Spring = EEEEWWWW!!! EEEK!!! HORRID NASTY BUGS!

Hi everyone! I have a bit of a problem. Every spring, ants, spiders and icky crawly things somehow get into my house.

I HATE BUGS. Im a total insect-a-phobic and arachnaphobic. Basicly, anything smaller then my finger and/or that has more then 4 legs, Im afraid of.

I love those outdoor bug zappers, every time I hear that little "ZZT" I want to jump for joy.

One less bug to invade my house.
Ive been looking for a good way of ridding myself of the dispicable invaders, I even sank down to buying a $40 piece of plastic. It advertised itself as using ultrasonic/high pitch technology to drive out bugs. I was desperate, so, totally against my anti-ripoff instincts, I bought it.

I plugged it in. The next day, a nice fat spider plopped right down next to it. Happy as can be, it even wove a little home.

Is there *anything* that can drive away indoor insects/anthropods?

==Chris
boolean hasHeebyJeebies = TRUE.

I really hope you don't get cicadas this year. Nothing like millions of horny 17 year old insects coming out of the ground for a few weeks of mating, smacking into windshields, getting eaten by birds and dying. I'm not even thinking about washing the car until they are all dead.

As for getting rid of unwanted guests, the classics are the best: sticky things and poison.

Having lived with insects and spiders much of my life...

Insects are going to get into your house. Period. There's no way to caulk every crack, no way to seal every door. I don't want to creep you out, but they're all over your house, and the ones you see are just the brave/stupid ones. So you might as well resign yourself to that fact.

But there are things you can do.

Ants: Ants have been an occasional nuisance in my old home. If you notice them in a particular area of your house, say around the kitchen sink or a particular trash can, I would recommend thoroughly cleaning the area. Ants, if I recall correctly, guide one another via an invisible chemical trail of some sort, and it seems that thoroughly cleaning where that trail might be tends to at least forestall the invasion. Then you might use a chemical ant-killer on the area where they've invaded, where they might be getting in, etc.

Spiders and other creepy crawlies: As you might have noticed, these bugs tend to like cramped, dark spaces. I've read that spiders in particular like cardboard for some reason. So, get rid of that stuff, tidy it up. Don't leave much space for web-weaving, etc. And also, keep in mind that most of the spiders you'll find in the house are not particularly poisonous; there are a few, however, such as the brown recluse, you should watch out for... This isn't so much a tip as it is an attempt to deflate your fear of spiders.

Although, generally, I usually leave spiders well enough alone. They seem to be marginally more intelligent than ants and other insects, which will think nothing of crawling right up to your foot and up your leg -- a spider at least seems to have some sense of potential danger. Along with silverfish (creepy crawlies for sure), they're clean-up types of bugs, and so potentially helpful in that sort of eww-ick-I-don't-care-just-squish-them sort of way.

Flying insects: Houseflies and fruit flies are total pests. They fly in your face and land in your unattended water glasses. But, as opposed to these other bugs, it seems that cleaning up a bit can at least help diminish the problems here. Obviously, don't leave food sitting around. I've also noticed some more flying bugs since we've gotten more plants in the house, but my roommate's not about to dump the plants.

Having said that... I spent a summer in a cabin in the Rockies, once. I was literally surrounded by bugs and spiders. They would land on my pillow at night sometimes -- audibly, they were that big -- and freak me out. After that kind of exposure, you not only get over your jumpiness and begin to become very adept at killing them cleanly, but you tend to appreciate the relative lack of such bugs here in civilized society.

Generally speaking, contract an extermination service. Buy some chemicals. I don't think traps work very well but YMMV. Make sure your storage containers are sealed (there's nothing like opening up a box of old yearbooks to find a quick tan spider crawling around your hand). Don't leave paper or cardboard lying around.

Bugs...in Thailand...YE GODS! Multitudes of hundreds of different varieties, all wanting to make there home as close to YOU as possible. *shudders uncontrollably*.

it's expensive, but hire a good exterminator. They are worth their weight in gold .

