Bugged by a bug

I dont like bugs... at all. In fact it might be more accurate to say I loathe and fear bugs. (Note: when I say "bugs" this includes spiders too - but does not include butterflies or ladybugs).

Last night I noticed the most freaky, alien-like, little green creature chilling on my bedroom floor. It was a praying mantis. ewwww.

Finding any bug in the house at all is awful, but in my bedroom....well, thats just plain wrong. There should be some kind of anti -bug force field around bedrooms. I mean who knows how long it had been sitting there, watching me and plotting its sleepy time attack? ( I never trust bugs)

I needed to do something about this room invasion, but what? After a moment of thinking I realised a few things: The Boyf would be mad if I killed it (he likes praying mantises), the bug was rather large and I couldn't leave it to just hang out in my bedroom...alone. grrrrrr....I decided that I must get something to put over it so I can keep it in one place until The Boyf (aka the brave bug handler) got home.
*
Me: *grabs plastic container from kitchen and stands a few feet from praying mantis* Im sorry I have to do this. Personally I would rather squish you, but The Boyf likes your kind.
Praying Mantis: *Tilts evil, green head and looks at me with its dead green eyes *
Me: *takes deep breaths* Dont look at me like that. Now listen, I am going to put this container on you. Please dont move
Praying Mantis: *moves its evil greens hands over its alien face a few time*
Me: *shudders and moves a bit closer*
Praying Mantis: *moves a few steps forward*
Me: *moves a few steps back* Dont make this hard. Stand still or I will go get the biggest book I can find and drop it on you.
Praying Mantis: *tilts head left and right as if to say no, you wont*
Me: So, you dont think I will, hey? Well, I have a rather large, heavy photo book. It would definitely kill you.
Praying Mantis: *stands completely still for a few moments*
Me: *moves forward and quickly throws container over praying Mantis before squealing* See, that wasnt so hard.
*
Whats your strategy when it comes to bugs? Do you squish them, toss them outside, leave them alone or have a little chat with them?

42 comments

  1. Lol! Yeah, I don't hate or fear them, I don't trust them. They are up to something....:)

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  2. lol, i would pick up a praying mantis no prob, i dont like spiders and cockroaches and i am 110% TERRIFIED of christmas beatles. i swear they want to make nests in my hair! :(

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  3. My cats and dogs usually eat most spiders and moths etc but I keep a plastic container under the sink which I use to catch the insect and release outside. The exception is ticks which get washed down the sink or flushed.

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  4. Geez, can't a mantis pray in peace? ;)

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  5. Ha ha!

    I have a nifty bug catcher that allows me to catch the bug in inside it and then re-open the lid to let it out outside.

    Wasps are pure evil and sting for the fun of it... I usually squish them.

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  6. I hate bugsssss I was held hostage outside of my own room yesterday for a few hours because a lizard decided to take up residence in front of it, luckily like you I have a boyfriend that likes any and every animal on earth especially bugs lol

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  7. hahaha! i just went through the same little charade in MY bedroom when i watched a grossly disgusting stinkbug crawl across my wall.. it was dark and all i could see what this moving.. spot. (omg it's giving me the willies just telling you!) i played the little sneak-up-behind-it game and trapped it in a starbucks paper coffee cup, shook it up against the wall a few times as to stun it so it wouldnt creep out and then IMMEDIATELY flushed it down the toilet. still alive. hoping maybe that would get the message across to any..."friends." haha!

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  8. ewww I'm a freak about spiders! I don't like them at all. One night I heard banging and things moving at like midnight in my sisters room. I went down opened the door and she had her softball bat and her dresser moved away from the wall! and she was on a mission to find this spider bc she wouldn't fall asleep with it still living.

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  9. Eck! I grab the vacuum and suck 'em up!

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  10. Let me preface this by saying I am dreadfully terrified of insects of all kinds (except earthworms for some reason)

    My tactic involves:

    1. Thinking I am going to die

    2. Screaming

    3. Bursting into tears

    4. Calling in Hubs

    5. Telling him to stop laughing at me

    6. Getting the Doom myself because Hubs fails to see the danger in keeping said insect in the house...

    *sigh*

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  11. My strategy is to lose it. Completely.
    I once put a hole in the bathroom wall by smashing a spider to death with my shampoo bottle.

