@cengland0@chienfou The cats will kill some of them after playing with them (If they don’t manage to escape). They learned the hard way to not eat them. Each and every cat has tried that at least once and then puked.
The game they can play with them on my bed in the middle of the night though is disgusting. Bring them up on my bed, drop them out of their mouth, bat at them, they fall/jump off with cat following who then collects it back in their mouth to bring them up on my bed. Rinse and repeat until either (1) it dies, (2) it hides, (3) I grab the roach and throw it out the window. With #3 the cat is pissed.
I do find a combination of combat and sticky papers helps. I have gotten rid of them more than once but then they come back in via pipe holes, under the door, etc as the apt building doesn’t have the exterminator come often enough and many don’t supplement the bug people with buying their own stuff.
@cengland0@chienfou@Kidsandliz My roaches tend to get gobbled up in a sea of ants (who then politely retreat back underground) – there’s nothing left but feet, wings, and antennae.
I don’t like spiders, but if there’s a small one chilling in the corner I’ll keep an eye on it. Daddy long legs don’t bother me but others must die… stink bugs are annoying
@ragingredd - The more spiders, the fewer bugs. I used to know a French guy who used to say that the presence of spiders is the sign of a healthy home.
@aetris@ragingredd However, if you start with no bugs, then there will also be no spiders, right? (the hard part, of course, is the “start with no bugs” which is not very practical in the real world)
@aetris@ragingredd@xobzoo There was a Jim Henson’s Dinosaurs episode about that (the civilization nuked a locust species and it turns out that it created a chain reaction that led to, of all things, nuclear fallout).
@pakopako - The one I loved was Del Toro’s Mimic, where NYC shortened the lifespan of a strain of cockroach, speeding up it’s evolution into a super-insect predator that camouflaged itself as people.
When my husband was working from home a few years ago, he had his office set up in the basement. At one point he killed around 20 wasps in one day.
It hasn’t been that bad since. We might find one or two every once in a while. But they scare the heck out of me.
And our laundry room is in the basement.
@hchavers I don’t mind most small house spiders. I let them live here and there in the corners.
What about house centipedes? We used to get those pretty regularly. Haven’t seen them around lately. They terrify the shit out of me. Or are they too big for wasps? Hmm.
Cicada. They are huge, dumb, and make lots of noise. Just about every year 1 gets inside. I hate them so it’s quite a pain to get it outside using a broom or something. I don’t want to get to close to them. I also hate June bugs. Also dumb and they will just bounce off everything. Hornets/wasps suck too. The electric fly swatter doesn’t kill them with one hit, just makes them angry. So it’s usually a battle to get it down and dead.
Pretty much all bugs suck inside the house. But spiders don’t bother me and as long as they mind their own business I let them be. Unless it’s like a brown recluse, then it’s death. I don’t want anything it that will bite/sting for me or the pets.
No love for west Texas scorpions? (i guess i consider them to be “bugs”.)
When they get into your house, they seem to love to hide in shoes so they can surprise you when you stick your foot inside.
During the 3+ years i lived in Abilene, i learned (the hard way) to shake out my shoes before putting them on.
Stinkbug. They’re loud enough to wake me up, and you can’t just squash them. Cause they stink. And the stink attracts more. So you gotta wait until they’re somewhere you can reach, and then trap them in a piece of packing tape before they realize they’re in danger and squirt the stink. Worst bug ever.
@tomcannon they really are awful. I used to manage front desk and housekeeping at a hotel in Yosemite and we dealt with them all the time. The worst was when you found box springs with nests. It gives you serious heebie jeebies.
@macromeh
While Ebola is the most well-known, it is at least now [somewhat] preventable by vaccination.
Also Lassa virus, Junin virus, Machupo virus, Marburg virus, Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus, and Dengue virus.
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of infectious diseases caused by viruses that lead to bleeding and other serious symptoms.
VHFs can cause a wide range of symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding. In severe cases, they can lead to organ failure and death. There are no specific treatments for most VHFs, and treatment is typically supportive and aimed at managing symptoms.
Vaccines are available for some VHFs, such as yellow fever and Ebola.
