# A question for Floridians about bugs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058 "2014-08-21T02:05:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/41 "2014-08-22T19:13:23Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Just last week, in Plant City. From the termite guy servicing my wife’s grandmother’s house. > > Maybe he was trying to build up business, in the manner of the diamond folks who’ve built up the notion that an engagement ring should cost three months’ pay. But he said a house really needs tenting every 10 years. It _might_ be true for wood construction, though I doubt it. But it makes no sense at all for concrete block construction, which is the bulk of housing in Central Florida. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/42 "2014-08-22T19:21:13Z")
Speaking of opossums, did you know they really like to eat roaches? OP, your girlfriend could leave the back door open some night and maybe get a 'possum inside to clean up the roach problem. Oh, I know they look like giant rats. And when surprised in their nocturnal amblings, their defensive display includes snarling, hissing, copious drooling, and displaying their teeth (of which they have more than any other North American terrestrial mammal). But if that doesn’t chase you off in horror, they fall over in a dead faint and “play possum”. You can then sweep them out the door again 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/43 "2014-08-22T19:25:25Z")
**RNATB** , even CBS houses usually have wooden roof trusses/frames, as well as wood “furring strips” in the walls between the blocks and the gypsum board, and in cabinetry. But you’re still right, tenting isn’t recommended except as a treatment for living termite infestations. It isn’t prophylactic and provides no lasting protection. (I didn’t say “no lasting benefit” because I suspect the applicator receives some of that…) ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/44 "2014-08-22T19:30:38Z")
> [@PorchePine](#): > > I would have suggested that there weren’t any bugs before she came, so she must have brought them herself. Then threatened to charge her extra. I think I like you! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/45 "2014-08-22T19:41:16Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > **RNATB** , even CBS houses usually have wooden roof trusses/frames, as well as wood “furring strips” in the walls between the blocks and the gypsum board, and in cabinetry. Yeah, but even Formosan termites aren’t likely to infest a roof with so little good eatin’ in between. And the furring strips are just there to hold the drywall up, right? They’re not structural. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/46 "2014-08-22T19:50:34Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yeah, but even Formosan termites aren’t likely to infest a roof with so little good eatin’ in between. And the furring strips are just there to hold the drywall up, right? They’re not structural. Correct, not structural. But I’d hate to have them eaten up! _Something’s_ gotta keep the drywall in place! I admit, I’m not a bug expert. My critter skills involve larger things, like those alligators mentioned above. But I’ve lived in Florida since 1956 and I’ve known plenty of people whose CBS buildings sustained serious termite damage. Every house I’ve ever owned has been CBS, but termite inspections are a regular part of purchase contracts. I sold one in 2012 that required “termite treatment” (although an alternative to tenting was allowed) because the buyer’s inspection revealed an infestation in one corner of the roof. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/47 "2014-08-22T20:00:01Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > Speaking of opossums, did you know they really like to eat roaches? OP, your girlfriend could leave the back door open some night and maybe get a 'possum inside to clean up the roach problem. Oh, I know they look like giant rats. And when surprised in their nocturnal amblings, their defensive display includes snarling, hissing, copious drooling, and displaying their teeth (of which they have more than any other North American terrestrial mammal). But if that doesn’t chase you off in horror, they fall over in a dead faint and “play possum”. You can then sweep them out the door again 🙂 . “No, hunny, really, just think of him like a big angry cat that you don’t want to pet, or get near” ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/48 "2014-08-23T00:26:36Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Just last week, in Plant City. From the termite guy servicing my wife’s grandmother’s house. > > Maybe he was trying to build up business, in the manner of the diamond folks who’ve built up the notion that an engagement ring should cost three months’ pay. But he said a house really needs tenting every 10 years. Jacking old people out of cash is second only to ripping off tourists to keep the Florida economy going. The guy was full of it. ---
**Author:** ![keturah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e95f7d/32.png) [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/49 "2014-08-23T03:28:29Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Just last week, in Plant City. From the termite guy servicing my wife’s grandmother’s house. > > Maybe he was trying to build up business, in the manner of the diamond folks who’ve built up the notion that an engagement ring should cost three months’ pay. But he said a house really needs tenting every 10 years. It has been said upthread but this is just not true. In my entire time in Florida I have seen exactly 1 place (a small quad-plex) tented. It is definitely not the norm. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/50 "2014-08-23T03:46:46Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Okay, lifelong Florida resident (and 6th gen Floridian) here. Let’s clarify some terms: > > 1. The pincher-butts (which is great name for the bug and a great band name at the same time) are earwigs. Harmless if a little scary. The spray should knock them back pretty quick. > 2. The small roaches are German cockroaches and are, far and away, the most pernicious of the roaches. Tell her to get some powdered boric acid, mix it with powdered sugar (more boric than sugar) and put it in little containers (little plastic lids work well) in her lower cabinets and under the fridge, stove, etc. Should cut them WAY down within a week or two. > 3. The “two-incher” is a palmetto bug and yes, they do fly. However, unlike the German, they’re not looking to set up house inside her house. They’re looking for a free meal and a nice dark place to breed. The spray should knock them back, but really the best defense is to spray the exterior perimeter of the house. You want to prevent the initial intrusion. Once they are in, what you need is a shoe with a good wide flat surface and some baby wipes to clean their guts off the wall/ceiling. You should also practice with the shoe before attempting actual bugicide since THEY FUCKING FLY IF YOU MISS THEM THE FIRST TIME. > > Good luck! This. If all the apartments aren’t treated on a regular basis, the roaches and palmetto bugs won’t die off. That’s the key. Otherwise, they just leave a sprayed apartment and hang out in an unsprayed one for a bit. The exterminators also have to do more than spray in Florida. There’s a whole freakin’ science to what goes on – bait, traps, spray, more spray, different treatments for the lawn, and so on. I’d also suggest radically changing how she stores food. Bread? That no longer lives in a breadbox or on the shelf, it goes in the fridge or freezer. Sugar? In a tupperware or glass container. In the freezer if there’s room. Pet food? In a tupperware container. Crackers? Don’t just fold down the bag, put the whole box in a ziploc baggie. Ditto for cookies. Keep the tops of counters wiped off and empty of food, and the toaster crumb tray spotless. Sweep daily. You have to keep those little crumbs gone, you can’t leave anything for them to eat. Also, if the person has pets, I’d suggest a good flea and tick treatment plan STAT. (Another Florida native here. Also the owner of a nice scar from a spider bite. On my bum.) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/51 "2014-08-23T03:51:13Z")
Oh, and watch out for fire ants. I have scars on my ankle from bites sustained in 2001. Little bastards. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/52 "2014-08-23T04:03:38Z")
I got stung by a scorpion, once, when I lived in FL. Called the hospital in a panic; What do I do? Get a tetanus shot, they’re not poisonous. Crap! ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/53 "2014-08-25T01:18:20Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Oh, and watch out for fire ants. I have scars on my ankle from bites sustained in 2001. Little bastards. From a personal standpoint, this is my biggest fear. I haaaaate and cannot do ants, it is my craziest phobia and I just hate them ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/54 "2014-08-25T02:19:28Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > From a personal standpoint, this is my biggest fear. > > I haaaaate and cannot do ants, it is my craziest phobia and I just hate them There are all kinds of entertaining ways to get rid of a mound of fire ants. Bleach. Boiling water. Explosives. Fire. My favorite is called “calling the exterminator and staying the hell away from it.” But for a small mound, a huge pot full of boiling water does a lot of damage. It takes a bit of practise to be able to pour the water into the ant-hill hole and not get bitten, though. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/55 "2014-08-25T02:53:43Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > You have no idea of “love bugs” until you slam into thousands of them while doing about 70 mph. And now we are getting giant snails that eat concrete! I live in Georgia, so I’m familiar with most of these critters, but I’d never experienced love bugs until a trip to Florida last September. Holy cow! It was like driving through a snow storm of bugs. I live in an older house and the worst place that I regularly find palmetto bugs is in my bedroom crawling in the gap between the ceiling and the crown molding. They are totally protected from attack with a shoe and if I spray them, they fly. I hardly ever see them anywhere else in that room. I have no idea why they end up in that gap so often. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/56 "2014-08-25T03:43:31Z")
We moved to florida two years ago and were dreading the bugs. Turns out they haven’t been a problem at all for us. Hardly ever see any in the house. We have an ass load of snails and lizards though. Few lizards have gotten in the house and a frog once. No roaches or flys etc… The snails are nasty though. They are always out on my pool deck sliming around. Always a couple that fall in and I gotta scoop them out. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/57 "2014-08-25T16:14:46Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > There are all kinds of entertaining ways to get rid of a mound of fire ants. Bleach. Boiling water. Explosives. Fire. … Vinegar is a good one, too. Bonus points if you heat it to boiling first. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/58 "2014-08-26T15:28:07Z")
Molten aluminum is also good for filling up ant colonies. You get a nice piece of art afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/59 "2014-08-26T16:17:03Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I got stung by a scorpion, once, when I lived in FL. Called the hospital in a panic; What do I do? Get a tetanus shot, they’re not poisonous. Crap! Who told you they aren’t venomous? How else would it sting you? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2014, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058/60 "2014-08-26T16:21:39Z")
They’re venomous. The local poison control centers have an irritating habit of referring to nondeadly venomous creatures as “nonvenomous”. What they mean is none of Florida’s native scorpion species is _dangerous_ to humans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-floridians-about-bugs/696058.md?page=4)