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  12. The plan of action depends on the size of the bug.

    If it's small I squish it. I have no remorse.

    If it's big and will make a smushy sound when I kill it I scream hysterically for J to come and save me.

    After, I request a small glass of sugar water because I am THAT afraid of bugs.

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  13. haha!!! that's cute - glad you lived to tell the tale!

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  14. I don't mind bugs,and actually really like a praying mantis.But don't bring any type of rodent near me.Unless you want the roof raised.

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  15. Finding a mantis inside is actually supposed to be good luck. :-)

    I have a very serious fear of spiders, but it's not irrational cause they're all out to get me! Vacuum cleaner with a handful of coarse sand and half a bottle of doom does the trick on those very nicely.

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  16. i try to catch them and throw them outside, but it depends. the grossest bug story i have is when i was living in the woods for a summer, i caught a wolf spider on the wall by my pillow, and i had to catch it in a cup and throw it outside.

    i had nightmares for weeks. bugs i'm ok with, but i don't do spiders.

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  17. You're too funny. You desribe things so well , I could hear the mantis! The only 2 bugs that bug me are cockroaches and mosquitoes, those I take GREAT delight in killing.

    Snakes, lizards, beetles, spiders.. any other creepy crawly I will save and put outside before my husband finds them

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  18. I've NEVER considered a chat.

    I'll try it next time.

    You cracked me up...;)

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  19. I'm pretty much the worst person ever. I cover them with something and leave it there until I think they're dead.

    Okay, I've only done that once. But I felt *really* bad about it, so now I try and shoo them outside.

    Except now that's B's job. Thank goodness for boobs!

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  20. It depends on the size of the bug. I don't mind a Praying Mantis, but other insects are summarily killed. I have three different cans of Doom...each with a different speciality. Spiders, however, are Hubby's problem. I curl into a ball and cry until he kills whichever spider has crawled into my vicinity.

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  21. I HATE praying mantises. They are by far the creepiest living thing ever. Well, at least equal to bats. Eew! My tactic would have included squealing like a little girl, & making the hubs deal with it. Then, I would have probably fumigated my entire room, just in case Mr. Couch Potato fibbed & didn't really remove the invader.

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  22. When I was in Cambodia, at the amazing Angkor Wat Temple Complex, I ran across a praying mantis... I spent a few minutes amazed, watching the little thing "taunt" me. Is it funny that I found this little buy more entertaining than the architectural wonders behind me.

    :)

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  23. When I was a teen, I slept over at a friend's house. She saw a spider on the wall and freaked out. She grabbed her mom's hair spray and doused that poor spider til it was stiffer than a board. lol!

    I don't deal with bugs...I have 5 brothers and a boyfriend for that.

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  24. I'm with you. I don't like any bugs except lady bugs. When I was in grade school I tried hard to not let the other guys know I was scared of grasshoppers or they would have made my life miserable.

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  25. We've had an invasion of "stink bugs" in our neck of the woods this winter. You can't kill them, 'cause they release this funny odor upon their demise...

    eeeeeewwwww!!!!

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  26. As much as I would have hated to do it, that bug would have got the book. They freak me out. But I do feel bad for killing them.

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  27. Just squish them........

    And tell Earth Child I captured them then set them free outside..

    (Like that's gonna happen)

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  28. You can't squish praying mantises, they're so big and meaty I bet they make a terrible crunching noise and leave lots of guts on the floor! Ew! Also, they're harmless!

    Small bugs, though, I smash. =-D

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  29. I mostly try to coax them out the door or window. However, there was a spider on my bedspread last night as I was going to sleep. He got the axe.

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  30. I had the most god-awful experience the other night: In my sleep I felt something crawl down the nape of my neck and over my shoulder. I thought I was just dreaming, but then I woke up and it was a cockroach - slimy, scheming, gross, gigantic demon of a bug! Needless to say I backhanded it across the room and squashed it against the opposite wall, but it was still...twitching...

