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A Farm of My Own:  What bug really *bugs* you?  |
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Heartbroken farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
604 Posts
Annette
rio vista
Ca
USA
604 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 08:00:11 AM
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Hey ladies. We are landscaping around our pool. Repairing our fence, removing our back lawn for an area to garden, and reviving 7 raised beds in the front yard that have been neglected for 15 years!!! We have been here 11 months already. The grounds were so sadly neglected for years...so much to do! The weeds and fencing are just covered with bugs. They are everywhere, especially snails and slugs!!!!
As long as I can remember, I have just despised theses slimy, nasty things. My skin crawls, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and my tummy gets "wooshy" at the sight of them. Oh, they are so gross!!! The eat the sweet tiny tender leaves of anything you plant, leave that disgusting silvery trail, and are good for nothing bug goose and chicken feed. I HATE SLUGS AND SNAILS!!! Give me snakes, spiders, mice....but please get the snails away from me!!! LOL
*for my DH its crickets. He is fine and un-bothered by everything; until a cricket gets in the house. That chirping. He can't sit still, he can't sleep, he can't stand it. It's funny. He will tear the house apart, move appliances, whatever it takes to catch the cricket, and get it outside!!
So, which bug really gets under your skin?
The tears I shed then, watered the flowers I harvest now.
www.broken908.blogspot.com
http://forums.familyfriendpoems.com/broken908
"The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values."-Dean William Ralph Inge |
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vmfein
True Blue Farmgirl
247 Posts
Valerie
Dale City
VA
USA
247 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 08:19:23 AM
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Here it is the cicadas in Virginia. They come out about every 17 years. Unfortunately for me the first year we lived here was a cicada year. They are big, fly and when they land on you they don't fly away. There were so many of them they were in buildings, on the subway, and so many that people would squish them on the sidewalk. I didn't mind the ones in Iowa, they never bothered people lived in the trees pretty much and had a nice sound (they are annual species I guess). Their counterparts here in Virginia aren't as pleasant.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/cicada.html
Farmgirl Sister #2619 |
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Annika
True Blue Farmgirl
5602 Posts
Annika
USA
5602 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 08:44:01 AM
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While I'm an arachnophobe, the bug that really bugs me is ANTS!!! I hate ants!!! no matter how I try, they always manage to invade my home come late spring-summer. yuck!!!
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Palouse Prairie Girls Chapter
http://palouseprairiegirls.blogspot.com/
http://prairiegirlsjournal.blogspot.com/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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Heartbroken farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
604 Posts
Annette
rio vista
Ca
USA
604 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 08:50:43 AM
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Valerie, yuckie! I am not sure I'd handle a flying bug that landed on me and didn't shoo away! I now know to avoid your area every 17 years...lol
Annika, the worst part about ants besides the fact they get into EVERYTHING, is the smell. Ugh! When we bought this home, there was a colony living between the first and second floor!!! We had a leak, dropped the ceiling, and it literally rained ants!!! What a mess and project that was.
The tears I shed then, watered the flowers I harvest now.
www.broken908.blogspot.com
http://forums.familyfriendpoems.com/broken908
"The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values."-Dean William Ralph Inge |
Edited by - Heartbroken farmgirl on Mar 29 2011 08:58:43 AM |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 08:58:33 AM
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We are due for our 13 year locusts this summer. The big ugly red eyed variety that get in your skirts,shirts, and any where they land. They also smack you when they hit you. On bare skin it hurts! They make a horrible shrill noise that does sound nice in the trees on a hot summer night but up close it is ear splitting! I don't mind any critter if there are just one or two. I hate anything in multitudes! The sight of a lot of anything gives me the creeps. We keep bees and I love them but if I open a hive and let my mind go there, I have to talk myself down. I stumbled onto a nest of snakes when I was a kid. They had just hatched and it was a writhing mess of skinny little snakes and egg shells. I think that is where it started!
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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Heartbroken farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
604 Posts
Annette
rio vista
Ca
USA
604 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 09:13:25 AM
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Connie, ewwie!! I have it so easy...lol. the only thing we get droves and droves of is ladybugs! Every spring, they become a decorating theme in my house, and accessories on my clothes, in my hair, and my children.
I completely understand the stumbling across the snakes starting it all for you. When I was young, my grandpa was redoing his field. He moved a bunch of big rocks, and me, being barefoot and running through the soft freshly plowed dirt, stepped on a bunch of snails that had been under a rock. They were squishy, slimy, and Sharp, under my foot, between my toes...and that sound, I'll never forget that sound! My 13 year old DS, will crush snails next to me just to get a scream out of me!!( the stinker) That is where my snail/slug issue started.
