# There is a roach in my shoe... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027 "2007-04-29T05:13:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/21 "2007-04-30T04:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=Lynn Bodoni] “Water bugs” … make excellent cat toys… [/QUOTE] Except that they’re kinda fragile and break way too fast - the legs come off first thing. Cicadas are much more durable, and also satisfyingly noisy. Just sayin’. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/22 "2007-04-30T04:13:44Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] Sounds like a sissy type name to give a cockroach. I thought Texans were tougher than that? [/QUOTE] I’d get all up in your face about how butch our bugs are, except I’m not actually a Texan and won’t even be a carpetbagger here by mid-May. We’re a-movin’ to Maine, where I hear the black flies eat palmetto bugs for an afternoon snack before naptime. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/23 "2007-04-30T16:22:18Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] We call ours Palmetto bugs, probably because some of them are as big as the Palmetto tree. Aren’t water bugs really those long-legged things that can walk on water? Sounds like a sissy type name to give a cockroach. I thought Texans were tougher than that? The “water-bugs” of Texas are not that nice, you see, 'cuz they’re really just big roaches with a name of a sis-sy [/QUOTE] You have giant flying roaches in your house because you are a disgusting housekeeper. _We_ have palmetto bugs in _our_ house because they come in from the outside. Get it? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/24 "2007-04-30T16:51:34Z")
How big is the roach? On a memorable night some years ago, my husband awakened me at 2 am to report a roach deep in his ear canal. It was your standard tropical roach, probably 4-5 cm carapace length. He could feel/hear the feelers grazing his ear drum. It was not a fun night. Just in a shoe? Count your blessings. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/25 "2007-04-30T17:10:04Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] You have giant flying roaches in your house because you are a disgusting housekeeper. _We_ have palmetto bugs in _our_ house because they come in from the outside. Get it? [/QUOTE] I wasn’t aware Texas and South Carolina were the same place. This was just a little Texas vs Florida friendly rivalry, no need to get personal. Even if I am a disgusting housekeeper. CairoCarol wins the thread anyway. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/26 "2007-04-30T18:22:01Z")
Oh, I meant the general “you”. Not you personally. I have no idea if the giant gross cockroaches in your kitchen are “roaches” or “palmetto bugs”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/27 "2007-04-30T20:14:55Z")
[QUOTE=CairoCarol] How big is the roach? On a memorable night some years ago, my husband awakened me at 2 am to report a roach deep in his ear canal. It was your standard tropical roach, probably 4-5 cm carapace length. He could feel/hear the feelers grazing his ear drum. It was not a fun night. Just in a shoe? Count your blessings. [/QUOTE] Aaaaaaaaaand that’s the end of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/28 "2007-04-30T23:21:51Z")
give the shoe to the possum and move further north. way far north, way, way, far north there isn’t a sock protective enough, set fire to the shoe if you don’t want to give it to the possum. cairo carol, my sleepless nights are all laid at your feet. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/29 "2007-05-01T05:20:05Z")
Henceforth you may all refer to me as “CairoCarol, Slayer of Threads.” ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027/30 "2007-05-01T07:13:55Z")
Do you own a firearm? Personally I’d shoot it, because I’d just want to kill the bug - the shoe’s a goner as far as I’m concerned. _BLAM_ ::splat:: **CairoCarol** ’s husband is lucky he isn’t married to me 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-a-roach-in-my-shoe/402027.md?page=1)