@yakkoTDI I’d love to have one in my driveway… especially a classic. But the question was ‘Inside your house’ Although it might make an interesting conversation piece in the living room
@capnjb@yakkoTDI Remember that guy who always posted his Irk reveals next to his indoor collection of classic/custom cars? I can’t remember who it was but he had a bunch of cars inside his house.
@Kyeh@yakkoTDI Kyeh, you’re the one we trust to know this stuff I only have a collection of classic video game consoles. And they’re dusty, so NO PICS FOR YOU
Additionally annoying:
Box Elder Bugs
Asian Lady Beetles
Japanese Beetles
Wolf Spiders
Ants
Any sort of stinging bug (especially hornets)
Bed Bugs
Head Lice
Fleas
Ticks
Roaches (of the creepy crawly variety)
… I think the shorter list is what is an acceptable bug to be indoors?
@chienfou From my point of view, food can be replaced more easily than clothes, or wool blankets or carpets. That’s been the worst - a nice Chinese carpet got infested by moths and is now full of holes. Really sad!
The fruit flies you get from fruit are easy to get rid of. Suck them out of the air with a vacuum BUT be sure you immediately take the vac outside so when they escape they escape outside. Don’t ask me how I know that.
Government.
@yakkoTDI Oh, you mean like this?
Don’t worry, there’s an easy way to avoid all government bugs…
Roach
@cengland0 Yes. This apartment building has both American and German roaches.
@cengland0 @Kidsandliz
Now, if only you could just get them fighting each other!
@cengland0 @chienfou The cats will kill some of them after playing with them (If they don’t manage to escape). They learned the hard way to not eat them. Each and every cat has tried that at least once and then puked.
The game they can play with them on my bed in the middle of the night though is disgusting. Bring them up on my bed, drop them out of their mouth, bat at them, they fall/jump off with cat following who then collects it back in their mouth to bring them up on my bed. Rinse and repeat until either (1) it dies, (2) it hides, (3) I grab the roach and throw it out the window. With #3 the cat is pissed.
I do find a combination of combat and sticky papers helps. I have gotten rid of them more than once but then they come back in via pipe holes, under the door, etc as the apt building doesn’t have the exterminator come often enough and many don’t supplement the bug people with buying their own stuff.
@Kidsandliz I rarely see a roach in my house but when I do, I ask Mrs. cengland0 to kill it for me. They are disgusting creatures.
@cengland0 @chienfou @Kidsandliz My roaches tend to get gobbled up in a sea of ants (who then politely retreat back underground) – there’s nothing left but feet, wings, and antennae.
@pakopako
those are some AWESOME ants!
Cue MB
PANS! GLANDS! CRAYONS! AWESOME!
Millers are awful. Especially if you’re in the dark with a lighted screen near your face. They leave moth dust all over too.
I don’t like spiders, but if there’s a small one chilling in the corner I’ll keep an eye on it. Daddy long legs don’t bother me but others must die… stink bugs are annoying
@ragingredd - The more spiders, the fewer bugs. I used to know a French guy who used to say that the presence of spiders is the sign of a healthy home.
@aetris @ragingredd However, if you start with no bugs, then there will also be no spiders, right? (the hard part, of course, is the “start with no bugs” which is not very practical in the real world)
@xobzoo
I think that was the general point
@xobzoo
Spiders seem to be highly optimistic.
@aetris @ragingredd @xobzoo There was a Jim Henson’s Dinosaurs episode about that (the civilization nuked a locust species and it turns out that it created a chain reaction that led to, of all things, nuclear fallout).
@pakopako - The one I loved was Del Toro’s Mimic, where NYC shortened the lifespan of a strain of cockroach, speeding up it’s evolution into a super-insect predator that camouflaged itself as people.
That would be a bad bug to have inside your home!
Wasps keep finding a way to get into my basement.
When my husband was working from home a few years ago, he had his office set up in the basement. At one point he killed around 20 wasps in one day.
It hasn’t been that bad since. We might find one or two every once in a while. But they scare the heck out of me.
And our laundry room is in the basement.
