pests in the house and cats

Kitkat wrote:

Oh man. I long for a bug-free home. It's not even that our house is
dirty...but the building is SO old, so I'm sure there have been creepy
crawlies harvesting around here for years! Every time I walk in to this
room, I scan the walls now, looking for those damn centipedes. GROSS! DH
had originally been calling them silver fish and they are not. I'm glad
about that cuz it seems that silverfish eat EVERYTHING...paper, walls,
glue, etc! EEK!

What part of the country do you live in? We lived in Indianapolis when
I was 10-13 years old, in this absolutely beautiful house that was
about 25 years old at the time, 2 story, all brick, and the place was
crawling with centipedes!!!!! That is the only place I have ever seen
them. My mom and I were totally horrified of them. It truly ruined
living there for us because we were always looking for them. They are
downright creepy looking! I don't like any bugs much but those are
about the worst. Much worse than the huge sewer roaches we have here
in Phoenix.

Candace

Candace wrote:
Kitkat wrote:


Oh man. I long for a bug-free home. It's not even that our house is
dirty...but the building is SO old, so I'm sure there have been creepy
crawlies harvesting around here for years! Every time I walk in to this
room, I scan the walls now, looking for those damn centipedes. GROSS! DH
had originally been calling them silver fish and they are not. I'm glad
about that cuz it seems that silverfish eat EVERYTHING...paper, walls,
glue, etc! EEK!


What part of the country do you live in? We lived in Indianapolis when
I was 10-13 years old, in this absolutely beautiful house that was
about 25 years old at the time, 2 story, all brick, and the place was
crawling with centipedes!!!!! That is the only place I have ever seen
them. My mom and I were totally horrified of them. It truly ruined
living there for us because we were always looking for them. They are
downright creepy looking! I don't like any bugs much but those are
about the worst. Much worse than the huge sewer roaches we have here
in Phoenix.

Candace


You probably could have guessed. I live in the midwest. Suburbs of
Chicago to be more exact.

I;ve been researching these little assholes and I'm finding they are
nocturnal, which explains why I tend to see them at NIGHT when DH is
SLEEPING!!!!!!! ACK!!!!!!!!! Guess I gotta start going to bed earlier.

Another thing I read about them is that despite their super gross and
horrifying appearance, they feed on other insects and spiders, so they
are actually beneficial. I dunno though. Somehow, I'd like to get rid of
ALL buggers that are in my home. They give me the heebie jeebies!!!!

Luna likes them though.
Pam

On Wed 03 Aug 2005 09:52:42p, Kitkat wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav
m):

Oh man. I long for a bug-free home. It's not even that our house
is dirty...but the building is SO old, so I'm sure there have
been creepy crawlies harvesting around here for years! Every
time I walk in to this room, I scan the walls now, looking for
those damn centipedes. GROSS! DH had originally been calling
them silver fish and they are not. I'm glad about that cuz it
seems that silverfish eat EVERYTHING...paper, walls, glue, etc!
EEK!

Other than termites, I think the critter that grossed me out the
most here was when I had an infestation of mealy moths. They came
in some dry cat food, and I couldn't get rid of them for months!
When I first started seeing the moths, Shamrock was having a blast.
He'll chase anything that flies more than he will those that crawl.
Then the gross part. I started seeing tiny brown-headed catepillars
on the ceiling. Couldn't imagine what they were, that they were
related to the moths. Oh, but they were! After I found out what
they were, I went through the kitchen chucking out anything that
wasn't sealed air-tight. Killed any moth Shamrock didn't get,
killed catepillars whenever they reared their brown heads. It still
took months to get rid of them. After that, I've noticed those
moths flying around Petco and Petsmart at times. I hear they can
come from cat litter, bedding for small rodents, and of course, pet
food. Total pests.

As for silverfish, I read that you don't normally see them. They're
also nocturnal, and you'll usually only see them if they get stuck
in a glass in the cupboard or something, and can't get out. If you
start seeing them, they've been around for years and you have a
serious problem.

I can't imagine we'll ever have a bug-free home. Even ants provide
a service and as much as I hate thinking of them lurking in the
shadows, they are one of natures little cleaner-uppers.

--
Cheryl

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited
breath."
- W.C. Fields

Cheryl wrote:
After that, I've noticed those
moths flying around Petco and Petsmart at times. I hear they can
come from cat litter, bedding for small rodents, and of course, pet
food. Total pests.

Oh man. That is absolutely awful. I hope I never bring any of that crap
home in my pet supplies! EEW! I know I am a total wuss. I know it. But I
can;t help it. Creepy crawlies are CREEPY and CRAWLY and they might EAT
ME!!! AHHHHH!!!!

pam

Cheryl wrote:

Other than termites, I think the critter that grossed me out the
most here was when I had an infestation of mealy moths. They came
in some dry cat food, and I couldn't get rid of them for months!

