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Old 11-29-2006, 05:32 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,267,233 times
Reputation: 13615

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Spiders are everywhere. Even established areas.

I don't know. I didn't grow up around a lot of that stuff. I was pretty terrified when I first moved to Florida. After awhile, you get over it. You have to. What are you going to do? You also have to worry about alligators and snakes. Florida is tropical. They are there.

Actually, I hated fire ants. I was constantly getting bit by them.
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Old 11-29-2006, 11:04 PM
 
Location: Orlando, FL - used to be nice, a dump now. Anyone speak English down here???
340 posts, read 432,532 times
Reputation: 77
Holycrap!

The bugs things is FREAKIN' REAL! Bugs are everywhere. We spend $80 on pest control because the darned cockroaches "dig" through the dry wall because the drywall is kinda moist due to high humidity. Our house is super clean... I am a neat freak, but the darned bugs get in somehow. Nasty!

Mosquitoes are bad too. After a hurricane (like Charlie, in 2004), we had the windows open and it was 100% humidity and 98 degrees for two days. Bugs get in through the screens sometimes. Not many but the last thing you need when you have no power, it is hot and miserable for two days, last thing you need are bugs! GRRRRR

You will LOVE the "Palmetto bugs" which are basically giant cockroaches that fly. Located: everywhere in FL.

My high school teacher, used to eat like a pig in class and our classroom (Dr Phillips High School - a nice, "upper class" HS) was full of roaches. Disgusting.
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Old 11-29-2006, 11:16 PM
 
Location: Heartland Florida
9,324 posts, read 26,741,743 times
Reputation: 5038
Why not come on down to Key Largo on a summer's night, we have rats, roaches, scorpions, spiders, mosquitoes that will eat you alive, and loud cicadas buzzing all night. Oh and besides the roaches, the silverfish eat the paper off drywall. No wonder I didn't use ANY wood or drywall in my home. I guess that after growing up in Florida the 2 inch roaches flying around don't bother me. It is creepy though when one lands on you and excretes its waste on your clothes, or bites you (yes they bite) Full of bacteria you know it won't be a pleasant experience as you become infected. Stepping on scorpions isn't fun either. Remember roaches live in the sewer pipes and can come up in the bathtub or sink, I have even seen them in the toilet. All homes have vent pipes on the roof that roaches fly in and out of, and can walk upside down in pipes or float with sewage to another home. Oh and the lovely termites that eat anything in sight. Perhaps if you are an entymologist you would find Florida a dream come true, but the average resident isn't interested in looking at the exoskeleton of our native wildlife.
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Old 11-29-2006, 11:23 PM
 
Location: Orlando, FL - used to be nice, a dump now. Anyone speak English down here???
340 posts, read 432,532 times
Reputation: 77
Quote:
Originally Posted by tallrick View Post
Why not come on down to Key Largo on a summer's night, we have rats, roaches, scorpions, spiders, mosquitoes that will eat you alive, and loud cicadas buzzing all night. Oh and besides the roaches, the silverfish eat the paper off drywall. No wonder I didn't use ANY wood or drywall in my home. I guess that after growing up in Florida the 2 inch roaches flying around don't bother me. It is creepy though when one lands on you and excretes its waste on your clothes, or bites you (yes they bite) Full of bacteria you know it won't be a pleasant experience as you become infected. Stepping on scorpions isn't fun either. Remember roaches live in the sewer pipes and can come up in the bathtub or sink, I have even seen them in the toilet. All homes have vent pipes on the roof that roaches fly in and out of, and can walk upside down in pipes or float with sewage to another home. Oh and the lovely termites that eat anything in sight. Perhaps if you are an entymologist you would find Florida a dream come true, but the average resident isn't interested in looking at the exoskeleton of our native wildlife.
I forgot the termites!! Dang, how could I?? My wife got bitten by a mutated ant-spider thing while sitting in our bathroom. She had two big "bumps" on the back of her legs. She didn't feel it until morning, though.

