Cockroach!!!!!!.....or not...

[catdaddy]

The term "Palmetto Bug" is just a euphemism for a darn big cockroach. In Florida they're ubiquitous. I've seen them in homes, in trees, at beaches, on city streets, country roads, literally everywhere.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

The term "Palmetto Bug" is just a euphemism for a darn big cockroach. In Florida they're ubiquitous. I've seen them in homes, in trees, at beaches, on city streets, country roads, literally everywhere.

They are a roach, but mainly live outside in the Palmettos. They don't do well inside fortunately. So, they are all over the place down south, but they won't infest a home. They just wander in from time to time.

The German cockroach can cause an infestation, however.

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by robj144

They are a roach, but mainly live outside in the Palmettos. They don't do well inside fortunately. So, they are all over the place down south, but they won't infest a home. They just wander in from time to time.

The German cockroach can cause an infestation, however.

As someone who lived in the Charleston area for many years, they do indeed get in your home. A palmetto bug is simply a cockroach, but they do get quite large. When living in the older dorms at the College of Charleston, these things were quite common. They prefer damp, wet areas, but are not adverse to getting inside. They can fly, and that really sucks! The Alpha Phi Omega fraternity (co-ed) of which I was a member, would team with the Citadel and have Roach-a-Thon. Roach races, etc. back in the 80s. The Citadel cadets would come down and eat palmetto bugs alive (or at least those cadets with survival training). I make no claims as to the ethics of such a thing!

https://www.orkin.com/cockroaches/di...a-palmetto-bug

In the OP's picture, it looks like a beetle to me.

[12barBill]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

As someone who lived in the Charleston area for many years, they do indeed get in your home. A palmetto bug is simply a cockroach, but they do get quite large. When living in the older dorms at the College of Charleston, these things were quite common. They prefer damp, wet areas, but are not adverse to getting inside. They can fly, and that really sucks! The Alpha Phi Omega fraternity (co-ed) of which I was a member, would team with the Citadel and have Roach-a-Thon. Roach races, etc. back in the 80s. The Citadel cadets would come down and eat palmetto bugs alive (or at least those cadets with survival training). I make no claims as to the ethics of such a thing!

https://www.orkin.com/cockroaches/di...a-palmetto-bug

In the OP's picture, it looks like a beetle to me.

Hey BoneDigger. I am a College of Charleston grad also. At one point I had a downstairs apartment in an "older" apartment building on Coming St. and Palmetto bugs were a fact of life. And yes, they are cockroaches that are large and... can FLY! It was not unusual to wake up in the middle of the night in that apartment, go to the bathroom, flip on the light, and have a startled Palmetto bug fly past your head.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

As someone who lived in the Charleston area for many years, they do indeed get in your home. A palmetto bug is simply a cockroach, but they do get quite large. When living in the older dorms at the College of Charleston, these things were quite common. They prefer damp, wet areas, but are not adverse to getting inside. They can fly, and that really sucks! The Alpha Phi Omega fraternity (co-ed) of which I was a member, would team with the Citadel and have Roach-a-Thon. Roach races, etc. back in the 80s. The Citadel cadets would come down and eat palmetto bugs alive (or at least those cadets with survival training). I make no claims as to the ethics of such a thing!

https://www.orkin.com/cockroaches/di...a-palmetto-bug

In the OP's picture, it looks like a beetle to me.

Yes, I live in Florida so I also know them well:

"The roach can wander indoors at times, especially into damp locations, such as bathrooms; however, it is found mostly outdoors and is not considered a major pest in the home..."

https://cockroach.fandom.com/wiki/Fl...oods_cockroach

The first time I saw one, I Googled them to see if I could have a problem but realized they do not typically infest a home like German roaches. Yes, they do wander into a home for water or warmth but they don't usually stay.

They are nasty though.

[Mr. Jelly]

I lived in a apartment building in California at once. They could never get rid of the cockroaches. They couldn't get everyone to leave the building at the same time to boom the building. So they would do an apartment at a time and run the buggers from apartment to apartment.

[Fogducker]

When I was fighting the war in Frederick Maryland, in '64, a buddy had a 3" cockroach he was proud of that he walked in the barrack halls on a thread leash. I caught a preying mantis, named Victoria, and had her in a box.He threw "Big Red" in my box to try her out. No problem, Victoria grabbed "Big Red", spun him around and ate him from the back end forward! Now Ershbaumer was mad so he caught a humungous hairy spider and threw it in-------same thing! Unfortunately, Victoria shed her skin or something and I lost her.

Oh yeah, not one VC made it past Akron, Ohio while I was in the Army from 1963-'65!