The tears I shed then, watered the flowers I harvest now.
www.broken908.blogspot.com
http://forums.familyfriendpoems.com/broken908
"The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values."-Dean William Ralph Inge |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 09:23:52 AM
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Annette, How strange! I was running ahead of my dad, clearing rocks, while he bush hogged a field when I found the nest. Thank God I didn't step in it! That sounded just awful! We have the lady bugs too.What I hate about them is the mess they make. All those little brown spots. Yuck
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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LeighErica
True Blue Farmgirl
306 Posts
Erica
PA
USA
306 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 10:58:44 AM
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| There was a post a while ago about spiders....and I commented quite "heavily" on that one..because I am deathly afraid of them. So my bug of dislike is spiders...sorry, I know they do good...but I can't deal with them. :) |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 11:18:50 AM
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Japanese Beetles...they devour the leaves of anything in sight! I have had to bring out the big guns last year. They were destroying my new apple and cherry trees and my raspberries. They usually only last about a month but last year it was two months. I don't like to use pesticides at all, but I had no choice.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 1:03:47 PM
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Japanese Beetles! They mowed the top 18 inches of my kentucky wonder pole beans off last year. I went out every one to two hours and picked off hundreds to no avail. Well, except the chickens LOVED them. Pretty high protein diet for the girls those weeks!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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embchicken
True Blue Farmgirl
1487 Posts
Elaine
Ocean
NJ
USA
1487 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 2:27:57 PM
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Ticks, I hate ticks.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world" ~Gandhi
farmgirl sister #2822
embchicken.blogspot.com |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 2:30:45 PM
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Ewwww! Seed ticks! Hundreds of them! UGH!
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1143 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1143 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 2:43:12 PM
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Just a note...there was a write-in this month to Mother Earth news mag about snails/slugs. They stapled waterproof sandpaper strips along their raised beds. No more slugs or snails. It's a thought!
I hate cockroaches, yellowjackets, mosquitoes, fleas and ticks, and don't care for scorpions. I actually love spiders (I even let a couple house spiders reside in the house to catch bugs).
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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CurlysQuilts
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Sarah
Northeast Kingdom
VT
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Mar 29 2011 : 5:32:08 PM
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Earwigs are my current biggest one. They are so sneaky and creepy, the pop put of nowhere and they pinch! Eeeewwww! Japanese Beetles are right up there though. Yucky nasty creatures.
When I lived in Texas it was cockroaches. Ugh! Every house we ever lived in was infested with the things! I actually won a prize for a story I sent into a teen magazine for the grossest cockroach story. Luckily, they don't reside up here in Vermont. Yeah!
Curly's Quilts
www.curlysquilts.etsy.com
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
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Heartbroken farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
604 Posts
Annette
rio vista
Ca
USA
604 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 07:21:37 AM
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Amanda, THANKS FOR THE TIP!! Time to buy up every piece of waterproof wallpaper in the county! LOL
Cockroaches I believe everyone hates. My in-laws were infested so bad once they ruined all the electrical wiring in the house. That was when my DH was really young. I have never in my life, and I was a well traveled child, seen a cockroach. Pictures, TV? Yes. But in real life, I've never laid eyes on one. I am going to count my blessings.
Japanese beetles are one we don't have here. My family in Oklahoma complain occasionally. They sound awful.
This is fun. It's interesting to see how different vermin get under our skin for different reasons. I must admit though, reading these posts, is making me all itchy and giving me the ebi-gebies!
The tears I shed then, watered the flowers I harvest now.
www.broken908.blogspot.com
http://forums.familyfriendpoems.com/broken908
"The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values."-Dean William Ralph Inge |
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pnickols
True Blue Farmgirl
808 Posts
Patricia
Parma
Ohio
808 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 07:25:22 AM
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| centipedes !!!! yucky !!!! they give me the creeps |
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Heartbroken farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
604 Posts
Annette
rio vista
Ca
USA
604 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 08:44:47 AM
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Patricia, yes, yuck!!! Anything with THAT MANY legs, is just not acceptable!! Definitely "creeps worthy!"
The tears I shed then, watered the flowers I harvest now.
www.broken908.blogspot.com
http://forums.familyfriendpoems.com/broken908
"The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values."-Dean William Ralph Inge |
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chickenladycris
True Blue Farmgirl
77 Posts
Cris
Prairie Farm
WI
USA
77 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 6:04:48 PM
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Right now, my least favorite is the aphid. Those little critters are demolishing my pepper seedlings! Hopefully my squirts of neem oil will wipe them out before they eat all my poblanos.
However, my least favorite insect of all time is the bald face hornet. When I first moved into my house, I had an infestation of them--and I mean an infestation. They nested in the wall, and WOULD NOT DIE. I am not an advocate of pesticide, but after getting stung 70 times (yes, 70--the ER was happy to see me), and not being able to let the dogs into the yard, they had to go. We tried everything chemical-wise, they would crawl through it, sneer, and attack. It got so bad that they ate through the wall and came into my upstairs loft. I started sleeping downstairs with a blanket over me in an effort to not get stung! Finally, it froze and they vanished...but I swore, if they came back in the spring I was going to call an exorcist.
"A farmgirl can never have enough chickens!"--me |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1143 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1143 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 6:42:08 PM
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Y'all are so lucky to have never seen a roach! Here in E. Texas, they are everywhere. We have Oriental, American, German, and Smoky Brown roaches...not to mention some that live in the forests only. The only 'good' thing is that usually German cockroaches are the main ones to worry about. The little tiny ones. Sigh. To have never seen a roach....Oh, and BTW, my mother had a brand new house built a few years back. There were a few roaches in it within a couple of months...dang this humid weather! Oh well. I remember going outside at our old home when I was small, and there was a brick wall just outside the door. There would be a good 10-20 huge roaches hanging out there every night, apparently attracted to the dew drops on the bricks. GAG.