Yuk, I had them, too. 2 or 3 years ago about this time. I had bought
bird seed and left it in the laundry room. Now I leave it outside all
the time. I have a whole rack of overflow clothes in the laundry room
and they got all infested into them, especially knits, in the hems.
They had like little cocoons all over my clothes. It was awful. There
were a ton of clothes there and I had to wash every single article.
Plus they were flying all over the place.

As for silverfish, I read that you don't normally see them. They're
also nocturnal, and you'll usually only see them if they get stuck
in a glass in the cupboard or something, and can't get out. If you
start seeing them, they've been around for years and you have a
serious problem.

I had them in an apt. I lived in here in AZ. My one friend always
claimed she swallowed one in a drink of water she had. She felt it
going down. That place had a ton of trees and ground cover, sort of
tropical.

I can't imagine we'll ever have a bug-free home. Even ants provide
a service and as much as I hate thinking of them lurking in the
shadows, they are one of natures little cleaner-uppers.

And we had termites a year and a half ago. Drywood which are worse in
some ways than subterranean. Subterranean are more common here but
drywoods are coming in from CA. In AZ, they say you've either had
termites, you have termites, or you're going to get them. All my
neighbors have had them, too. I imagine we have them now although I
don't see any evidence. The colony has to be in place for 7 years
before you see evidence (with drywood, at least).

Candace

Candace wrote:

What part of the country do you live in? We lived in Indianapolis when
I was 10-13 years old, in this absolutely beautiful house that was
about 25 years old at the time, 2 story, all brick, and the place was
crawling with centipedes!!!!! That is the only place I have ever seen
them. My mom and I were totally horrified of them. It truly ruined
living there for us because we were always looking for them. They are
downright creepy looking! I don't like any bugs much but those are
about the worst. Much worse than the huge sewer roaches we have here
in Phoenix.

Candace

They are common in the Midwest.

When I was hiking in Kauai with my brother in '92, I saw a 18-20 inch
centipede - about a half inch diameter. Freaking creepy, that thing
was!!!

-L.

wrote:
Candace wrote:

What part of the country do you live in? We lived in Indianapolis when
I was 10-13 years old, in this absolutely beautiful house that was
about 25 years old at the time, 2 story, all brick, and the place was
crawling with centipedes!!!!! That is the only place I have ever seen
them. My mom and I were totally horrified of them. It truly ruined
living there for us because we were always looking for them. They are
downright creepy looking! I don't like any bugs much but those are
about the worst. Much worse than the huge sewer roaches we have here
in Phoenix.

Candace


They are common in the Midwest.

When I was hiking in Kauai with my brother in '92, I saw a 18-20 inch
centipede - about a half inch diameter. Freaking creepy, that thing
was!!!

-L.



UGH!!!!!!!!!!

I have felt like I have bugs crawling all over me!!!!

pam

wrote:

They are common in the Midwest.

When I was hiking in Kauai with my brother in '92, I saw a 18-20 inch
centipede - about a half inch diameter. Freaking creepy, that thing
was!!!

Ewww!!!!!

Odd, because we lived in several areas of the midwest and that was the
only place I saw one. Well, I saw one once in West Lafayette, IN, when
I was going to college. But my mom still lives in the midwest and
she's never had one anywhere other than in Indy.

Candace

Candace wrote:
Ewww!!!!!

Odd, because we lived in several areas of the midwest and that was the
only place I saw one. Well, I saw one once in West Lafayette, IN, when
I was going to college. But my mom still lives in the midwest and
she's never had one anywhere other than in Indy.

Candace

They (and millipedes and silverfish) come in looking for water. If
there is easy access to fresh water nearby they usually won't infest a
home, but if not, they come in for a drink. That's why you see them
in damp places like bathrooms and basements.

-L.

Kitkat wrote:



Oh man. I long for a bug-free home. It's not even that our house is
dirty...but the building is SO old, so I'm sure there have been creepy
crawlies harvesting around here for years! Every time I walk in to this
room, I scan the walls now, looking for those damn centipedes. GROSS! DH
had originally been calling them silver fish and they are not. I'm glad
about that cuz it seems that silverfish eat EVERYTHING...paper, walls,
glue, etc! EEK!

Don't think any of us will ever have a bug-free home. Guess we don't
have centipes tho. I never saw one. I'd kill 'em too. I like most bugs
and spiders. The only ones I kill are roaches, ticks or fleas, or black
widows/fiddlebacks. I quit letting DH spray around the house for
spiders, because we never saw any poisonous ones hardly anyway. Now, we
have tons more ladybugs than we used to. We have more butterflies too.
I think that's why.
BTW, I understand you killing centipetes though, or anything poisonous.

Sherry

Sherry