
Don’t forget to check your shoes before you put them on. Scorpions love dark places.
Cindy says
Welcome to Texas! I have the same problem just east of Dallas! We’ve also found a copperhead snake had taken residence in the guest bathroom!
Ranch Wife says
Don’t kill the tarantulas! They are very docile and ‘good’ spiders. Promise. Although I would probably scream like a little girl if I found one in my bed. Scorpions and centipedes…have at it.
Erin says
OMG! You are brave! I would need my hubby to AOK my shower every day! And Valium to handle killing bugs! I am petrified of bugs …haha they say God only gives y
Erin says
Oops .. U what u can handle:)
Karin says
EEEK! I hope you check shoes/slippers before you put them on! I think I’d always were flip-flops because you can SEE if there is a creepy crawly in those!!!
Cheryl in Iowa says
Call Orkin…or something along that line….you can’t kill them all, but you should be comfortable in your own home…or shower.
Shirley Albertson Owens (sao) says
Oh my goodness – you do have some TEXAS SIZED BUGS for sure. You are so brave – and still have the energy and strength to have a sense of humor about it!
BE SAFE!
sao in Midlothian, VA
marion morgan says
I have never seen four inch cockroaches until I spent a year in Texas. They told me they were the kind that live in trees, but our apt. building was full of them and they move so fast you jump every time. My dresser had nine drawers and one got in there and we had to removed every drawer to get the sucker because he would move to the next drawer to hide. Like you, I hated taking out my underwears etc. the whole time we were there not knowing what would be hiding underneath. But then there is the good stuff like great wild life.
Dora Scheer says
For about 15 years I’ve used an electronic bug repellent; mine covers as much as 4500 square feet–so when I was in the teacherage it kept bugs out of the place next door too so that they didn’t spray insecticides that would have been harmful to my child. I’m still using it, but now all the ones I’ve seen cover no more area than about one room. Sometimes dogs or cats find them irritating (all the cats around here are outdoors, because my neighbor feeds them, and all the dogs are indoors at other people’s houses). I have actually seen a bug crawl under the door, advance a couple of feet into the room, turn around and leave.
Glenda in Florida says
Sorry about your bug troubles! The story about killing the centipede yourself reminded me of a problem I had to handle in Hawaii. I always had hubby deal with any lizards in the house, but he was away from home. My parents came to visit, and my dad informed me that there was a lizard in the shower. So I had to be the one to catch him and move him outside! I thought that’s something that a daddy would take care of! Guess he thought I was all grown up and should handle it, since it was in my home.
Linda says
Here’s a product every Texan needs to know about – Bengal Roach Spray. Splurge and get the Gold which contains Nylar and prevents a reinfestation of cockroaches for 6 months. I don’t know what it would do for your other bugs and spiders, but I haven’t seen any of those critters around my house! If you have a foundation with weep holes in the brick, spray it in each weep hole. Then treat areas in your house where there is a concern. It is guaranteed to work or your money back. A great product.
Dar in MO says
OMG! I’m not sure I could deal with those kinds of bugs either. I’d be sitting up in a chair all night with bug spray or a swatter in my hand!!! I feel for you.
Peg says
OMG! I applaud you for hanging in with those creatures. Jiminy Christmas! And I *can* imagine what it would’ve felt like if that scorpion had stung you. When we lived in Seguin, I reached into one of the kids’ dresser drawers and something about ripped my hand off – or at least that’s what it felt like. Turns out there was a scorpion hiding in there. That was the most painful sting I’ve ever had in my life – 30-something years ago and I can still remember how it felt. (So I ‘spose the moral is to be careful when digging in drawers and such. Just what you need to hear right now, huh?)
Aren’t those chickens ‘sposed to eat those big bugs? ACK!
Linda in NE says
I’m sure someone has already told you this…..be sure to shake your shoes/boots out before putting them on. A patron in the library today was telling me that somewhere in New Mexico where is brother lives they’re having an infestation of a small black scorpion. Apparently the brother’s already been bitten twice. I’m telling you this just so you know ALL the creepie crawlies aren’t on your place in Texas. 🙂
Anita says
When I lived in El Paso, it seemed as though scorpions thought my house was the place to be. Miss Macy cat hated them, she made sure we knew if one was present and wasn’t happy until it had been taken care of. No tarantulas though!
norma huff says
Judy, we had an occasion to go camping at Brownwood Lake several years ago and after we went to the Ranger Station and saw all the critters that they proudly boasted of having in the park, none of us slept very well or relaxed much.