I was trying to post the hint about the slugs/snails, but I'm afraid you just may have to go and buy the new issue of M.E.N. to see it :0( It's the April/May issue.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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prariehawk
True Blue Farmgirl
2914 Posts
Cindy
2914 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 8:21:45 PM
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Bzzzz...here come the Mosquitoes! I HATE those things! I've already been bit by one and it's barely spring. they make the most annoying whining sound and when you're lucky enough to kill one, it leaves a bloody mess. They carry disease and I just can't think of one good reason for them to exist. They are nothing but pests!
Cindy
"Vast floods can't quench love, no matter what love did/ Rivers can't drown love, no matter where love's hid"--Sinead Connor
"In many ways, you don't just live in the country, it lives inside you"--Ellen Eilers
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
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Heartbroken farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
604 Posts
Annette
rio vista
Ca
USA
604 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2011 : 10:21:40 PM
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Cindy, do you attract them? My DH, and 3 out of 4 children don't even need insect repellent. If I'm there, they don't even notice my family!!! I can bathe in mosquito spray, and be eaten alive. I have three bites as I type this, I got them today. My DH jokes about every mosquito in the county moving when we moved, just to follow me. I heard they love the smell of someone who are bananas, and dislike smokers. It's gotta be a wives tale, cuz I dislike bananas, and smoked for umteen years....still I get bit everyday all spring/summer... AND I HATE THAT WHINE!!
The tears I shed then, watered the flowers I harvest now.
www.broken908.blogspot.com
http://forums.familyfriendpoems.com/broken908
"The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values."-Dean William Ralph Inge |
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OneHippieChick
True Blue Farmgirl
195 Posts
Susan
Huntsville
AL
USA
195 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 12:55:50 AM
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Silverfish, spiders, and millipeds are the worst!!! I too am deathly afraid of spiders, though snakes generally don't bother me. Roaches too are disgusting!
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Susan ~ Farmgirl Sister #1978
Fiber artist, spins, knits, crochets, sews, weaves, quilts, soap maker, as well as various beauty products and some natural cosmetics
Working on getting my Etsy website and blog up and running - stay tuned!
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 05:25:31 AM
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I am with Amanda...its Roaches...I grew up in the midwest where we have small roaches, then Georgia where they fly!!! & are huge like the ones in Texas! I spent summers/winters with my family in Texas & those roaches can move shoes they are so big...In Georgia I turned on the air conditioning one summer & had those things flying out of it....I was so scared I jumped on the sofa, screaming...problem was the air conditioning was high up near the ceiling so I was actually closer to them...My son & husband were laughing at me cause I was too scared to get off the sofa.....sort of froze there with those things flying right at me. I was afraid of spiders..ok still am if they are big but now living where we are I see so many little ones that I no longer freak out over them. the other bugs may drive me crazy at times like the little biting flies we have up here but I can deal with them fairly well....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
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Dorinda
True Blue Farmgirl
1023 Posts
Dorinda
St. Cloud
Florida
USA
1023 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 05:31:59 AM
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Palmetto bugs. They are giant roaches and they bite and stink. And the big wolf spiders we have here in Florida. I can handle the little spiders but not the big ones!
Seize The Day!
Dorinda |
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CurlysQuilts
True Blue Farmgirl
569 Posts
Sarah
Northeast Kingdom
VT
USA
569 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 6:34:25 PM
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Eww! Silverfish! Add those to my previous list. We really don't get them here too much, but my DH's parents have a serious problem with them in their house, and every time the come to visit we always have them afterward! Nasty things!
Curly's Quilts
www.curlysquilts.etsy.com
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Mar 31 2011 : 6:58:59 PM
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Oh Dorinda, I remember those horrible palmetto bugs from when I was a kid living at Patrick AFB in the 1950s. There was almost no air conditioning anywhere, so everyone's houses were crawling with them. To this day, I have the habit of shaking out my shoes before I put them on!
Here in Virginia, we have these things the locals call "wood roaches" that are attracted to light, and they also fly. They aren't indoor bugs at all, and they only make themselves known in late May through the end of June. You can't sit out on your porch at night during that time. They flutter around the outdoor lights and on the windows, if there are lights on in the house. Now and then, one will get in. They are GROSS! If I'm out past sundown and have to use the front door, I run, cringing the whole way lest I encounter them. Needless to say, I time my homecomings accordingly. The only chemical I will allow anywhere near our farm is spray to keep those @$#%&! things in the woods, where they belong!
And lately? Stinkbugs! Have you all heard about those? They just hijacked into town on products imported from China, I believe, and they have no natural predators here, so they're going nuts.
Nature: eeuuww! ;-) |
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A Farm of My Own: What bug really *bugs* you? |
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What bug really *bugs* you?
