They're bigger, slower and less lightsensitive than the smaller (and more common) german cockroaches.
Oriental cockroach image
With the top view chart and a better picture that we got of one, id say its like 99% chance its oriental cockroaches ugh. And our shit isnt even dirty! And we’re both social workers so we’ve seen dirty... weird ive never seen an oriental one before. Seen a boatload of german ones in client houses though.
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
My understanding of cockroaches is that the risk factors are less "dirty" and more "wet."
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
+4
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
Yup. Check under your sinks to make sure you don't have any slow leaks and put down some roach bait and they shouldn't stick around long. The Hot Shot stations have always worked well for me, but if you've got kids or pets around you can directly apply the gel bait to the underside of your cabinets in any room with plumbing.
Oklahoma is just warm and wet enough for roaches to survive outside most of the year, so them coming in when things get dry or cold isn't necessarily due to our housekeeping.
0
BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
My daughter wants to know what type of ladybug this is, and I'm having hard time finding an answer
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
Almost certainly an Asian lady beetle.
1. Elytra with a single colour and black spots.
2. The white on the pronotum is extensive and more pattern than spotlike (typical pattern is a N or W).
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Mexican bean beetles actually have a super consistent pattern. While the beetles colour can vary from yellow to deep orange (with the pronotum trending towards a more orange colour, but in deep orange specimens it can be less orange than the elytra). The pattern though is always a spot free pronotum (although sometimes a few smalls pots along the leading edge) and then three distinct bands of spots on the elytra (three spots in the first and second band, then two spots towards the rear).
There are two closely related species, the Squash lady beetle and Epilachna tredecimnotata.
Tredecimnotata have a single big splotch on their rear band, while the Squash lady beetle have both splotchier spots (but still in the distinct three bands) and normally a few spots on its pronotum as well (pronotum pattern is inconsistent).
Also...
The Epilachna genus is the Xzibit of lady beetles.
"Yo. I heard you like spikes, so I put spikes on your spikes so you can..."
Fiendishrabbit on
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
+8
Blameless Cleric An angel made of sapphires each more flawlessly cut than the last Registered Userregular
Hello!! Thank you so much for diagnosing our aphids
Is this a like, little roach? I’m from Texas and they’re usually much bigger there ime and I’ve never had them in New England before so I’m not 100% sure!
Even if they’re not roaches they seem to be all in the house the last couple days after a big rainstorm week so I need to get rid of ‘em somehow
That is probably a german cockroach. You don't need to go too crazy, just put out some roach traps for a few weeks and if the problem doesn't resolve itself, then you can call in some professionals.
Generally speaking, roaches are harmless. The claims of them carrying diseases are overblown, there's no strong evidence that people have acquired infections from living closely with roaches. The largest health issue is that you can develop allergies if the infection is severe enough, but those levels generally would require vacating and fumigating the house.
I mean, also I know people think roaches are gross, but my point is that it's not time to call in the big guns when a few traps will do.
While this website pretty egregiously claims that German roaches can transmit viruses (they can't! Like, at all! That's not possible!) the control information is still pretty useful.
Also, while I'm pretty sure that's an Asian Lady Beetle, it's important to note that ALBs are highly polymorphic, meaning that they have a wide variety of different colors and patterns, and even the white "M" shape spot on the pronotum can be missing in some variants.
That being said, if it's a relatively large lady beetle, with a lot of spots on the wings (18 or more), and a white "M" like shape on the pronotum, it's probably Asian Lady Beetle. There's an...infographic that gets passed around a lot that's pretty much incorrect. One of my friends has a nice post explaining some of the myths about these beetles.
I've always heard the best remedy for roaches is to get rid of open food containers (use resealable ones) and make sure there's no rotten wood or leaky faucets or other sources of sitting water in the home.
If you're in a shared space, you're basically fucked trying to get rid of them since they live in other apartments and stuff you can't control.
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
I've always heard the best remedy for roaches is to get rid of open food containers (use resealable ones) and make sure there's no rotten wood or leaky faucets or other sources of sitting water in the home.
If you're in a shared space, you're basically fucked trying to get rid of them since they live in other apartments and stuff you can't control.
