Flying critters visiting me

[jellysundae]

I opened my living room window and two bees promptly same flying in, almost like they'd been queuing outside, lol. I'm all "morning guys, don't get lost and die in here, sorry I've got nothing for you to pollinate" and quickly removed my sticky trap that's hanging by the window because if a bee got stuck on that I'd hate myself forever.

One of them either went back out the window or is patrolling the rest of my flat right now, but the other spent some time inspecting the living room, hovering just under my arm for a moment which felt lovely - tiny little breeze from its wings. Then it finally stopped for long enough for me to get a decent look at it, and I see it's a wasp...

YOU, OUTTA MY HOME

So I suppose that means I've another wasp lurking somewhere unless it's found one of the other open windows. This one definitely seems to be deciding to move in, lol.

 

How are you with stuff that might jab ya with a stinger?

 

I want to say I've never been afraid of bees, but I probably was as a kid because you learn to be from the reactions of the people around you, don't you. But as an adult I've generated much utter disbelief, and accusations of insanity, from the people around me as I calmly let a bee walk about on my arm or something. NOT impressed when the insect I was being nice and friendly to turns out to be a wasp though. >_<

Just now it was buzzing against every part of the window but the bit that's open, so I opened ALL of it as wide as possible, and it's cleared off into another room now. xD Meanwhile, my wide-open windows are like an open invite for more to come in, aren't they, lol.

Does me talking about having the windows wide open horrify those of you who spend your summers with every aperture clamped shut so the air-con can work properly? And/or because your insects are hoards of ravening beasts and you'd get eaten alive if they got inside... Having listened to people from the US talk about the insects/arachnids they get I realise the UK has basically no insect problem AT ALL.

[Duma]

I wasn't scared of any animal as a kid until something happened (stung by a wasp) or I saw someone else get hurt by it. I know bees and bumblebees don't sting so I'm not really scared of them, but I won't just have them walk over me because it tickles and I might act in a reflex hurting them. Wasp need to stay away from me! So do hornets! been stung by them too. I love open windows and doors but I usually just use screen doors and such to keep the little buggers out. I want to be able to walk barefooted in the dark without having to be afraid I might hurt a little critter. (Yes I do walk on socks or barefooted at home and I barely use any lights). I've also got two tigers running around catching everything that moves so I don't want them to get stung either.

But I really do love fresh air! I love it even more when you can smell the rain! Smells so great, especially on a hot summer day! I have many flowers in my garden so I'll usually just guide them outside. If they don't want to be guided I'll catch them and put them outside.

I've also got a few spiders in my house, but I don't care. At least as long as they stay near the ceiling, again, I don't want to step on them. They're great against the stray mosquito that did came in. I HATE buzzing/zooming around my ears! If they would be silent I wouldn't even mind them.

I remember that when I was like 5 years old I would go into the basement (Where I'm form a basement is just storage, it's like a shed below ground, no windows usually) find all the spiders, grab them one by one with my hands and carry them outside. In my mind it was sad for them as it was dark and cold and lonely down there. So I'd free them! Now I just leave them be, as long as they're not having a web where I need to walk. And if they get caught by my tiny tigers it's just nature.

[jellysundae]

28 minutes ago, Duma said:

I remember that when I was like 5 years old I would go into the basement (Where I'm form a basement is just storage, it's like a shed below ground, no windows usually) find all the spiders, grab them one by one with my hands and carry them outside. In my mind it was sad for them as it was dark and cold and lonely down there. So I'd free them!

You were probably quite the trial for those poor spiders, forever taking them outside so they'd have to come all the way back in again. My mum taught me to be scared of spiders, and I still am, but nowhere NEAR to the level that I used to be. I don't kill them though, never have done that. My mum either flattens them with a slipper if they're the big and fast house spider that we have in the UK,  or hoovers them up if they're the long-legged feathery ones that haunt the corners of the ceiling. I catch the big guys with a glass and piece of card to slide over the top, and chuck them out of the window (first making sure that I'm not dropping them on someone's head ) the feathery ones I even catch with my bare hands on the odd occasion, though they generally get the glass treatment too.

Someone I used to work with, their cat used to catch and eat the big house spiders, after tormenting them for a while of course. So any insects in your home are good RL training for your little tigers, aren't they.

Lol, it's seriously Wasp Central in here today, my initial visitors have gone now, but plenty of others keep coming in and browsing (did the first ones leave me a good review somewhere?). ALL wasps too, not a single bee. Maybe the recent rain (yes, we've had lovely lovely rain‼‼) has made a load hatch or something.