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  31. Mantids are adorable! Which is probably why people call me whenever they have an insect 'problem'

    I'll never forget when one of my students wanted to catch a praying manis for her insect collection, but she was terrified of touching it, so she kind of stomped backwards around the room wielding a jar at the poor thing...

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  32. Lady I am sooo with you. I am a total baby when it comes to bugs. I developed arachnophobia some time last year... I think you'll enjoy these posts...:

    http://bridesmaid-to-be.blogspot.com/2008/04/karma-kills-me.html

    http://bridesmaid-to-be.blogspot.com/2008/04/haunting-written-yesterday-evening.html

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  33. I suck them up with the vacuum cleaner. Using the nice long handle.

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  34. I avoid them if possible, but can deal with them if there is no one else around. I am a smasher...gross, I know. My boyfriend traps them in a platic cup and slides an envelope underneath and takes them outside. Unless it's winter time and he's feeling lazy, then he will just cover it up with a cup, leave it on the counter with the intentions of taking it outside next time he goes, but really forgets about it. Actually, this only happened once...but I haven't let him live it down since it was I who was cleaning up and discovered it there...and it scurried away. :)

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  35. I hate all bugs and I deal with them based on their size. With one exception - roaches - I spray them to death! I've been known to use 1/2 can of Raid on one roach.

    I have used your plastic container approach several times - even on small lizards when I was living in Florida. Then I wait for someone braver to come along and take care of removing the creature.

    And if a bug is small enough I either step on it or smash it with something (book, newspaper). I believe all bugs should be killed. I know, I'm heartless.

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  36. Just so you know, I found that spider on my bedspread this morning while I was making the bed. Um, ew.

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  37. My hubby is a biology teacher...bugs are his friends. I don't want them in the house. I once killed a spider, and left it's remains on the walls as a warning to others. (and because I didn't want to go near it dead either) :-)

    Great blog, visiting via Sass's page.

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  38. Praying mantises are THE creepiest things. Several years ago, there must've been a bumper crop of them. The lighted doorbell by my back door attracted them and they camped there for weeks. I was too chicken to use my key in the lock. One got into the house and played music on my measuring spoons thanging on a rack. That same year, a friend caught one in a mason jar--it was the same length as the jar!! He had caught it sitting on the front bumper of his car.

    EWE...just creepy. Gave me nightmares.

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  39. Yeah, I have "issues" with bugs. One held me captive in my apartment for almost a week!! before I regained my freedom. Just in case you might think about calling the police for help....they don't consider Entimology Emergencies a 9-1-1 matter. Not that I called or anything, but that's what I hear.....

    Read these to see what I mean:

    http://www.lisatastrophies.com/2008/03/help-im-buggin-out.html

    http://www.lisatastrophies.com/2008/03/fffrrreeeeeeeeeddooooooommmmmm.html

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  40. Ok, I'm late to this, but I have to say: "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" How could you even think of squashing a praying mantis? They are the most adorable insects! Oh man, I'm not kidding, I LOVE those little guys. I think their little faces are just the cutest things! And the way they rub they front feet together...so sweet! Seriously.

    HOWever, if you want to squish a parktown prawn for me, bring it on! Those things are vile. I've also lately been infested by these creepy things that look like crickets with no shell...yuckadoo. Squish squish squish. I'm not adverse to killing spiders, either, but I don't mind wall flatties and daddy-long-legs, because they can't hurt you. Rain spiders freak me out but they're too big to squash without a mess, yuck. Oh and just to reiterate: Kill Parktown Prawns! They must DIE!!!!!

    My cat brings in various beasties, usually the dreaded parktown prawns, lizards, rats and birds. The birds I just feel sorry for and they usually die of fright anyway. The lizards I'm A-ok with - I love lizards - so I pick them up and they go outside. My only issue with rats and mice is that they move like the very wind and are hard to catch in my house of mess. But I would take anything over a P-Prawn.

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  41. That's so crazy!! And a praying mantis too... Realised that's what my bug was in the end, not a grasshopper. Shows how much I know about insects. Thank goodness for Google!!!

    Ah, yours at least got a chat out of you before being trapped. You're kind to bugs!!

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  42. Love bugs, definitely stop to have a chat! :)

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