If it's germans, you have to kill them. No amount of house keeping will drive them out because they can literally eat dust and what they're really looking for in a nest is sanctuary from predators.
I prefer the gel bait over the traps, because you can apply it in cracks and on the underside of things; ie: places they will frequent anyway (even when you're around), as opposed to trying to entice them out into the open with a trap sitting on some flat surface.
(Also prefer gel over traps for the pure principle of not being put in the position to HOPE some roaches swarm all over your counters after you leave.)
While this website pretty egregiously claims that German roaches can transmit viruses (they can't! Like, at all! That's not possible!) the control information is still pretty useful.
Geckos do seem to have a thing for cockroaches. I've seen several try to eat a roach almost as big as the gecko itself.
House centipedes would also eat small/juvenile roaches. They're highly effective predators of all kinds of pests and generally awesome. Then again, a lot of people would rather live with roaches than house centipedes, even though they're harmless.
What kinds of critters predate on roaches, anyway?
Most of them! There's a very good reason they're such prolific breeders, and that is: Roaches are defenseless little protein morsels to anything that can catch them. If the nymphs can avoid getting gobbled up by centipedes, spiders, and the like, they graduate to a whole new phylum of problems in small mammals, birds, and lizards.
I saw a juvenile anole dart out on the sidewalk to snatch up a cockroach several times larger than it's head, cock its head to size me up* as if the giant bug in its mouth was weightless, then vanish back into the bushes to chow down.
*I choose to interpret this gesture as a wink, as if the little killing machine knew it had just mooted my internal debate as to whether or not I was obliged to let a roach go unstomped in the wild.
(I'm pretty amused to see Terminex, true to form, is also happy to point out the long list of a roach's natural predators, but closes with "but those are all pretty gross too! Just let us poison everything, nature is icky and you shouldn't have to put up with it.")
Getting rid of all foodwaste and then dusting "hiding places" with diatomaceous earth.
1. Seal up cracks.
2. Remove food sources
3. Clean up moist leaks.
4. Get shitloads of diatomaceous earth (kilos/pounds of it) and use a hairdryer (or a leafblower on the attic or in the basement) to get it fucking everywhere on the floor (especially in "hiding places"). Repeat for 2-3 weeks.
It's pet safe, but kills bugs through abrasion (it grinds up their exoskeleton). Cruel, but insect law has no equivalence of the Geneva convention.
If that doesn't work, then it's time to call an exterminator and go nuclear.
All cockroaches can trigger or cause asthma and allergy (because of their communication pheromones). It's either them or you (this is from a guy that's generally a live and let live for many times of indoor bugs).
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
0
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
I think borax is supposed to work to get rid of ant trails, can it do the same for roachcomm?
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
I think borax is supposed to work to get rid of ant trails, can it do the same for roachcomm?
Borax is not something you want to spread around if you have pets home. Especially not cats which will get borax all over themselves, then digest it when they groom themselves.
In the stomach it becomes boric acid, which isn't SUPER poisonous, but poisonous enough.
P.S: Groom->Eat->Boric acid->dead is basically how it kills insects. Insects are super-sensitive to boric acid. Spiders are also sensitive to boric acid, but since they groom themselves in a different way (so they don't ingest stuff when they groom themselves) they're safe.
Fiendishrabbit on
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
yeah diatomaceous earth is the "organic" solution to borax
make sure it's food safe if you're doing all this too, because it'll eventually make its way onto you
Also, it's not a solution you can keep doing forever. Because that's how you get miners lung. Short term (a few weeks, a month or two) however it's safe.
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
+1
MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
edited July 2020
Appreciate help with this little critter from my Chicago suburb house. Tiny, maybe a mm? Fast, has a good grip - hard to shake out of the container.
We've been seeing a rash of rashes in our family lately. Not sure if indoor bug related, or just being outside more, etc. So just trying to narrow it down. Thanks.