@LaserEyes Wasp go after spiders. Do you feel better now?
@hchavers I don’t mind most small house spiders. I let them live here and there in the corners.
What about house centipedes? We used to get those pretty regularly. Haven’t seen them around lately. They terrify the shit out of me. Or are they too big for wasps? Hmm.
Tsetse fly
It’s a tie. Gnats are super annoying and impossible to eliminate. Termites will destroy the home.
Cicada. They are huge, dumb, and make lots of noise. Just about every year 1 gets inside. I hate them so it’s quite a pain to get it outside using a broom or something. I don’t want to get to close to them. I also hate June bugs. Also dumb and they will just bounce off everything. Hornets/wasps suck too. The electric fly swatter doesn’t kill them with one hit, just makes them angry. So it’s usually a battle to get it down and dead.
Pretty much all bugs suck inside the house. But spiders don’t bother me and as long as they mind their own business I let them be. Unless it’s like a brown recluse, then it’s death. I don’t want anything it that will bite/sting for me or the pets.
Fleas. I’ve been lucky and haven’t had an issue since I moved away from Houston nearly 30 years ago. Maybe it was the humidity
@ironcheftoni or maybe your meds started working better. 🫣
House centipede. Yeah I don’t care if they kill other bugs. They’re terrifying.
No love for west Texas scorpions? (i guess i consider them to be “bugs”.)
When they get into your house, they seem to love to hide in shoes so they can surprise you when you stick your foot inside.
During the 3+ years i lived in Abilene, i learned (the hard way) to shake out my shoes before putting them on.
@phendrick
@phendrick That reminds me of that scene in an episode of The Second Voyage of the Mimi.
(Did anybody else ever watch that?)
Oh hey, I found it! (from about 11:02 to 11:52)
Cave crickets.
@heartny Ooof, I forgot about those! They are a bad one, though
@heartny i really really REALLY do not want to google this…
ants
@tweezak Depends on the ants. Most I would have no problem with. Now if they were Siafu then I may have to move.
@tweezak yes sometimes it is the tiny little ants. You know the ones that go after any crumb that falls.
@mycya4me @tweezak
Certainly some of the hardest to get rid of…
@yakkoTDI
Or they might just pick you up and move you themselves…
@chienfou @mycya4me @tweezak
https://bulwarkpestcontrol.com/using-borax-powder-to-kill-ants/
@mycya4me @PhysAssist @tweezak
Works wonders on roaches as well…
@PhysAssist That looks like a really shitty movie. Glad I missed it.
@yakkoTDI
Yah, I only watched it out of loyalty to Indy. I loved ROTLA, but none of the others ever came close.
I would think bedbugs - which I hope never to have!
@Kyeh
Def in my list of never-wants…
I’ll cope with the stink bugs, mosquitoes, and moths, thank you very much…
Stinkbug. They’re loud enough to wake me up, and you can’t just squash them. Cause they stink. And the stink attracts more. So you gotta wait until they’re somewhere you can reach, and then trap them in a piece of packing tape before they realize they’re in danger and squirt the stink. Worst bug ever.
Silverfish.
@Wollyhop Especially when they get really big. They get creepier the larger they get.
@Wollyhop Especially if you have a lot of books.
I was going to say the flying Southern Waterbug, but after seeing the others post3d, there are a lot of other, more detected pests!
Uninvited house guests.
@njfan YES, I so agree! Especially certain family members you wish NEVER to see Again in your lifetime!
Shelob, when I’ve misplaced my elven blade.
@rockblossom
You need to check your house for access points. A little caulk won’t be enough if that’s INSIDE your house!
@chienfou True, but she does save on mousetraps.
@rockblossom I’ll wait till the elves make shotguns… or maybe mûmakil rifles…
Mother in Law
Roaches! Bedbugs! & Mosquitoes! Oh my! Up north these are the most annoying pests.
@jkawaguchi
In MN and ND mosquitoes were the state bird…
@chienfou @jkawaguchi And black flies up north too.
Cucarachas.
@PocketBrain Especially the giant flying varieties!
