I hate bugs. Not just mildly either. Oh, sure, some bugs aren't too scary. Ants are a pain and so are box elder bugs, but they don't frighten me. Bugs are actually one reason why I stayed in Minnesota so many years even though I can't stand winter and snow and hats and mittens and boots and heavy jackets and scarfs and...well, you get the idea. Minnesota might have had horrible winters, but it kept the bugs small and mostly non-scary.
And then my job was relocated to Atlanta.
OMG, the size of the bugs down here is horrifying. When I first moved down, I stayed in a condo temporarily and it wasn't well sealed. I can't even tell you the size of the bugs that got in. My bug vac, which was totally fine in Minnesota, didn't have enough power to suck up the Godzilla bugs down here. I ended up chasing bugs the size of the VW Beetle through the condo with a full-size vacuum cleaner.
Centipedes. While living at the condo, I got used to doing a centipede check because sightings were frequent.
Moving into my house down here helped a lot. It was a newer house and it was well-sealed so a lot fewer insects. I also pay a pest service to put a ring of death around my home. It's so weird to say that because in Minnesota you only used them if you had some kind of infestation. It wasn't something you just automatically contracted for because it wasn't necessary.
My house, though, had it's own issues. Scorpions. Yeah. The first one I ever saw was also the biggest one I've ever had inside...at least that I've seen. What an introduction. :-/ I knew spraying it wasn't going to work because of their crunchy shell, so I stepped on it. I was wearing thick-soled shoes at the time. So far I've had like 13 or 14. I kind of lost count.
I used to love The Mummy 2. When I lived in Minnesota I was mildly repulsed by the scorpions, but it wasn't a huge deal. Now? Well, my experiences have ruined the movie for me. I literally get all icked out now when I watch it, so much so that I've stopped. Thanks a lot, scorpions.
The pest company that came out put down sticky traps at key locations. Over night something got stuck in the trap in my laundry room next to the door to the garage. It's big, it's brown, and I'm scared to look and see what it is. It's really, really freaking me out every time I go in there. I know what you're thinking: Just get rid of the trap. Yeah, easier said than done. Every time I try to get rid of those traps, it gets stuck to the broom bristles (or the stick or whatever else I'm using to get it in the dustpan). Believe me, I don't want to touch the trap to unstick it from the broom.
I'm also torn. Part of me wishes that thing had never gotten stuck in the trap. The other part of me is like OMG, imagine trying to deal with something that size loose in the house! Gak! I've decided I'd rather deal with the sticky trap.