Edit: might also explain the rash, if there's an infestation of asian lady beetles that can cause a rash in people, they excrete liquids that can do that
bowen on
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
The larvae we saw around here all had little red stripes and wouldn't come off of anything for anything. They clung to the stucco outside our building. Boy they are so much prettier as adults. :P
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
Edit: might also explain the rash, if there's an infestation of asian lady beetles that can cause a rash in people, they excrete liquids that can do that
It's definitely a lady beetle nymph. First instar if I judge the "tail" proportions right (later instar, longer "tail" and shorter legs in proportion to size). Impossible to tell the species since virtually all first instar lady beetle nymphs look like that (asian lady beetles may already have their distinct "orange box" pattern in the first instar, though it generally appears after the first molt).
Note that ALL ladybeetles use chemical warfare, so even if it's ladybeetle allergy that doesn't help pinpointing the species. Asian Lady beetles are only blamed because they're "bad and not good bugs" people are more likely to notice the allergy symptoms and link the two together. It is however the wrong season for ladybeetle allergy (spring and autumn when they wake up or try to find a nice spot to hibernate).
Asian lady beetle in its 2nd (maybe 3rd) instar.
Note the spiky-ness, the orange box pattern and the spiky "shoulderpads". All of those are typical for the asian lady beetle.
Fiendishrabbit on
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
The larvae we saw around here all had little red stripes and wouldn't come off of anything for anything. They clung to the stucco outside our building. Boy they are so much prettier as adults. :P
A red-banded nymph is probably a sevenspot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata). A yellow banded nymph is a large spotted ladybird (Harmonia conformis).
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
+3
MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
That sure looks like it. Bowen called it!
Had no idea they looked like that. Tried a Google Lens, but it just came up with a spider or a flea - which is what we're we're afraid of but neither seemed close.
I fixed myself my average weekday lunch, which consists of a meat and cheese sandwich, some fresh vegetables, and a carby filler to take up the other quarter of the plate. It all goes in the microwave for about a minute because I like the cheese on my sandwich to be slightly melty. Easy to put together in five minutes, filling, reasonably nutritious, anyway enough digression.
I got through today's sandwich and picked up a broccoli floret, which, if you've ever eaten raw broccoli, you know will produce a small shower of the those little bud things no matter what you do. Well, I just about jumped out of my chair when one of them... didn't stop bouncing. It just kind of angrily flopped the entire way across the plate before finally stopping at a small pool of water and curling its head up. Broccoli buds do not do this under normal conditions.
Here's a close-up of the offender:
Here's a wider angle for scale:
Given that I'm in the Triangle area of North Carolina, what kind of thing is this? Sturdy little thing managed to survive the wash and sixty seconds in the microwave.
Furthermore: should I consider the bag of broccoli crowns that came from unsafe? I've moved it to the freezer where whatever's in there won't find anything that isn't defended by a layer of plastic and will hopefully freeze to death.
My favorite musical instrument is the air-raid siren.
0
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
It's probably not from North Carolina, it's probably from wherever the broccoli was grown.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
Wow, bonkers that it survived a minute in the microwave.
I think I've heard that you're supposed to dunk your veggies in salty water, if you want any hitchhikers to abandon ship. I can't be bothered to do that, so I guess I accept that I'll be getting some extra protein now and again.
Can anyone tell if this is a "kill it with fire" or "it's fine, leave 'em alone" situation?
Spoilered for Wasp:
Nesting tube is about as big around as one of my fleshy human fingers. Central Virginia, USA. Mostly black, with yellow on the last section of their legs.
0
RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
Mud daubers kill things you want killed and are not very aggressive. However, in my experience, they will pester the shit out of you if their nests feel threatened. If they're building somewhere you can avoid them leave them be. If it's a high traffic area, removal may be warranted.
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
They also crash planes apparently o_o
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
Their sting also only rates as a 1 on the Schmidt sting pain index (moderate to mild pain, lasts 5 minutes or less), which is pretty mild givent hat your normal yellowjacket or bee sting is a level 2 (intense pain, normally lasting between 5-10 minutes before subsiding).