Silverfish is everywhere, but I just kill them with a paper towel and throw in the trash.

The roaches are nasty... man I am a neat freak, spend $80 on pest control and we still find one from time to time. YUCK!! I do NOT live in the ghetto or a mobile home... it is like this everywhere. Bugs are part of FL. Suck it up and enjoy them.
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Old 11-29-2006, 11:30 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,267,233 times
Reputation: 13615
These people never thought of bugs?

I live in Tennesse now and they can't believe that there are trailers and cars sitting on concrete blocks across the street from nice homes. They can't believe that they smoke in restaurants.

People are STUNNED by the fact that their insurance rates went up after Charley, Jeanne, Wilma, etc.?

They move around from state to state wreaking havoc.

Are these people nuts?
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Old 11-29-2006, 11:47 PM
 
Location: Orlando, FL - used to be nice, a dump now. Anyone speak English down here???
340 posts, read 432,532 times
Reputation: 77
I forgot to say that the city of Apopka is having a rat invasion inside people's homes. No, not trailer, no not older homes. Nice, new, $250k homes.

Keep that in mind. Search the wesh.com website for the local news on the rats in Apopka.

Disgusting.
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Old 11-30-2006, 01:05 AM
 
Location: Tennessee
37,794 posts, read 40,994,120 times
Reputation: 62169
Quote:
Originally Posted by michelle_723 View Post
I just read some posts about the bugs that are in Florida. I am terrified of bugs and get freaked out when I see anything. Is the problem really bad down there (I'm from CT) and are there really any dangerous bugs to really worry about? In CT the hot summer brings mosquitoes and flies. Those I could handle. We also get small spiders, dragonflies, bees and other pesky things. They terrify me. So is Florida worse? I am still considering moving there but should I now?
Don't worry about bugs. The alligators and snakes will chase them away.
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Old 12-02-2006, 04:47 PM
 
7 posts, read 34,980 times
Reputation: 15
I didn't know that my post would bring up so much. I can live with creepy crawlies once in a while but to read about and see all the different bugs you guys talk about has changed my mind. I can't deal with huge spiders and scorpions, and flying biting roaches. Seeing them is enough. I just might stay in CT and deal with the cold. At least it won't bite or kill me. But thanks for the info. I have made up my mind about moving to Florida.
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Old 12-02-2006, 05:04 PM
 
Location: in the southwest
13,395 posts, read 45,011,343 times
Reputation: 13599
I've been here a year. I have seen three scorpions, one inside, two out (no species of Florida scorpions delivers fatal bites.) That was the worst I saw in terms of insects, but I've seen a few spiders--I saw plenty of those in Colorado, including a black widow, so spiders do not freak me out that much.
Have also seen a pygmy rattler (non-fatal to adults, might be a problem for a child.)
Also, I got a fire ant bite. The sting or whatever it was lasted about two weeks (itchy).
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Old 12-02-2006, 05:53 PM
 
698 posts, read 2,840,876 times
Reputation: 753
Michelle 723,
Don't make a decision to stay away from FL because of these messages. All these insects do exist here but that sure doesn't mean you will be bombarded by or even ever SEE them.
I have lived here 46 years and have had a few encounters with roaches, daddy long legs and other creepy crawlies, but no house I have lived in has been infested.
You have to know how to seal your house and attic, use pesticides wisely and practice plain ol' common sense. Prevention is key. Make your home as inhospitable as possible. I never leave any food or crumbs out and everything that can't be sealed up is put in refrigeration, even the food waste from a meal if garbage pickup isn't for a couple days. I do have an annual issue with very tiny ants (that don't bite) and have to use an OTC gel to get rid of them.
If you plan to do a lot of hiking, gardening, camping or outdoor-oriented activities you will most likely find countless creatures big and small but if you are like most of us here you will not be bothered by them at all.
FL is a sub-tropical place so we do support a wild assortment of insect and reptile life but for those who choose to avoid them it's not hard to do.
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