Palmetto bug does the backstroke in reef tank

[Chihuahua6]

When you live in the south you will eventually meet a Palmetto bug. They will every so often want to come join you in your home for a little visit. This usually happens at night.

What is a Palmetto bug you ask? Basically they're giant roaches that fly. I know, totally disgusting.

This evening I was trying to enjoy the olympics closing ceremony that I Tivo'd from earlier in the evening. After numerous interruptions from the kids and the dogs I take a seat in front of my 29 gallon anemone tank. I recently added three large RBTAs from a fellow reefer. I figured I would gaze for a moment into the tank watching the anemones sway in the current but then I see a large dark object crawling up the wall from behind my tank.

It crawls. I shut off the tank light and run and get the roach spray. I come back and it's on the cabinet of the tank. I give it a few sprays. The damn thing crawls up the glass of the tank. Now I can't spray it without getting spray into the water. Then it falls in. Its legs are in the air kicking frantically. Then I realize the spray that I shot it with is now in the tank. Last night I accidentally killed my prized Pyramid Butterflyfish. Now I'm thinking these fish and anemones may suffer the same fate. I can't net it out because it just creeps me out too much. Okay maybe it will drown. It doesn't.

Then it crawls up the arm of the clip on light. I can't swat the light. I might break it. So I turn the light on to hopefully burn it to death with the heat of the halide. As it heats up the bug feels it. It ends up falling back into the tank to do the backstroke again. It gets back onto the light and gets so hot it falls off but now onto the floor where it slowly crawls across toward the family room. I run to the bookcase and grab a hardcover heavy book. It's a nice interior design book. I have no time. If it makes it behind the tv I'll lose it so I drop the book on top of it.

The book will remain there all night. Even if my Belgian Malinois decides he needs something to destroy and chews it. I can't even get that close to a dead one. Pretty pathetic huh?

I did put some fresh carbon into the filter and all inhabitants seem to be doing well.

I just had to share my gross creepy story. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

[pdelcast]

Amanda... great story. I used to live in Mississippi (Air Force) so I know how those bugs can be. Yuck!

One word of advice -- keep the bug spray away from the tank. FAR away. I've known people who have killed everything in the tank by getting just a little bit of spray near a tank. Bug sprays are also deadly poison to inverts and fish... Here's from a toxicological report for a common bug killer (Bifenthrin -- main ingredient in Home Defense bug spray and many others.)

Effects on Aquatic Organisms: Bifenthrin is very highly toxic to fish, crustaceans and aquatic animals (61, 11). The LC50 after a 96-hour exposure is 0.00015 mg/l for rainbow trout, 0.00035 mg/l for bluegill, and 0.0016 mg/l for Daphnia (12, 63).


So about 1/100 of a drop of this stuff will kill everything in an aquarium...

[Chihuahua6]

Wow. Well I know something must have gotten in since it got on the bug and then the bug immediately went swimming. Maybe the fresh carbon got it out before any damage was done? They all seem fine this morning, knock on wood.

On a cute note there was a baby Palmetto bug in the kitchen too, must be from all the rain, and one of my little Chihuahuas was playing with it. When the other dogs came by to investigate it she put her foot directly on it and growled at them to protect her 'prey'. I made her leave it because it was late and I needed to get to sleep. I figured the cat would finish the job but she sniffed it and let it walk away.

Luckily it was a tiny one otherwise it may have carried my Chihuahua away.

[tkeracer619]

Take off shoe.... swing.

Keep shoe on..... step.

Paper towels.

Just a bug.

[BigJay]

I usually end up fishing at least one or two bugs out of the sump in a week, especially when the kids leave one of the doors open at night and every bloody insect in Texas flies in the house.

I just fish them out with a net, and then down the garbage disposal they go. I've had a few wasps, mosquitos, and at least one palmetto bug in the water, but mostly moths - the big ugly Texas-sized ones.

[mutualbill]

Due to all the rain we have been experiencing I have found 2 in my tank in the past week. Now bear in mind I have been keeping a reef tank for almost 4 years and no ROACHES. One of the roaches was stuck to one of my SEIO 1500's. I kept praying that as I unplugged it it didn't somehow slip into the powerhead and spread a million roach parts all over the aquarium!

[bubbly]

All that bug killer that you like to spray in the house -- you're the one who ends up breathing all the roach poison that misses the roach.

If you need to kill the things, use a shoe or some bait. Otherwise you're just going to give yourself cancer or something.

[Freed]

Bugs are high in protein.

[Chihuahua6]

I love to spray "all that bug killer." It makes me high and smells great.

Anyway the reason they come into the house is because I am one of the few folks down here who doesn't have the exterminator spray monthly, or at all for that matter. Actually people who do have their house sprayed still get visitors on occasion. I only spray one here and there when it's in a spot that can't be reached with enough momentum to squish it.

Originally posted by bubbly
All that bug killer that you like to spray in the house -- you're the one who ends up breathing all the roach poison that misses the roach.

If you need to kill the things, use a shoe or some bait. Otherwise you're just going to give yourself cancer or something.

[Saltz Creep]

My palmetto bugs can beat up your palmetto bugs

[pteam]

Originally posted by Chihuahua6
I love to spray "all that bug killer." It makes me high and smells great.

Are you kidding? Its poison! You like to breathe in poison? Thats gonna give you cancer like the other guy said...

[black_majik]

Try having a giant oak next to your house full to the base with them...... thank god I'm now in PA.

[Chihuahua6]

Originally posted by pteam
Are you kidding? Its poison! You like to breathe in poison? Thats gonna give you cancer like the other guy said...

I hope you're kidding asking if I'm kidding. If not, yes I was kidding.

Take note that I mentioned that I don't have the house sprayed, only rarely use the stuff and had rolling eyed smiley faces at the bottom of my post.

[hootie51]

Ah Palmetto bugs...good old SC!!

[IFbettas]

Here in Idaho I have to fish out hobo spiders from my tank all the time. It doesn't make me feel better knowing that they're poisonous...