"The western world sips from a poisonous cocktail: Polarisation, populism, protectionism and post-truth"
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Posts
With the top view chart and a better picture that we got of one, id say its like 99% chance its oriental cockroaches
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
Oklahoma is just warm and wet enough for roaches to survive outside most of the year, so them coming in when things get dry or cold isn't necessarily due to our housekeeping.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
1. Elytra with a single colour and black spots.
2. The white on the pronotum is extensive and more pattern than spotlike (typical pattern is a N or W).
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Mexican bean beetles actually have a super consistent pattern. While the beetles colour can vary from yellow to deep orange (with the pronotum trending towards a more orange colour, but in deep orange specimens it can be less orange than the elytra). The pattern though is always a spot free pronotum (although sometimes a few smalls pots along the leading edge) and then three distinct bands of spots on the elytra (three spots in the first and second band, then two spots towards the rear).
There are two closely related species, the Squash lady beetle and Epilachna tredecimnotata.
Tredecimnotata have a single big splotch on their rear band, while the Squash lady beetle have both splotchier spots (but still in the distinct three bands) and normally a few spots on its pronotum as well (pronotum pattern is inconsistent).
Also...
"Yo. I heard you like spikes, so I put spikes on your spikes so you can..."
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Is this a like, little roach? I’m from Texas and they’re usually much bigger there ime and I’ve never had them in New England before so I’m not 100% sure!
Even if they’re not roaches they seem to be all in the house the last couple days after a big rainstorm week so I need to get rid of ‘em somehow
I'd love it if you took a look at my art and my PATREON!
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
Yeah, which would be of the "endless swarms" variety as opposed to the bigger roaches.
Poison bait feeders and possibly calling pest control should be your immediate moves on that
Generally speaking, roaches are harmless. The claims of them carrying diseases are overblown, there's no strong evidence that people have acquired infections from living closely with roaches. The largest health issue is that you can develop allergies if the infection is severe enough, but those levels generally would require vacating and fumigating the house.
I mean, also I know people think roaches are gross, but my point is that it's not time to call in the big guns when a few traps will do.
While this website pretty egregiously claims that German roaches can transmit viruses (they can't! Like, at all! That's not possible!) the control information is still pretty useful.
https://www.ortho.com/en-us/library/bugs/how-get-rid-german-cockroaches
You can see this on BugGuide, in their description of the species.
That being said, if it's a relatively large lady beetle, with a lot of spots on the wings (18 or more), and a white "M" like shape on the pronotum, it's probably Asian Lady Beetle. There's an...infographic that gets passed around a lot that's pretty much incorrect. One of my friends has a nice post explaining some of the myths about these beetles.
https://askentomologists.com/2018/03/12/ladybug-meme/
If you're in a shared space, you're basically fucked trying to get rid of them since they live in other apartments and stuff you can't control.
If it's germans, you have to kill them. No amount of house keeping will drive them out because they can literally eat dust and what they're really looking for in a nest is sanctuary from predators.
I prefer the gel bait over the traps, because you can apply it in cracks and on the underside of things; ie: places they will frequent anyway (even when you're around), as opposed to trying to entice them out into the open with a trap sitting on some flat surface.
(Also prefer gel over traps for the pure principle of not being put in the position to HOPE some roaches swarm all over your counters after you leave.)
They have to help you identify an infestation so you know if you're in the market for their services.
They have to demonstrate knowledge of how to rid you of it, so you trust them to do so.
But then they have to try to convince you that you shouldn't just do those things they mentioned yourself.
House centipedes would also eat small/juvenile roaches. They're highly effective predators of all kinds of pests and generally awesome. Then again, a lot of people would rather live with roaches than house centipedes, even though they're harmless.
I saw a juvenile anole dart out on the sidewalk to snatch up a cockroach several times larger than it's head, cock its head to size me up* as if the giant bug in its mouth was weightless, then vanish back into the bushes to chow down.
*I choose to interpret this gesture as a wink, as if the little killing machine knew it had just mooted my internal debate as to whether or not I was obliged to let a roach go unstomped in the wild.
(I'm pretty amused to see Terminex, true to form, is also happy to point out the long list of a roach's natural predators, but closes with "but those are all pretty gross too! Just let us poison everything, nature is icky and you shouldn't have to put up with it.")
1. Seal up cracks.
2. Remove food sources
3. Clean up moist leaks.
4. Get shitloads of diatomaceous earth (kilos/pounds of it) and use a hairdryer (or a leafblower on the attic or in the basement) to get it fucking everywhere on the floor (especially in "hiding places"). Repeat for 2-3 weeks.
