If they didn’t fly it wouldn’t be as bad – if they weren’t so huge. I’m frightened of these creatures you see because I did see one fly across the room once. Clear across. I thought it was an urban legend that water bugs did this. It’s something to see — all ten pounds of, bug.
They engorge themselves with water and can’t move so they stay in one place for quite a while giving you the opportunity to kill them. But I just stand there petrified, poised with a container to put over there heads, afraid they’ll see me coming, leap up and fly in my eye. I don’t want to squash them because they’re so big that they have guts like people, which is gross. So, I stand there crying — as I did last year when I found one in the tub. I stood at the edge of the door with a container moving forward slightly but I couldn’t do it. I stood there 20 minutes before tip toeing away to get the phone to call — who? The police? I’m serious. I started balling when it began twitching. “I’m calling the police!” I screamed, picking up the phone realizing then how ridiculous this would be. I settled on calling the super.
The night before one scurried from behind the book shelf, and just lay there – engorged. THEY ALWAYS DO THIS! I did my routine of getting a container to put on top of it. I usually put the container on it and leave them in there until the super gets here to throw it away or until I get the courage to slide a cardboard under it to carry it to the garbage bins six flights down. Once I left it under the container for a week until I was SURE it was dead. Every day I came home from work and kicked at it to see if it still moved. But the night before last the engorged creature fled behind the book shelf before I got the guts to trap it – I always stand there staring at it first, sometimes crying, sometimes not. These are the times I miss my boyfriend being here. He was good for killing critters.
There was a piece of my kinky hair on the floor not far from where the bug had been which made me think of Gregor Samsa, that poor bastard from Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis who woke up in bed to find he had morphed into a large bug. At one point he starts collecting dust if I remember correctly. I thought of this creature behind my shelves with a trail of dust and kinky hair on its hind parts.
I think Gregor Samsa is dead now. But I know he has friends and that they love the humid Manhattan air. I sprayed the crap out of the area behind the shelves and have the can still by the sofa. Gregor Samsa, if you’re still alive, get ready to die.
I’d rather have a mouse. I know they’re rodents but they’re mammally, like one of Paris Hilton’s dogs. They’re like little Disney creatures peering out from inside of your favorite pink coffee cup. I wonder if they eat bugs?
1800ukillme 
Roaches, fleas and lice – totally skeeve me out…
All the rest ~meh~
If I weren’t scared of crowded cities, I’d take the train in and kill them bugs for ya.
That’s so sweet Tham! Thanks for the sentiment. Indeed, crowded cities, bugs, roaches, fleas and lice, oh my!
This one had me cringing and wincing, Sandee. Vivid recollections of the waterbugs I used to get in my old tenement building. I felt like I needed a gun to kill those things. I seriously have goosebumps right now. Well done.
A gun! 😆 Why didn’t I think of that?! Sorry to creep you out — I’m trying somehow to help myself get over this fear. I thought of having the exterminator pay me a special visit with a super strength formula, but then I thought, I don’t want dead ones hanging around either — oh boy!
It just so happens that I had to make a special trip to Wal-Mart tonight to get Roach Spray. I opened up my kitchen closet to find to look for a hammer, not knowing I was going to have to use it to kill creepy crawlies.
Oh crap! Creepy crawlies sounds too cute a word to describe that thing that was in here two days ago! Lol!
I’ll trade ya: I’ll give your bugs the heave ho and you get the mouse out of my kitty’s mouth…have we got a deal?
That sounds like a plan! 🙂
I’ll take bugs over little Disney mice any day. You don’t feel as guilty when you kill a tiny bug, and when a mouse dies I just don’t know what to do! Where do you dispose the body?
Good question. I’ve never killed a mouse before — I just caught one in a box and let him free outside. People just throw them in the trash — blegh!!
Oh dear. When I read the title, my curiosity was pique. Then my eyes caught the words “fly” and “huge”. That’s all I needed to know not to keep reading.
Hate those things. I bothers me greatly that should the human race start a global nuclear war, the only living things left in the planet would be them. Nasty things.
So happy we don’t have them in Canada. Yes, I chose my country well
You don’t have these in Canada — I might have to move to Canada if Gregor Samsas continue visiting me. I would rarely see them before. The first ten years here, never, then maybe every other year. In the last three years every summer I see two or three.
shudder… In Colombia, they’re HUGE and they’re everywhere.
I’ve heard that you can see them occasionally in the more southern cities, in buildings that are not well kept but they are very small. I’ve never seen any in Ottawa
I pray you never do! I’m glad they don’t make frequent appearances in my pad!
In SC, when we lived there, they had HUGE palmetto bugs (they look like prehistoric gi-normous roaches). I hate these things!! But a mouse, I can’t deal. I’d have to go for the bug over the rodent, Sandee. Ew.
Whenever these bug monsters appear, thank goodness not too often, initially sometimes I think it’s a mouse — they’re so big. I think I’ve seen the palmetto bugs you mentioned.
Auntie Sandor,
There used to be a great band by the name of Gregor Samsa. I shit you not.
Le Clown
You remind me that I want to Youtube them.
Oy gevalt! I couldn’t find you in the crowd without greasepaint. However, you look well I must say.
When my dad lived in Houston, he said the cockroaches were big enough to knock on the door and ask you to let them in. And they flew. Out here, roaches are gross, but not like something from a Japanese monster movie. Next time, stand there and deliberately speak out of sync so that they know what’s going on and can slink back to their secret lair.
I wish I could recommend something. I just finished spraying some ants over here (I hate ants). I do use an eco-friendly spray, with rosemary and peppermint oil. It works and it probably won’t kill you.
He he he! The one in my apartment was of this ilk I think. I have to keep that eco-friendly spray in mind. Thanks!
I tend to be a kingdomist also, in that I prefer mammals to insects and things which creep. And while I’ve never seen a waterbug like you describe (we have something we call waterbugs or ‘waterskippers’, but they’re harmless things that skitter across creeks), I doubt they’re as urine-happy as a rodent.
Oh my ‘urine happy’ — should I be worried? I spoke of my love of mice and a friend said I should beware of the hanta virus — ew!
Oh yeah, and there’s that. I don’t know if it’s made it out to the East Coast yet, but I’m not an epidemiologist, so don’t go cuddling ’em.
It’s a shame because I thought they’d make nice friends if I should ever be lonely — oh me.
I just googled those things. EWWWWW. RAID, anyone?
More like SUPER Raid — 🙂
Yes, they eat bugs. 😉 But, you have to get a bug pointer. Not an Irish Setter or a regular bird dog pointer. A real bug pointer. Problem is, I don’t know where you get ’em. People have them and brag on them all the time, but nobody remembers where he got his.
Well maybe I have to get one of these dogs. Though I was wondering if mice ate them because I like mice and I do have one drop by every now and again.
If you dip him in cheese, the mice will gobble him right up. I have to sewer rats I’ll trade you for the waterbug.
Aghhhh! Uh I dunno sewer rats 😆
No matter what about bugs and mice, your writing is a pleasure. No help from Western Mass, either. Bugs have evolved to live, quite well, among humans. Yuck. twinkly
Thank you TS. I appreciate you saying that.