Have you had some rain too now? I'm hoping you have, last Friday looked good for giving the North coast of mainland Europe a good drenching as well as us.

[charelan]

Hahaha, yep, looks like we are all 3 cut from the same cloth.

I had a bee land in my lap in the car. I looked at my passenger (who was freaking out), delicately grabbed the bee by a wing and popped him back out the window. The passenger was my bf, who I had just begun dating at the time. He was like oh no, my gf is tougher than me, lol. 

I also let spiders that have found their way in hang out - as long as they aren't in the way. Once at an old apartment I had one go in the shower with me. That I was not ok with  

On the other hand... I can't stand junebugs. Or roaches for that matter (luckily they're not really a problem in my climate, so I haven't had to deal with them since I lived abroad). I know neither can do anything to me, but uggghhhh they are just gross. 

[Angeló]

we don't have that problem since we put screens on our windows which are open all summer long (we don't usually use AC in the summer where I live .. just fans) .. our neighbors keep their door wide open like all day and when my dad sees it he goes nuts warning them from mosquitoes (he really hates them ..  i dont' really mind) 

sometimes i find a cockroach or an earwig and i destroy them ... when i was a kid an earwig pinched me and it really hurt ... but they're usually harmless ... still i don't like seeing them around ... 

spiders are lovely .. i love spiders .. i have one in my room right now and he keeps me company 

[jellysundae]

30 minutes ago, charelan said:

The passenger was my bf, who I had just begun dating at the time. He was like oh no, my gf is tougher than me, lol. 

30 minutes ago, charelan said:

Once at an old apartment I had one go in the shower with me. That I was not ok with  

Especially as they say the big spiders you find indoors are generally males, LOL.

This building is very old, 400+ years, I feel I'm really lucky to not be over-run with spiders. But I'm also aware that I probably actually am, lol, they just have enough nooks and crannies to be able to keep well out of my way.

*googles Junebugs* hmm, yup, I'm not sad that I've never seen one of those.

I'm not rightly sure why the UK has yet to embrace insect screens.

...

a wasp is currently investigating the remains of my breakfast. *flicks it off of spoon and out of window*

These are the plastic curtain strips of my childhood.

I used to spend AGES plaiting the one my Nan had hung in her kitchen doorway. 

My mum's got one of these in her back door.

Ugly thing, but pretty effective. Though it doesn't keep the neighbour's cat out. xD

[Rayd1978]

Never been fond of any sort of bug in the house.  Been stung by bees and bumblebees far too many times to be comfortable around them, though i do try to leave them alone if I'm outside.   Inside, they have no business being, and need to leave again.   Spiders I really don't care for, but try to leave them alone as well.  Flies I typically ignore, not worth the effort.  Ants we get in the kitchen sometimes, just sweep aside if I plan to use that area, and maybe set out some bait traps.  I don't mind ants much, but if you let them be they'll take over.  Crickets are kill on sight.   little buggers have a very bad habit of chirping when I'm trying to sleep.

[jellysundae]

10 minutes ago, Rayd1978 said:

Crickets are kill on sight.   little buggers have a very bad habit of chirping when I'm trying to sleep.

That's interesting, maybe it's because we don't get crickets singing us lullabies in this country that I think I'd find the sound soothing. I always do when I hear it on TV shows, but then I'm not actually trying to get to sleep at that point.

[Angeló]

2 hours ago, jellysundae said:

These are the plastic curtain strips of my childhood.

I used to spend AGES plaiting the one my Nan had hung in her kitchen doorway. 

wow that's so 70's

my aunt had a beaded curtain for their "music room" (her husband was rich)  which had all 60's and 70's stuff (Lava Lamp .. Bean Bags .. heavy fluffy moquette) and a state of the art Vinyl player with all sorts of records (well they built the house in the 70's but i wasn't around until about 15 years later) and i wasn't allowed alone in there .. my older cousin went in with me and played me any record i wanted ...  i loved that curtain and the peacock drawn on it ...

to stay on topic .. they had no bugs in their house .. my aunt is a neat freak and a germophobe .. her house was squeaky clean all the time

[Kute]

My parents house is a real scary place during this time of the year. There is a lot of creepy nonsense. Camel spiders, lizards living under the washing machine, snakes in the garage. Spiders crawling on you in your sleep.... This is all stuff I've witnessed this summer.    Camel spiders are the worst though.  Theyre huge and creepy and they run really fast. 