Zana

P.S. Don't go with Orkin. Go with the guys with the spray guns!

Hah, that's silly, we don't have any bugs around here... I think the most annoying ones are those giant freaking moths that come in the winter, banging against the windows and circling around light bulbs. But we only get like 4 or 5 per year

Well you can get someone to spray around the inside and outside of your house.

The insecticides will kill the bugs long after they spray. Its just like human-style chemical warfare in that the initial spray kills some, then every time something crawls trough the residue it will probably die too.

The only problem is that insecticides kill people too. Traces of this stuff are incredibly bad for you. They are typically deadly neurotoxins (poisons your brain) to insects and mammals.

It can also poison/kill cats and dogs if they walk through it and lick their paws, or if they eat the poisoned insects.

The insecticides are often suspended in oils that don't wash off easily. So after spraying, you now have a yummy thin layer of deadly neurotoxin stuck to everything in your house.

Naturally insecticide companies / sales people won’t tell you this.

I recommend you should learn to live in peace with the bugs, or consider getting a cat or a dog.

My cat will eat any bug but ants. She will beat the ants up a bit though if she has nothing better to do.

Ikes, spiders are invading my house too.....I find 1 to 2 a day, and to top it off, they like the way I taste....one indulged himself 3 times the other day....can't even think about it!!!

and those little vampires are coming soon, so NOT looking forward to them....they like me even more than spiders.....if there is a group of people standing around, yes, I'M the one they want.......

Ticks, we won't even go there!!!! Something funny, my friend and I were camping few years back, and this guy came up to us and said "hey, you girls wanna go back to my tent and I'll check you for ticks"......That's gotta be the worst pick-up line I've ever heard!!! Needless to say, we kept our ticks!!!!!

ewwww, now I feel creepy crawlers all over me!!!

Bugs, simply put, BUG me!

I live in a heavily wooded area and every spring for the last several yrs. we have been invaded by these lady bug like bugs, 1000s of them, they are a duller color than ladybugs. A neighbor told me they were called something else, don't remember though.

Then summer comes and its box elder bugs. When I come home from work there are literally hundreds sunning themselves on the brickwork in the front of the house. I won't even mention the hornet problem i just cant seem to get rid of...

Oh and our Cicadae here in MN are yearly. Oh YAY! They usually start up around July...

With the exception of the Cicadae, they all love to come in the house to visit and pass time, driving us insane! *Cackling wildly...digging underneath sink...hmm where is that can of Raid? OH NO it's EMPTY!!!!!*

I was told once that drawing a line with red pepper across the doorway entrance would keep ants from walking in.

Hey, I got to remember that one. /me furiously scribbles on a notepad.

The carpet where I live is spider colored. Whatever color of spider comes in they are practically invisible. I'm constantly noticing huge spiders inches away from my bare feet.

The red pepper trick works and salt can too... until they find a way around. Try to eliminate their food sources, and also try to remember that they're a nuisance but harmless.

I have wolf spiders in my basement often. They're friggin huge, hairy, look like tarantulas, can just a foot in the air while dodging a broom, and are fast! I was really freaked out by them at first but now they don't bother me at all. They're really quite amazing creatures... hunters and foragers that don't build nests and can live for several years. They eat other less benign insects. When I see them now I try and escort them outside. Sometimes if I'm feeling lazy I just leave them alone. And I used to be a HUGE arachnaphobe.

I'm very much NOT looking forward to brood X this year though. Can't they just sleep for another 17 years? I live right on the edge of the woods. Guess I won't be getting much sleep when those nasty buggers come out to mate.

Well, this explains the insect problem over at McDaniels in Argent...it's spring! And here I thought it was due to raw hamburger being left out over night.

Bugs...kill them all...yes! I don't care what it does to the ecosystem, I want them all DEAD!
D-E-D....DEAD! (Anyone know which movie that spelling of dead is from?)