We went for a drive in the area and saw a tarantula so large that there was no trouble telling what it was from the car. Then later that evening, before dark, we looked over from our campsite toward my sister’s family tent and saw one crawl under their tent. It seemed that every time we looked toward their tent that night we could see her searching with her flashlight.
It was a camping trip that none of us will ever forget.
Fran says
Yikes! You’ve convinced me! Guess I’ll stay put in Mississippi. Black widow spiders and palmetto bugs and all kinds of snakes, but so far, no scorpions, tarantulas or centipedes on the ceiling. Guess there are pros and cons no matter where you hang your hat. Hang in there, and carry a big stick!
Perry says
try putting moth balls around your door frames. That will keep the tarantulas at bay and probably the others as well.
marianne says
I know what you mean about the bugs. After 14 years in Florida, I thought I had seen them all, but this year the spiders are everywhere! I went out back tonight to get the dog inside, and must have gone through about 3 of them. They aren’t little spiders either, I can see them without my glasses on, which is saying something! Ick!
Mary C in WA says
EWWWW, an arachnid! I saw the movie! I don’t like finding little ants in my house or the fruit flies in the summer that come. And I had to confess to the DH what happened when a wasp wasn’t coaxed away from my kitchen window- opps, the broom broke it! Do you have a Big broom for those big ones???
Rhonda says
You too! Oh dear, I just posted about bugs. At least mine are outside so far. Be careful!
Mel Meister says
We found out we had bedbugs 10 weeks ago. Oh yeah… pick up your pillow and see a bug staring back at you. Fun and games! NOT!
There are a few ways we could have been “gifted’ with them, so we’re not sure. We’ve been battling all this time and think they are about finally gone. Bottom line, DO NOT… let family members give you something they bought at Good Will or other Thrift stores!
Then, family members came over declaring they were infested with FLEAS… and guess what?! Decided to SHARE!! I have never been bit up so much in my entire life.
Maybe the key phrase here is “family members”. Grrrrrrrr
Lori in South Dakota says
I hate spiders. That is the one advantage of living in the frigid North–no tarantulas, scorpions, etc. We have rattlesnakes in South Dakota, but I’ve never seen one where I live–they are usually west of the Missouri River. As much as I hate the cold, I hate the spiders and other creepy crawlies even more.
Kate says
OMG! I so would not be able to handle the creepy crawlies! You know if you let your chickens out during the day, they would eat all those things before they got to the house… Carson at the http://www.the7msnranch.com/ in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico can vouch for the wide appitite of her chickens. If they have trees and a shelter, the roosters get pretty smart about warning of hawks… Less work to round up chickens at night than moving!
Youre much braver than I am…
Teri Jordan says
We live in the mountains of California…..we have scorpions and I agree….they are awful. We have Clark’s come on a regular basis and they spray inside….the spray will not harm pets and they also spray around the house. It does deep the bugs and scorpions under control.
Faye says
OMG….do you step on things like that or do you shoot them?!!!
Jill in OH says
Oh no!!! I have seen 1 spider that big that hasn’t been in a zoo and it was in an apartment 12+ years ago. The thing was so large that I could see the hairs on its body from my full height (5’1″) and with really old glasses. It was on the door frame with 2 legs up on the door as if to knock and ask if my doxie at the time could come out and play. And of course, the doofus I was living with could not kill it – it was like a cat and kept moving across the hallway after he stepped on it. Still gives me the willies to think of the episode!!
Doe in Mi says
OMG it would have taken me about a half a second to scream and be running far far away. I don’t know how you just stood there. YIKES!!
carol c says
not a tarantula
its a spider that can hurt you bad
I forget the name, but it is bad
the new format here, I can not see the other responses to see what others said so I dont know if I am repeating it
Bev says
I tried to read the whole post carefully, but I was so nervous my eyes kept jumping around. Altogether, I’ve spent about 8 months in Texas on work assignments. A tarantula squashed in a parking lot almost scared me to death. The scorpion that crossed my path was too quick to scare me until I thought about it later.
I love your wildflowers, but I truly don’t understand how you can live with those critters around.
terri says
Look in your pleats for scorpions. Aint nothing worse than finding one waking up in/on your skirt. You’ve had it on 1.5 hrs by now.
First experience with tarantula, had been sitting under a tree in the pasture for a while with friends, leave in your pickup, hmm what is tickling my neck. Yep. Big as the hand that put it in the floor while screaming.
Denise in PA says
Judy, that spider is bigger than Speck! (I tend to exaggerate when it comes to bugs and spiders.) And, I hate centipedes. Found one in the bed once when I went to make it – sca-ry!!!!