For city-dwellers (which I am not at this time) it is definitely cockroaches!!!
@andyw I’ve had beetles up in the mountains. When they get indoors, they can really multiply faster than the spiders and scorpions can eat them.
Bed bugs, I travel and have had them in my home twice…They are awful
@tomcannon
I travel a good bit as well (8 different countries last year). Currently in Costa Rica. It’s always been one of my biggest nightmares…
@tomcannon they really are awful. I used to manage front desk and housekeeping at a hotel in Yosemite and we dealt with them all the time. The worst was when you found box springs with nests. It gives you serious heebie jeebies.
Ebola
@macromeh
While Ebola is the most well-known, it is at least now [somewhat] preventable by vaccination.
Also Lassa virus, Junin virus, Machupo virus, Marburg virus, Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus, and Dengue virus.
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of infectious diseases caused by viruses that lead to bleeding and other serious symptoms.
VHFs can cause a wide range of symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and bleeding. In severe cases, they can lead to organ failure and death. There are no specific treatments for most VHFs, and treatment is typically supportive and aimed at managing symptoms.
Vaccines are available for some VHFs, such as yellow fever and Ebola.
The rest are not preventable.
@macromeh
Also (while not a VFH) monkeypox (now Mpox)
Actually I would like to change my answer to whatever the hell the bug is that my sister in law brought me from England a few weeks ago.
Bees
Allergic to sting
Carpenter ants. They are so destructive and work much faster than termites.
@ItalianScallion I’m pretty sure they’re what really took down the murdershed.
@ItalianScallion Finally someone said these two.
Carpenter ants are a little easier to dispose of though. Neither are a fun time.
Volkswagen
@capnjb HOW DARE YOU!!!
@yakkoTDI I’d love to have one in my driveway… especially a classic. But the question was ‘Inside your house’
Although it might make an interesting conversation piece in the living room 
@capnjb @yakkoTDI Remember that guy who always posted his Irk reveals next to his indoor collection of classic/custom cars? I can’t remember who it was but he had a bunch of cars inside his house.
@Kyeh @yakkoTDI Kyeh, you’re the one we trust to know this stuff
I only have a collection of classic video game consoles. And they’re dusty, so NO PICS FOR YOU 
@capnjb @Kyeh @yakkoTDI
Here’s a “bug” we saw on the Symphony of the Seas in Oct:
@capnjb @chienfou @Kyeh @yakkoTDI Now, that is nice!
@capnjb Many years ago I knew someone who turned parts of VWs into indoor seats.
@andyw @capnjb
Yeah I thought it was pretty cool. Turns out having a car as part of the decor is an RCCI thing.
@andyw @capnjb @chienfou It looks like a bug that’s just been hatched and hasn’t unfolded its wings and legs yet!
@andyw @capnjb @Kyeh
Exactly!
All
Of
Them
/giphy stink bug
Additionally annoying:
Box Elder Bugs
Asian Lady Beetles
Japanese Beetles
Wolf Spiders
Ants
Any sort of stinging bug (especially hornets)
Bed Bugs
Head Lice
Fleas
Ticks
Roaches (of the creepy crawly variety)
… I think the shorter list is what is an acceptable bug to be indoors?
Silverfish.
Pantry moths are another PITA to get rid of.
@chienfou Clothes moths are even worse! So destructive.
@Kyeh
But I can still wear “holy” clothes… Oatmeal/grits/pasta//flour etc. with webs in it…YUCK!
@chienfou From my point of view, food can be replaced more easily than clothes, or wool blankets or carpets. That’s been the worst - a nice Chinese carpet got infested by moths and is now full of holes. Really sad!
@Kyeh
Yeah that would suck. I believe I was conflating this with the “pepper” thread!
@chienfou Oh, hah. Yes, in that case I can see your point.
@chienfou One of the Car Talk brothers, Tommy IIRC, said the only way he got rid of them was by moving!
The fruit flies you get from fruit are easy to get rid of. Suck them out of the air with a vacuum BUT be sure you immediately take the vac outside so when they escape they escape outside. Don’t ask me how I know that.
/image mothra