It's pet safe, but kills bugs through abrasion (it grinds up their exoskeleton). Cruel, but insect law has no equivalence of the Geneva convention.
If that doesn't work, then it's time to call an exterminator and go nuclear.
All cockroaches can trigger or cause asthma and allergy (because of their communication pheromones). It's either them or you (this is from a guy that's generally a live and let live for many times of indoor bugs).
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Borax is not something you want to spread around if you have pets home. Especially not cats which will get borax all over themselves, then digest it when they groom themselves.
In the stomach it becomes boric acid, which isn't SUPER poisonous, but poisonous enough.
P.S: Groom->Eat->Boric acid->dead is basically how it kills insects. Insects are super-sensitive to boric acid. Spiders are also sensitive to boric acid, but since they groom themselves in a different way (so they don't ingest stuff when they groom themselves) they're safe.
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
make sure it's food safe if you're doing all this too, because it'll eventually make its way onto you
Also, it's not a solution you can keep doing forever. Because that's how you get miners lung. Short term (a few weeks, a month or two) however it's safe.
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
We've been seeing a rash of rashes in our family lately. Not sure if indoor bug related, or just being outside more, etc. So just trying to narrow it down. Thanks.
Edit: might also explain the rash, if there's an infestation of asian lady beetles that can cause a rash in people, they excrete liquids that can do that
Super small - like maybe 1x2 millimeters?
It's definitely a lady beetle nymph. First instar if I judge the "tail" proportions right (later instar, longer "tail" and shorter legs in proportion to size). Impossible to tell the species since virtually all first instar lady beetle nymphs look like that (asian lady beetles may already have their distinct "orange box" pattern in the first instar, though it generally appears after the first molt).
Note that ALL ladybeetles use chemical warfare, so even if it's ladybeetle allergy that doesn't help pinpointing the species. Asian Lady beetles are only blamed because they're "bad and not good bugs" people are more likely to notice the allergy symptoms and link the two together. It is however the wrong season for ladybeetle allergy (spring and autumn when they wake up or try to find a nice spot to hibernate).
Asian lady beetle in its 2nd (maybe 3rd) instar.
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
A red-banded nymph is probably a sevenspot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata). A yellow banded nymph is a large spotted ladybird (Harmonia conformis).
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden
Had no idea they looked like that. Tried a Google Lens, but it just came up with a spider or a flea - which is what we're we're afraid of but neither seemed close.
I fixed myself my average weekday lunch, which consists of a meat and cheese sandwich, some fresh vegetables, and a carby filler to take up the other quarter of the plate. It all goes in the microwave for about a minute because I like the cheese on my sandwich to be slightly melty. Easy to put together in five minutes, filling, reasonably nutritious, anyway enough digression.
I got through today's sandwich and picked up a broccoli floret, which, if you've ever eaten raw broccoli, you know will produce a small shower of the those little bud things no matter what you do. Well, I just about jumped out of my chair when one of them... didn't stop bouncing. It just kind of angrily flopped the entire way across the plate before finally stopping at a small pool of water and curling its head up. Broccoli buds do not do this under normal conditions.
Here's a close-up of the offender:
Here's a wider angle for scale:
Given that I'm in the Triangle area of North Carolina, what kind of thing is this? Sturdy little thing managed to survive the wash and sixty seconds in the microwave.
Furthermore: should I consider the bag of broccoli crowns that came from unsafe? I've moved it to the freezer where whatever's in there won't find anything that isn't defended by a layer of plastic and will hopefully freeze to death.
I think I've heard that you're supposed to dunk your veggies in salty water, if you want any hitchhikers to abandon ship. I can't be bothered to do that, so I guess I accept that I'll be getting some extra protein now and again.
Spoilered for Wasp:
Nesting tube is about as big around as one of my fleshy human fingers. Central Virginia, USA. Mostly black, with yellow on the last section of their legs.
Wiki on Mud Daubers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_dauber
Site I put your description in to verify: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Sphecidae
Most likely identity from info: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Sphex+habenus&guide=1&mobile=1
-Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden