Cockroaches in Maine? I found a HUGE one outside the house.

[crim son]

Wolfie, one of our cats, was toying with it. My question, since I've never had a roach in the house up here: do I need to worry? This guy is about two inches long and effin' hideous. Any ideas? Should I take some sort of action or just not worry about it? :scared:

[Pierre.Suave]

1. I think it is time for chemical warfare

hit them early, hit them hard, and hit them often with extreme prejudice and no mercy.

[BeachBaby]

2. Yes. Shock and awe treatment, baybee....

SHOCK. AND. AWE.

[Pierre.Suave]

3. Or maybe

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW


you can decide which inflection to use when saying that... ;)

[Maine-ah]

4. are you sure it's a cockroach?

we found what we thought was a giant one, but it was actually a water bug.

[XemaSab]

6. They eat them in Southeast Asia

:puke:

[crim son]

7. Hmmmmmmm! Jeebus God that's horrible.

But maybe that's what I have trapped outside... I'll go take a look.

[crim son]

9. YES! That's what it is.

A waterbug, eh? I don't know whether I'm relieved or horrified. I'm going to look 'em up.

[Maine-ah]

18. they are nasty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_water_bug

but they don't want anything from your house though.


Bugs of the family Belostomatidae are fierce predators which stalk, capture and feed on aquatic crustaceans, fish and amphibians. They often lie motionless at the bottom of a body of water, attached to various objects, where they wait for prey to come near. They then strike, injecting a powerful digestive saliva with their mouthparts, and sucking out the liquefied remains. Their bite is considered one of the most painful that can be inflicted by any insect (the Schmidt Sting Pain Index excludes insects other than Hymenoptera); the longer the bug is allowed to inject its saliva, the worse the resulting bite, and as the saliva liquefies muscle tissue, it can in rare instances do permanent damage. Adults cannot breathe under water, and must surface periodically for air.<1> Occasionally when encountered by a larger predator, such as a human, they have been known to "play dead" and emit a fluid from their anus.<1> Due to this they are assumed dead by humans only to later "come alive" with painful results.<1>

Belostomatids show paternal care and the eggs of many species are laid on the male's wings and carried until they hatch. The male cannot mate during this period. The males invest considerable time and energy in reproduction and females take the role of actively finding males to mate. This role reversal matches the predictions of R. L. Trivers' parental investment theory.


here's the pic of one with eggs

[crim son]

11. I'm reading that a water bug is a variety of roach.

It's a Palmetto or American roach. Excellent.

[Lucian]

19. Ugh.

We have the Giant Water Bug here in MN and it's gross. I hate seeing one. Those things (pincers? claws? jaws?) at the end of its head creep me out. :scared: Their bites are known to be quite painful.

[MajorChode]

5. Cockroaches that are that big are OUTSIDE cockroaches

We've got a lot of big ones like that here in Texas, but they don't live indoors.

[Arugula Latte]

8. That's it. The fundies are right...End Times are here.

Be prepared to be hoovered up by Jesus, or be cast into a fiery pit for all eternity.

[crim son]

10. "Hoovered up by Jesus"

! :rofl: !

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Cockroaches are pretty rare in Maine but it's not impossible. (warning: graphic)

Had any out of state deliveries lately? It's possible to have them come in that way but there are other hideous bugs around too.

If it's two inches long, that's supersized for a roach. They're closer to 1 inch in length.


BTW, if the cat's toying with it and it's the only one of its kind, problem solved.

[crim son]

13. Yeah, I was just reading that cats help with pest control.

I have three cats. I just moved into the house in February and I'm a little bit worried that the previous owner left something off the disclosure... :grr:

[Maine-ah]

20. well, a couple of things that might make you feel better

one, is that if you have a stream or a pond near by that may be where it came from. The one that we found was at work, which is why we freaked out about the possibility of it being a roach. The bugger though (I'm pretty sure) must have come off of the truck making a delivery that night. Out of state truck. I doubt you have some kind of infestation in the house. They are bugs that would prefer to be outside.

Check your kitty for bites though. You'll know why when you read my previous post about the buggers.

[Whoa_Nelly]

14. Maine cockroaches

http://pmo.umext.maine.edu/factsht/roach.htm

Eco-friendly ways to get rid of'em:
http://blog.ecosmart.com/index.php/2008/09/27/cockroach-extermination-2/

And heard about this orange-based home-safe insecticide on the radio while on my road trip last week:

http://www.orangeguard.com/




If you saw one, there are more.
Best time to use a defense is now before the weather warms up more. :hi:

[cwydro]

15. In Florida, the biggest ones are called palmetto bugs

and mostly live outside.

It's the little ones that hang inside the house.

[graywarrior]

16. Could be a wood cockroach.

They live in Maine....in the woods.

[Critters2]

17. Probably a wood roach. They live in, well, woods,

and don't typically come inside. But if I saw one near my house, I think I'd do just a round of barrier spraying around the outside of the house.


And yes, wood roaches are huge. When I lived in the country, I once saw one in my living room, came in on a load of firewood, I think. I didn't have my glasses on when I spotted it crawling across the carpet, and I honestly thought it was a mouse. They're just that big.

[MilesColtrane]

21. They're actually good with melted butter.