[jellysundae]

4 hours ago, Angeló said:

wow that's so 70's

I know, right?!

2 hours ago, Kute said:

My parents house is a real scary place during this time of the year. There is a lot of creepy nonsense. Camel spiders, lizards living under the washing machine, snakes in the garage. Spiders crawling on you in your sleep.... This is all stuff I've witnessed this summer.    Camel spiders are the worst though.  Theyre huge and creepy and they run really fast. 

Oh gosh, aren't those the monstrous things they like to show pictures of soldiers holding up in the desert in Iraq and so on?

Wait isn't this where your parents want you to go and live?! Or am I getting things you said in your thread wrapped totally around my neck...

[Kute]

3 hours ago, jellysundae said:

I know, right?!

Oh gosh, aren't those the monstrous things they like to show pictures of soldiers holding up in the desert in Iraq and so on?

Wait isn't this where your parents want you to go and live?! Or am I getting things you said in your thread wrapped totally around my neck...

Not sure?  theyre called sun spiders/ camel spiders.   I think if you looked up sun spider you would have a more accurate picture. 

 

[Duma]

11 hours ago, jellysundae said:

You were probably quite the trial for those poor spiders, forever taking them outside so they'd have to come all the way back in again. My mum taught me to be scared of spiders, and I still am, but nowhere NEAR to the level that I used to be. I don't kill them though, never have done that. My mum either flattens them with a slipper if they're the big and fast house spider that we have in the UK,  or hoovers them up if they're the long-legged feathery ones that haunt the corners of the ceiling. I catch the big guys with a glass and piece of card to slide over the top, and chuck them out of the window (first making sure that I'm not dropping them on someone's head ) the feathery ones I even catch with my bare hands on the odd occasion, though they generally get the glass treatment too.

Someone I used to work with, their cat used to catch and eat the big house spiders, after tormenting them for a while of course. So any insects in your home are good RL training for your little tigers, aren't they.

Lol, it's seriously Wasp Central in here today, my initial visitors have gone now, but plenty of others keep coming in and browsing (did the first ones leave me a good review somewhere?). ALL wasps too, not a single bee. Maybe the recent rain (yes, we've had lovely lovely rain‼‼) has made a load hatch or something.

Have you had some rain too now? I'm hoping you have, last Friday looked good for giving the North coast of mainland Europe a good drenching as well as us.

Yup, not a critter is safe in my house now. And they're really good at it too, I think I'll get plenty of "presents" from them in the future.

I do hope the wasps will calm down again! Make sure they're not trying to find a good place to make a nest, that could be nasty.

For rain I've had 2 short downpours this morning. They only lasted like a minute but I was so happy with it! It was the first rain in over a month! So, yes, I went outside and I LOVED it!

 

Oh, and I love the sound of crickets too. I've always been hearing it in summer and I too find it relaxing. I did sleep with the sound of it and I am a very light sleeper but that didn't keep me up. It was kinda calming. I still love hearing them.

[kayahtik]

 

11 hours ago, jellysundae said:

So any insects in your home are good RL training for your little tigers, aren't they.

My apartment has been beset with houseflies this summer, thanks to my landlord not bothering to put screens on the windows. Josie LOVES chasing them, and eating them after she catches them...ew. But it prevents me from having to run around with the flyswatter like a crazy person. 

I hate all bugs, but ESPECIALLY those that jump or fly. My absolute worst nightmare? The grasshopper, which does both. Have you seen their faces??? They are EVIL. 

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I am terrified of (most) bugs, rather than hate them. I'm so scared of them that I often can't get close enough to kill them. I just wait for them to go back to whatever dark hole they came from, and then lay awake at night wondering when I'm going to be eaten. 

Something that I simply cannot bear to let live, however, is the infamous NYC cockroach. No matter how clean and meticulous you are, you're always going to have a run-in with one or two, and that's never pleasant...and they are VERY hard to kill. A whack with a slipper definitely will not do the job! We also get these things called 'house cockroaches,' which aren't actually cockroaches, but they have ENTIRELY too many legs and are WAY too fast!!! Those things freak me the heck out. 

[sajixx]

I keep a respectful distance from bees and ants and things if I know they sting. I'll make friends with non-stinging bugs. Spiders? Can't deal. 

