# Palmetto bugs
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palmetto-bugs/158826
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 3, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palmetto-bugs/158826 "2003-03-03T20:33:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palmetto-bugs/158826/1 "2003-03-03T20:33:47Z")
As a child, in summer our neighborhood would occasionally be invaded by large, flying, cockroach-like creatures. My mom always brushed aside our complaints with, “That’s not a roach, it’s a palmetto bug.” As an adult, I confidently told my SO when we found one in the bathroom, “No, no, it’s not a cockroach, it’s a palmetto bug.” At which he broke into laughter. So are palmetto bugs just monster roaches? Should I freak out about them?
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palmetto-bugs/158826/2 "2003-03-03T20:39:37Z")
An answer from the Palmetto State:
[http://entweb.clemson.edu/cuentres/eiis/bbam/bb6.pdf](http://entweb.clemson.edu/cuentres/eiis/bbam/bb6.pdf)
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### Author:  [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palmetto-bugs/158826/3 "2003-03-03T21:25:56Z")
It’s the same bug. Palmetto is just a different variety – there are hundreds of different kinds of cockroaches. So yes, IMHO, palmettos are just monster roaches with wings… that fly out and attack when you go at them with a big can of Raid. And you shouldn’t freak out… unless you find more than a couple in your abode… and then it’s time to spray nasty chemicals around. From what I’ve learned: the palmettos (2-3" long, brown, wings and nasty attitudes) do not like to live inside your house – they just come in for water.