Fog

[catdaddy]

Originally Posted by robj144

Yes, I live in Florida so I also know them well:

"The roach can wander indoors at times, especially into damp locations, such as bathrooms; however, it is found mostly outdoors and is not considered a major pest in the home..."

https://cockroach.fandom.com/wiki/Fl...oods_cockroach

The first time I saw one, I Googled them to see if I could have a problem but realized they do not typically infest a home like German roaches. Yes, they do wander into a home for water or warmth but they don't usually stay.

They are nasty though.

We're talking about two different insects as "palmetto bugs". Both are large, but they look quite different, and apparently have very different behaviors.


This is what almost everyone I know here in Florida (apparently incorrectly) refers to as a palmetto bug. It's common name is American cockroach, and it's a big, flying, house-infesting pest:





This is a Florida woods cockroach which apparently is the officially recognized "palmetto bug":



I have only run into the Florida woods cockroach very rarely indoors, but on those occasions I was impressed by their size and armor plated appearance. And I should add, hoped each time that it would be the last encounter with one.

[Pura Vida]

Earlier this month, we were at our house in Costa Rica, and for the first time, we had about a half dozen cockroaches get into the house, and we found a few more at the entrance of the garage. Insects are a common thing in the tropics, but it was still a surprise and a nuisance. That being said, I'll take them over scorpions, snakes, or even spiders.

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by Pura Vida

Earlier this month, we were at our house in Costa Rica, and for the first time, we had about a half dozen cockroaches get into the house, and we found a few more at the entrance of the garage. Insects are a common thing in the tropics, but it was still a surprise and a nuisance. That being said, I'll take them over scorpions, snakes, or even spiders.

When I left Charleston to move to Texas, I lost the Palmetto bugs and apparently traded them for bark scorpions. We get maybe 10 or so per year in the house. Been stung once, my wife has been stung three times. Kind of like a bee sting, perhaps a little worse. Hurts pretty bad for a while. They do indeed suck, but they are nowhere nearly as "nasty" as Palmetto bugs.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

We're talking about two different insects as "palmetto bugs". Both are large, but they look quite different, and apparently have very different behaviors.


This is what almost everyone I know here in Florida (apparently incorrectly) refers to as a palmetto bug. It's common name is American cockroach, and it's a big, flying, house-infesting pest:





This is a Florida woods cockroach which apparently is the officially recognized "palmetto bug":



I have only run into the Florida woods cockroach very rarely indoors, but on those occasions I was impressed by their size and armor plated appearance. And I should add, hoped each time that it would be the last encounter with one.

Yes, but American Cockroaches seldom infest homes as well:

"Not commonly seen in homes

May move indoors during colder months seeking warmer temperatures and food through openings in the foundation"

https://www.callnorthwest.com/2017/0...rican-roaches/

[Steve DeRosa]

Cockroach - are you kidding...?

Here in NYC that's a pet - the cockroaches use Raid as an energy drink, and they're big/tough enough to help the rats carry out your furniture when you move...

[catdaddy]

Originally Posted by robj144

Yes, but American Cockroaches seldom infest homes as well:

"Not commonly seen in homes

May move indoors during colder months seeking warmer temperatures and food through openings in the foundation"

https://www.callnorthwest.com/2017/0...rican-roaches/

Apparently there is a difference of opinion about them. My personal experience has been that they're present in every Florida home I've ever visited. Even homes with regular pest treatments from commercial pest control companies have a few show up on the cusps of retreatment.

"American cockroaches are especially common in larger commercial buildings such as restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, food processing plants, hospitals, etc., where they usually infest food storage and food preparation areas, boiler rooms, steam tunnels and basements. These pests can also infest homes by easily passing underneath doors lacking weather stripping or entering through basement windows and garages. Once inside a residence, American cockroaches usually make their way into the kitchen, bathroom, basement or laundry room in search of food and water." (bolded for emphasis)

https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide...n-cockroaches/

[12barBill]

Originally Posted by robj144

Yes, but American Cockroaches seldom infest homes as well:

"Not commonly seen in homes

May move indoors during colder months seeking warmer temperatures and food through openings in the foundation"

https://www.callnorthwest.com/2017/0...rican-roaches/

Well... apparently no one told that to the "Palmetto bugs") (flying American cockroach, whatever genus and species they are) in Charleston, SC...

[robj144]

Originally Posted by Bill Sims

Well... apparently no one told that to the "Palmetto bugs") (flying American cockroach, whatever genus and species they are) in Charleston, SC...

I live in South Florida and hardly ever seen them inside in any place I lived in or been a guest. I've been in my current place for 11 years and seen a total of maybe a dozen. Usually about once a year.