Palmetto bugs....bad in Florida?

[mhfrau]

We live in South Florida, a couple of miles from the beach in a condo several floors up. I've never had a Palmetto bug/American cockroach in my place. But, we do have gecko's and all types of little lizards everywhere. They are very funny the way they can crawl up 6 floors on the side of the building, little daredevils that they are!

We currently have one living somewhere in our bedroom that came through our french doors on our deck, and every now and then, I see it hanging out doing that funny "pushup" motion that they do. I'm fine with it, because I don't see any other type of creepy crawly, and I'm just assuming my little friend keeps them at bay as a way of paying his rent

 

[Laura24]

Palmettos make me cringe. My first run in was as a teen (many moons ago) working in Treasure Island at a motel. Changeover day required tearing down beds and let me tell you I couldn't run fast enough when I pulled down the covers and there was this big ugly palmetto sleeping under those covers of the bed. Palmettos and snakes...just not in my tolerance level.

 

[frndshpcptn]

We had Palmetto bugs when I lived in Orlando. Not lots - but one or two here and there.

My roommate found one in the shower when she picked up the shampoo bottle once - ew!

There are a ton on the on the Boardwalk - when I worked over there I'd see them all the time. I saw them often in Tomorrowland as well....

 

[palmtreegirl]

All the bugs are huge here. Spiders, roaches even the ants. There are these huge red and black fuzzy ones.....yikes they freak me out!

 

[KWithers]

All the bugs are huge here. Spiders, roaches even the ants. There are these huge red and black fuzzy ones.....yikes they freak me out!

Those huge red fuzzy ones are "cow killer" ants (they're actually flightless wasps), and they will sting the living day lights out of you! I always kill them on sight bc I don't want my 4 year old to meet one.

 

[LuLuO]

After really hard rains, they'd cover our neighborhood streets. Looked like leaves. Sometimes they'd shelter under our carport. However, we never had any in our house. Only had the occasional spider and a couple of frogs and some geckos.