The thing that bugs (no pun intended) me in the summer is these stupid little gnat things, or whatever they are. These tiny little pest bug things get through window screens when a fan is in the window (at night only), and of course they always end up going to the lights in the room like a computer monitor. I think it's those same stupid bugs you sometimes find "swarms" of in midair (huh???) or near nasty bushes. You're walking around and then all the sudden you notice this huge cloud of tiny friggin bugs ahead...what the heck???

It's so hard to find bug-proof screens (for this sized bug), too. Only thing I ever found was a huge roll of micro-sized window screen stuff, but we only need it for 2-4 windows.

What a perfect thread for me to find today! I have a funny story about bugs.

Ive been putting off weeding the garden for a few months now and finally got off my butt today to do it. The weeds here are horrendous! I'd pull and it would just keep coming out and till it was like almost a foot long of roots. I had sprayed about a week ago w/ some weed and root killer so it made it easier to pull them out.

Here's the funny part though...At first i was just using my hands (with garden gloves on of course...i hate dirt) and was moving the dirt around looking for more weeds. There were worms and creepy crawly things all over. So I start using a little spade to move the dirt around. That was working till i came upon some really stubborn roots. I switched to a shovel to shove under the dirt and kind of give me some leverage to pull up those resistant roots. It worked brilliantly until.....

I shoved the shovel under some dirt..and leaned on the shovel using my arms like i had been. But these roots were really really strong so i put one foot on the handle of the shovel and pressed down. Well...I didn't realize my own strength and the shovel part of the shovel flies up...dirt and all...and all the dirt flies up into the air...and before I could react...all the dirt came down all around me...including on my head and down my shirt! All I could think about was all those worms and creepy crawly things that I had been finding every time i moved the dirt around. So I screamed and took my shirt off in about 1/2 a sec flat and was running my fingers through my hair trying to shake out any dirt and bugs. I thought for sure I was going to die...I HATE bugs!!!

Anyone looking out of their windows got a great show this afternoon LOL Crazy lady w/ no shirt on screaming and running around the garden.

Why, SPAWN, of course.

This thread is making me itchy!

We get these annoying little things... Nolan's description was the nearest "ladybug like" (I assume you mean what we call ladybirds, red things with black spots... your name for em makes more sense). Except these are a lot smaller.. maybe 3mm by 2mm, grey colour with black stripes along their width - or grey stripes on black for the younger ones. Like ladybugs, they usually crawl around but are capable of flight if they're feeling adventurous.

Hundreds of them, horrible little things, don't seem to mind what they crawl on but particularly fond of fabrics. These seem to go into hibernation during winter, but now that summer's on its way they're all over the place again. Ick!

hehehe, why can't I have entertaining neighbors like you!

Hmm, call an exterminator

I hate bugs also, and for some reason they're attracted to me... I've had so many bugs just crawl right up to me, spiders, thousand leggers, silver fish, anything, they just come right at me, no one in my family has that problem and they don't see any bugs untill I'm in the room then WHAM they all come out at me.

Even the smallest bug could make me scream

Damn bugs.

Maybe you are the Aquaman of bugs. Consider it a good thing. Use your powers to command waves of bugs to piss off your enemies. Be the life of the party, and make people live in fear of you.

Really? Wow, must be more common than I thought!

"Robin Hood: Men in Tights"!

The clown in Spawn says it too.

We in the scripting biz prefer the term "debugger"

Here's a sickening story for you. I don't attract bugs or anything but this actually happened to me in my bed. One night i was sleeping, and work up with a powerful itch in my left under arm. Thinking nothing of it, i ran down for breakfast where the itch kept tickling me. I scratched at it and showed mommie (i was and said not to worry. After about an hour of scratching something started dripping. It was not blood either. After about 5 more minutes of this, a piece of my fore arm 'peeled' off and on it was a stag beetle!! I think i killed it when i was scratching underneath it, but the darn thing took off a piece of my skin! I freaked and threw him outside and repeatedly stepped on him till was bug guts.........about 30 mins later freaking out at the hole in my arm, my dog ate the bug's reminds......I laughed histerically at that