Summary: Palmetto bug is just another word for American Cockroach. These suckers are big, they can fly, and they aren't scared of anything or anyone. Palmetto bugs are creepy, but getting rid of palmetto bugs can be a cinch.
If I had to vote in a contest for world's ugliest animal I would have to cast my ballet for the Palmetto Bug. These things are gross. It also has horrible manners.
Palmetto bugs are reddish brown and grow up to two inches in length. It is also known as the American cockroach. It has a pair of large wings on its back that can be used for flying, but wings that are tough enough to act like a shield when the cockroach is on the ground. Palmetto bugs need moisture to survive and only live in warm, tropical climates. It can be found outdoors across the southern United States, but is also a common insect found in commercial facilities with high heat and humidity.
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The reason I say that Palmetto bugs have horrible manners is not only because they invade homes in search of food or to avoid cool weather. It is bad enough that they come in uninvited, but they also leave excrement in the cracks and crevices where they inhabit. The Palmetto bug feeds on any kind of organic material and this often includes garbage or sewage waste. They can get inside by way of sewer connections and they can track in bacteria laden particles. This contamination can lead to health problems like food poisoning, dysentery, and diarrhea. Cockroaches molt as they age, shedding their skins as their bodies grow larger. These shed skins can cause allergy problems for people sensitive to them, and can contribute to childhood asthma.
Once, while in New Orleans, I saw a cockroach on a kitchen counter. I think it saw me, too. I'm pretty sure of this, because the cockroach stood up on its back legs, making the terrifyingly large bug appear even bigger, and it hissed at me. Apparently Madagascar hissing cockroaches aren't the only species of roaches that can audibly alert you to their discontent. Next, there was a kind of showdown. The cockroach spread its wings. It seemed to be gauging my reaction to determine if I would have the courage to confront it with the shoe I had taken off of my foot for the purpose of squashing it. Sensing that I was indeed planning on making a move, the cockroach leapt into the air with a flurry of beating wings and flew straight towards my face, sending me ducking for cover. The battle ended with me grabbing a can of Raid so I could kill the roach from a distance. I would have to say the Palmetto bug won that showdown. See what I mean about horrible manners?
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Most American cockroaches are probably not that aggressive, but they are noted for not scattering from light like many other species of roach. Luckily, they are also not as difficult to get rid of as smaller roach species like the German cockroach. Palmetto bugs have a comparatively slow reproduction rate, and their large size makes them easier to exclude from buildings than smaller species. Palmetto bugs can be kept out by adding weather stripping under doors, adding wire mesh barriers over storm drains and crawl space vents, and by caulking the cracks around water pipes that might be providing an entryway into a home. Fixing leaky pipes can also take away a water source that the roaches might be depending on.
The easiest way to kill roaches that have made their way inside the house is to take a boot and smash them. I am not the least bit sympathetic towards such a rude trespasser. If you are skittish around big, flying, filth covered, insects that can bite (I did mention that they can bite, right?) as I am, then you can also use an aerosol insecticide like Raid that is labeled as a roach killer. To treat a larger infestation of American cockroaches use a desiccant powder, like Borax or Drione Dust. The dust should be sprinkled along the edges of walls or cabinets, or any other crack where there is evidence of roach activity like shed skins, brown fecal stains, or dead bodies. (Don't ask me why the dead bodies always seemed to be turned over on their backs with the legs curled up. That's a whole different article.) An insecticide duster could help you apply the Borax more efficiently.
Still too complicated? Buy a cat. Palmetto bugs make fantastic toys for fun loving felines. Or, simply call the local exterminator to solve your pest control needs.
Comments
Leslie
05 Aug 2009, 17:08
Ok, so for the past 3 months or so, my husband and I have killed about 10
or more palmetto roaches in our bathroom. I live in a 3 bedroom apartment
and this is the ONLY place we see them! We've had pest control over and
recently maintenance covered a hole under the cabinet. We are EXTREMELY
clean and have no idea why the keep popping up. Two days ago I covered the
vent with tape and now I close all the drains. But I don't know what else
to do! They are HUGE and I am extremely scared of them.
Ellie Parker
14 Aug 2009, 13:17
HELPPPPPPPPPPPPP I hate these little well not so little bugs what do I do
to get rid of them ???
jamestownrd
17 Aug 2009, 02:35
I am from northern Minnesota....are these large bugs from mexico laraza? I
want 25 degrees below zero and a good pair of mittens.why doesn't obamma
attack these things....foolish democrat....quit sAving money bary
Terrified Apartment Dweller
23 Aug 2009, 21:37
What is the best way to repel palmetto bugs if you are living in an
apartment building? I had an exterminator out 3 weeks ago because I
started to find 3 and 4 each morning that the cats had killed.
Unfortunately one of my cats ate one and due to the barbs on its legs, it
ripped open her throat and stomach. $3000 and 3 surgeries for my poor baby
cat. So the exterminator put that bait gel in the cabinets and some powder
stuff around under the sofa and behind dressers. I didn't see any after he
was here.
That is until today. I am in the process of moving and the cats had got
one last night (found it this morning sans legs) and then horror of horrors
had one in the car!!!! It flew right at me as I was driving, I almost ran
off the road.
I have an absolutely irrational terror of these things. I use Raid spray
when I see them, but how do I keep them out!??!?! I am moving into a new
apartment and am completely freaked out that I am bringing them with me
now.
What can I put down to repel and kill?
Thank you!
Terrified Apartment Dweller
23 Aug 2009, 21:41
P.S.
Even though I am moving, I don't use cardboard boxes. I heard that the
palmettos love cardboard boxes. Anything that comes into my house with a
box gets immediately transfered into a rubbermaid container and the box is
thrown out (removed from the apartment) teh same day.
I also obsessive about picking up the cat food dish before bed, but they
even come out in the day and wander around while I am watching TV with all
the lights on. Dishes are washed immediately and I even dry the sink after.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mailly
01 Sep 2009, 22:30
Hi I recently moved into an apartment (Charleston SC) complex that provides
pest control inside and out. However, the three weeks I have lived here I
have seen 6 Palmetto Bugs. They have been spotted in my kitchen cabinet,
Bathroom drawers and bedroom floor. I am looking for something that will
not counteract what the pest control guys already do. Should I be using
baits? Roach hotels? If so where can I get them they aren't at my grocery
store or walmart? Also I am hoping for something pet friendly. Thanks!
Kelly
01 Sep 2009, 22:33
Hi I already have pest control but still have seen 6 palmetto bugs what can
I use in combination that will get the suckers that sneak in. Thanks!
TRIPPED OUT NEW RESIDENT
03 Sep 2009, 13:23
LAST NIGHT WHILE WATCHING TV THIS DISGUSTING GIANT DEMON COMES SPRINTING
ACROSS MY COUCH, IN MY HORROR I JUMPED UP AND GOT MY HOLY OIL (RAID) TO
KILL THIS SAVAGE BEAST. I SATURATED THIS NASTY FREAK WITH A HALF OF CAN AND
IT HAD THE GUMPTION TO LIVE, IT RAN UNDER MY ACCESSORY CHAIR,WHEN I MOVED
IT, THE BUG HAD DISAPPEARED, NEEDLESS TO SAY MY PARALYZING FEAR KEPT ME
FROM SLEEPING LAST NIGHT. STILL NO SIGN OF THE NASTY BUG...
NO RELIEF
24 Sep 2009, 07:50
Bought an older home in South Florida last November, blocks from the beach,
great location. Signed on with an exterminator for termites, called them
back in for Rodents (two rats in the house talk about freaked out), now
this summer brought frogs (dozens) that crawl up our windows and house
walls (do they live on the roof?) they swim in our pool and lay dozens and
dozens of eggs... and palmetto bugs... lots and lots of palmetto's. I am
in denial, I am fanatically clean and loosing my mind. Our service came
into the house and we've closed up 100's of cracks, all plumbing holes we
know of, actually screened all the ac ducts, and still (he is due to come
today as a matter of fact) this morning my cats found two very vibrant
alive and well roaches!! Two compared to a dozen a day is comforting to a
point, they have not gone up into our small attic though, outside of bull
dozing the entire house what else can we do? Would surrounding the home
with concrete deck help? How can we treat the attic it is fairly small and
hard to crawl into? My point is we pay for Monthly service and still have
problems... sorry everyone, unless you had really conscientious builders
you would have to pull out vanities and tear up walls to find all the holes
and cracks they leave even in the nicest, newest buildings!! Did I mention
the Iguana's in the yard with their huge droppings? Ahhh the joys of living
near the beach in sunny South Florida, NOT.
Chris
22 Oct 2009, 11:54
Wow, I've been dreaming/obsessing/fantasizing of leaving cold MI and
relocating to Florida. These stories are hell! There is a device that
plugs into the wall (they work fantastically here in MI)it looks similar to
a carbon dioxide detector and costs $30.00. I thought I'd get one when we
get to Florida. Has anyone tried this device?? It sends out piercing
sounds that people don't hear, it wonderful. However, if you have small
pets like hamster/guniea pigs, it isn't recommended. These are found in
hardware stores. Please try one and let me know how it works.
Don Don The Scarey Man
28 Oct 2009, 03:18
I have found a way to battle these Giant Ugly Creatures but my wife is
ready to divorce me. I go into the bathroom and long behold here's this big
thing jumps on my leg. I swore he bit me but it could be my Imagination
because me being the tough guy that I am I jump screamed and grabbed my
wife's hair spray. Oh yes her hair spray and sprayed the crap out of him
and he froze up and couldn't even move. Now this is the best stuff that
they ever made for a lady no wonder there hair stay straight and strong the
whole day. Way to go ladies my VOTE HAIR SPRAY. Oh the reason why I said my
wife will divorce me is that she made a comment if I use her stuff replace
it or else.
GLamphere
20 Nov 2009, 07:08
We just moved into a rental house for a month and have most of our stuff
still in boxes. I have seen two palmetto bugs in the house, one dead the
other not so much. My question is, will they get into our boxes and be
transferred with us? I dont' want to empty all our boxes to make sure we
are not bringing any unwanted visitors. Also, the boxes are being
transported via large tractor trailor from the SE to the NE. Will the cold
kill them if they are in there?
Thanks
Hanky_Spanky
07 Dec 2009, 14:01
Kelly, I heard that you can use something called "sticky paper". You get it
the hardware store and you lay sheets of it (sticky side up) on the floor
around the house. When an insect crawls on it then it sticks and can't go
anywhere.
Tripped Out New Resident, After spraying a Palmetto bug, I have found that
after about 10 minuets they sometimes will charge you and chase you around
the house (no joke! - Happened to me again last night) so just be ready for
that and keep an extra shoe around just in case! It takes about 1 1/2 hours
after spraying the beast for it to flip on its back and give up no matter
how much you keep spraying it.
Don Don, I'll have to try that hair spray idea.
Hanky_Spanky
07 Dec 2009, 14:11
Oh, I forgot --
GLamphere, use Raid Fumigator (in the blue box). It's inexpensive and works
great! I wouldn't count on the cold to kill them.
nobugsallowed
14 Dec 2009, 14:47
The hairspray definitely helps. It nothing else it stops the little beasts
in their tracks so you can whack it with a shoe. I have lived in Florida
for 8 years and hate these nasty critters.
Disappointed and dejected
16 Jan 2010, 21:48
My boyfriend and I recently moved to Charleston from Vermont, and we have
found several "palmetto bugs," a romanticized name for cockroaches, in our
first-floor apartment. Until we got here, I had never in my life seen a
cockroach anywhere other than on TV. We were very excited to get to
Charleston because we had visited for a few days and loved it (no one
mentioned the "palmetto bugs" when we mentioned we were considering moving
here), and we were happy to get away from three feet of fresh Vermont snow.
We found a nice apartment in a great part of town and were optimistic about
also finding great jobs and loving life here. Then, after unpacking and
organizing the last of our stuff, we saw a dead cockroach on the floor. I
was freaked out, needless to say, but assumed it was a singular and bizarre
event---an anomaly. Since then, we have seen several LIVE cockroaches, and
our apathetic landlord, who is also very cheap, has only given us bait to
put in our cupboards (nothing like having pesticides next to your food) and
in other spots around the apartment. We bought some boric acid in a powder
(Hot Shot) to put in cracks by floor boards and the fireplace, and then we
caulked and spackled what we could for cracks and spaces---and none of this
seems to have had much effect. We've bagged our food in ziplock bags and
run the disposal every night with hot water. We are also scrubbing food off
plates with soap and water before loading it into the dishwasher, and
rinsing any bottles we recycle. We have never had to do any of this, and it
sucks! I cannot sleep at night and worry about cockroaches crawling up
in/onto our bed while we sleep. I am a very neat and clean person, but I am
beginning to think it's not enough and that we are going to have to adopt a
militant and unreasonable lifestyle: put everything in a ziplock bag, throw
away all our books, clean and disinfect everything every day, yet still be
fighting a losing battle. At this point, I think we may have to pack up and
move back to Vermont. (At least the snow stays outside!) These roaches are
just disgusting, and it boggles my mind that people down here have grown
accustomed and accepted them as a necessary evil. I stupidly thought they
only existed in fleabag motels and dumpy apartments in NYC! I am beginning
to think Charleston was a mistake, because I can't live with these things.
Can anyone offer us a legitimately effective and BRUTAL solution???? (Thank
GOD we didn't buy a house here!!!!)
Disappointed and dejected
16 Jan 2010, 21:55
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I encouraged all my friends and family in
Vermont to visit and am now dreading them getting here and being disgusted
and sorry they came!
Don Don The Scarey Man
17 Jan 2010, 19:34
Disappointed and dejected
Use your Hair Spray it works.
DD
20 Jan 2010, 19:54
I don't use hairspray...
I had it out with the landlord, and he finally came and sprayed. He was a
complete D-bag about it, though.
oxoboxo
21 Jan 2010, 09:05
Wow! I was thinking of buying a mobile home in Florida and become a
'Snowbird'. I'm having second thoughts about it. I don't want those
critters in my house or around me!
cathcart
22 Jan 2010, 00:38
This won't help those of you in apartments, but if you have a yard make
sure that it has no rotting wood/stumps in it. I once moved into a house
that was full of the things, and nothing would get rid of them. Finally a
pest guy came and figured out that an old tree stump a few feet from the
house was infested and probably the source. I had the stump removed, and
that completely solved the problem. If you live in an apartment, though,
you have to get ALL of your neighbors to keep things clean and so forth.
One sloppy neighbor and everybody gets the bugs.
DD
23 Jan 2010, 21:28
No, don't move to Florida! They probably have way more problems than
Charleston and not half the charm. Pick another state. Cali maybe. Carmel
is beautiful. No idea if they have roaches, though.
As of now we have two things motivating us to move: cockroaches and our
landlords. Fortunately, we only have a six-month lease, so we will probably
look for somewhere with legit management and a better pest control program
in six months. Or we will look for a house to buy in Vermont.
Other than the cockroaches and our landlords being cheap and lazy, we love
Charleston, and it's a shame we can't feel comfortable here, because I love
seeing dolphins in the harbor EVERY TIME we pass by. They put on a good
show for us the other day. And I haven't put gas in my car since I got here
because we walk or ride our bikes everywhere.
I can't believe the people here with 10-million dollar homes live with
cockroaches. Maybe I'll go knock on their doors and ask for their advice...
or a room to rent...
deborah
01 Feb 2010, 20:47
Just tell me how to keep them from coming in the house/
gary
10 Feb 2010, 13:32
Long time Florida resident, and the best thing I have found to rid the area
of 'palmetto bugs' is a simple mixture of half baking soda and half
powdered sugar. I place this in some shallow container, like a beer bottle
cap, or even a small square of paper with the edges folded up. Replace
every day until you don't see any droppings or signs of eating. New ones
will get back in, so leave some around to check on. I have read the
roaches eat the tainted sugar and the acid in their stomach explodes, but
they are carnivorous so others eat the dead. I have yet to see a dead one,
but they just 'dissappear'! How nice for us!