Funny story - everyone always says the big fuzzy bees don't sting, they're peaceful. When I was 13, my first bee sting ever was from one of those big fuzzy ones! I was trying to clear a path through the woods behind my house. Turns out they aren't so peaceful when a giant is unwittingly swinging a scythe at their home. Can't say I blame them, lol!

[jellysundae]

13 hours ago, Kute said:

Not sure?  theyre called sun spiders/ camel spiders.   I think if you looked up sun spider you would have a more accurate picture. 

 

That'll be a big fat NOPE coming from me... what are you trying to DO to me‼‼

You saying they're also called sun spiders reminds me they're mentioned in one of the Kinsey Millhone books; she's contemplating sneaking into a gap between 2 buildings so she can listen outside a window but talks herself out of it because she'd probably hear nothing useful, but mainly because the sun spiders that would be inhabiting the gap can "scare you out of 10 years growth,".

So yeah, I'm NOT looking those up!

13 hours ago, Duma said:

Yup, not a critter is safe in my house now. And they're really good at it too, I think I'll get plenty of "presents" from them in the future.

I do hope the wasps will calm down again! Make sure they're not trying to find a good place to make a nest, that could be nasty.

For rain I've had 2 short downpours this morning. They only lasted like a minute but I was so happy with it! It was the first rain in over a month! So, yes, I went outside and I LOVED it!

 

Oh, and I love the sound of crickets too. I've always been hearing it in summer and I too find it relaxing. I did sleep with the sound of it and I am a very light sleeper but that didn't keep me up. It was kinda calming. I still love hearing them.

Gifts from kitties, something to look forward to, most definitely. xD

Only 1 wasp so far today, which I promptly shooed out again... just jinxed myself, another came in AS I TYPED THAT. ... it's gone again. Nope, back again, LOL. Ok, giving in and closing the window. xD

I did a stint in a pet shop here in town, they sold live crickets for people with reptiles, one had clearly escaped at some point because as it got dark it'd start singing from up above the suspended ceiling, I LOVED hearing it, it really is a soothing sound.

12 hours ago, kayahtik said:

 

My apartment has been beset with houseflies this summer, thanks to my landlord not bothering to put screens on the windows. Josie LOVES chasing them, and eating them after she catches them...ew. But it prevents me from having to run around with the flyswatter like a crazy person. 

I hate all bugs, but ESPECIALLY those that jump or fly. My absolute worst nightmare? The grasshopper, which does both. Have you seen their faces??? They are EVIL. 

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that I am terrified of (most) bugs, rather than hate them. I'm so scared of them that I often can't get close enough to kill them. I just wait for them to go back to whatever dark hole they came from, and then lay awake at night wondering when I'm going to be eaten. 

Something that I simply cannot bear to let live, however, is the infamous NYC cockroach. No matter how clean and meticulous you are, you're always going to have a run-in with one or two, and that's never pleasant...and they are VERY hard to kill. A whack with a slipper definitely will not do the job! We also get these things called 'house cockroaches,' which aren't actually cockroaches, but they have ENTIRELY too many legs and are WAY too fast!!! Those things freak me the heck out. 

I was wondering how your little lady was getting along, good to hear about her. Sounds like she is now your protector against the insectile hoards, so long may she continue to conquer.

10 hours ago, sajixx said:

I keep a respectful distance from bees and ants and things if I know they sting. I'll make friends with non-stinging bugs. Spiders? Can't deal. 

Funny story - everyone always says the big fuzzy bees don't sting, they're peaceful. When I was 13, my first bee sting ever was from one of those big fuzzy ones! I was trying to clear a path through the woods behind my house. Turns out they aren't so peaceful when a giant is unwittingly swinging a scythe at their home. Can't say I blame them, lol!

Sounds like you live somewhere lovely   Hopefully the bees have forgiven you now!

[aleu1986]

I have major issues with most bugs, particularly those that fly (and don`t get me started on spiders!! Ugh!!)
I have never been stung by a bee or wasp, but I did get stung on the sole of my foot by a bumblebee when I was 3 or 4. I was walking barefoot in the grass and must have stepped on it..
I always freak out when bugs fly into my house, but without a doubt the worst is a wasp. I am scared of them because they`re known to be agressive, and I really, really don`t want to get stung. I usually try to shoo it out the window (as that`s typically how it got inside in the first place) or otherwise I slap it with a newspaper. I`m always scared I won`t kill it and instead make it angry..