This week, one of my friends and I were having a conversation about the fact that …. well …. people are weird. Not me and not you, but “people”. The others. Take, for example, this article that I tore out of the St. Louis Post Dispatch awhile back. I knew I’d need to share it with you eventually. It was entitled, “Bugs: Don’t squish ’em’; live with ’em.” The premise of the article is, “Why can’t people and bugs coexist? Isn’t there room for everyone?” Here’s one excerpt:
“Consider the cockroach. Traditionally despised, squashed at every opportunity, they are in fact easy-going and intelligent with distinctive personalities, and not at all difficult to train. Once you show them your intentions are friendly and you have tasty food to share they’ll actually come out from their hiding places when you call them. With very little encouragement they’ll give back as much as they take.”
Who knew? Cockroaches can be trained to come when you call them. (Seriously? Who figured that out? That’s WEIRD.)
Then there is this paragraph, which was even more disturbing:
“Mr. G.H. of Abilene, TX writes me about an ant training experiment he’s been working on for the last five years. Every evening before bed he spreads refined sugar over his stomach, being careful to leave a thin trail of it from his bed to a known ant colony behind his baseboard. At first the ants were shy, but now when Mr. G.H. comes into his bedroom the workers rush out excitedly. The colony has grown quite large, and recently sent out a flight of queens inside the house – a sure sign of trust.”
I think that pretty much confirms my “people are weird” statement. (And it probably confirms that The St. Louis Post Dispatch has some weird articles, too.)
Anything weird going on around you today?
Sheri whocouldn’tstandputtingaphotoofacockroachorantonthepost
soyougetaphotolessposttoday…Iknowyouappreciatethat
Thank you for sparing us the bug pictures. I don’t think I want to know any of these people. Call me Howard Huges – but I think bugs carry germs and if they get in my path, they’re toast. And not in a food way like some of these people would interpret.
Nothing weird going on in my world.
But I did take Little Loopy with me yesterday for my first chemo treatment. And he was quite the charmer. Everybody wanted to know all about him. He smiled the whole time and gave me great comfort.
Hmm, you better watch, or your next box of BBF sock yarn will have a colorway called “Ants on my Stomach” — I guess it would be flesh colored, white for the sugar and black for the ants? Meh.
I like bugs, but I wouldn’t want to invite them to crawl all over me or anything like that. It’s mostly a live and let live arrangement unless they are in my kitchen. Then it is war.
Nothing weird in my world. I’m glad it is Friday. That is pretty much dead normal.
I have a vivid memory from childhood of a younger sister clinging to the door knobs of the bathroom door, her legs pulled up, well clear of the floor (she was about four or five). Toss in some hysteria…you get the picture. The problem? A palmetto bug.
Nothing weird going on around here. I’m okay with that.
Ugghh. I think I could stand a bug or two but they multiply quickly which is why we kill them I believe. That and they carry diseases. Cockroaches in particular like dark places (think your ears while you are sleeping or if you sleep with your mouth open) and that just does not seem acceptable.
Nothing weird here. Are you getting ready for your trip? I am curious about one thing. How are you getting all of that yarny goodness to the Pacific Northwest?
Thank you for sparing us the cockroach and ant photos! I’m all in favor of peaceful coexistence, but with bugs outside the house and humans inside! What’s weird in my world is the weather in the S.F. Bay Area, which is very foggy and cold for this time of year.
ok, that’s just – ick! I scream and run when I see bugs and make Brian get rid of them.
Weird? Disgusting!
I work Customer Service. There’s ALWAYS something weird going on. 🙂
I read a book once called THE ROACHES HAVE NO KING, which was rather interesting and shifted how I think of them. When I lived in DC, they were big enough to carry on conversations with, and I was constantly reminded of the book. Not that I didn’t do my best to keep them out of my living space, mind. And the idea of ant colonies in one’s home being a desirable thing is beyond me.
I do think that people over-do it when they go about getting bugs out of their yards and such, as they do serve useful purposes on a number of levels. IMHO this is probably part of the reason why the bees have been dying off, never mind something that significantly contributes to ecosystem deterioration.
BUT. I will not be training a pet cockroach any time soon. GUARANTEED.
Well, did you know that about a month ago when President Obama swatted an annoying fly bare-handed during an interview at the White House, the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) people got all up in arms about it. They apparently sent him a “humane trap” with which he could merely trap the fly and escort it outside where it could humanely be released into the wild. Now that’s weird.
I, for one, will continue to squish any and all cockroaches with which I come in contact. Thank you very much.
Nothing weird here at the moment. Bugs=GROSS. Hope you have a great weekend. Hugs
I will continue to squish cockroaches and to put out ant poison for the ants. They may be trainable and have personalities but at my house they’re pests. Lions and tigers and bears (oh, my) are trainable too but I ain’t living with ’em.
I cannot thank you enough for not posting a photo if a cockroach. I am all for coexisting with bugs, but I really don’t want to see then in my home.
OMG! We are all for co-existing with our fellow creatures (we tend to be relocaters rather than smooshers) but THAT is going a little too far. Yes, I’m with you on your weirdness statement. I’m wondering – don’t these people have anything better to do than train cockroaches???? Good grief.
Yes people are weird – and sometimes yuckie. Being in retail myself (restaurant & bookstore), I don’t have to read the newspaper to find weird people, just stand behind the counter for a few minutes and they rush to me (much like the weird guy’s ants) – they know my livelihood depends on them, so I can’t squash them, or even shoo them away.
One story involving bugs, weird people and retail – we had a wasp nest forming right over the front door. The wasps were very active in the afternoon and several patrons expressed legitimate concern that they might get stung. So one morning when it was still cool and the wasps weren’t awake yet, we sprayed the nest with that wasp killer stuff and knocked it down to dispose of it. A woman apparently watched the entire process before TEARFULLY coming in a crying that we could have just asked them to leave, we didn’t have to kill them and destroy their home.
Have a superb weekend – and hopefully it won’t involve weird people or bugs!
While the ants are not allowed inside the house, I don’t mind them living outside…or in my garden. They keep the ground friable, and I seem to have fewer undesirable bugs when they are around. So they get to stay in the garden rent-free.
As does the rabbit–yes, I have a bunny living in my garden. He doesn’t eat anything in MY garden, but my neighbors’ gardens are looking nibbled.
we’re a bunch of cockroach killers in hawaii! we simply cannot co-exist! they are dirty, and seem to have a second wind and come alive even when you squish them or they leave their little eggs when you squish them….as you can see i have a thing for roaches – hate those little buggers but too cowardly to kill ‘um – that’s my husband’s job i’m sorry…and don’t get me going on ants! we’ve had them crawling out of the keyboard at our computer station at work…..oh – happy aloha friday!
Thanks for no photos today. We have Japanese beetles back again this year. A local newscaster said instead of picking them off plants and stepping on them, a more humane way of ridding your yard is to put up one of those Japanese beetle bag traps, that attracts the bugs with a pheromone rose-like scent. Then, they enter the bag,eventually fall to the bottom, never again to see the light of day. Hmmm, more humane? I don’t know, would I rather suffer a quick death with a hard squish of a shoe, or, uh, fall into a dark plastic bag made extemely hot from the sun, and suffer a slow agonizing suffication, as hundreds of my buddies pile up on top of me as I slowly sink to the bottom of the bag? And, yes…I havehave a Japanese beetle bag trap hanging in my yard. I just realized this is the most disgusting and sad comment I have ever made on your blog. Kind of fits my mood on this rainy, icky day in Iowa
Ack – you’re right, people are weird. As long as the bugs stay outside, I’ll pretty much leave them alone – except hornets nests, I get rid of those. Once a bug enters my house he’s done for, but I am humane about it. I won’t even let the kitties play with one if they catch it – I step right in and kill it quickly.
I don’t think that weird is the word for that. I think disturbing is more appropriate.
In the office I work in weird is just part of life! Right now I’m waiting for protesters who show up — one of whom will be dressed in a cow costume. Wish I could take photos.
Yuck! Thanks for not posting photos and you are so right about the wierdness of people. I see it every day. Or maybe I am just the wierd one?
If I were training roaches, I’d train them to remain outside and at most in the walls, and to never show themselves in my living spaces!!
That’s gross.
The Post is going down hill. I want to cancel, but my husband is worried he won’t know the sport scores.
Nothing weird, just WAY to much teenage drama!
well, our annual pirates festival starts this weekend (as well as a few other events) but this one is the big one in seattle. Ships, parades, etc etc
I’m just glad I’m not married to Mr. G. H.!!
OMG, what a funny post today Sheri! I wish I could share this on my beloved Facebook!
Yes, people are weird.
As far as weird, I took a beginners sewing class last night and brought my brand new, never out of the box sewing machine and it was broken. They gave me a loaner to try use, and that one ended up being broken too. Oh, and I kept calling the string yarn. Maybe it’s the universe telling me to stick to my knitting and outsource my sewing.
Some bugs and the like are useful–bees, spiders, dragonflies (LOVE them), etc. Some need to be made to go away rightnow–box elder bugs are the current enemy at my parents’ house, because they’re useless and do nothing but swarm all over the walls, the deck, the sliding door….Mom finally got the landscaper they used to do chemical warfare. The good bugs remain, but the box elders are DEAD.
I have my own IckyCritter Defense System at my apartment. Her name is Miss Nell Cat. Eight pounds of pastel calico pest elimination! She’s got notches for one spider cricket (camelback cricket) and four mice on her scratching post. How mice got into a brick-and-cinderblock apartment with exactly two windows and one sliding door is beyond me! Fortunately for me, Nellie is only interested in playing with her prey until it passes to the Great Pest Beyond. She left the mice in prominent places, dead but intact. The spider cricket apparently was only fun until the legs fell off. Nell demands high-quality food from bags and cans–meals on legs bear no attraction for her.
Well, my motto is, the bugs can do anything they want outside. Once they come in the house, they’re toast. And yes, people are WIERD!
The only thing weird going on is my fight with the squash bugs. Those little bugs will not kill my plants so everyday, I am searching thru the 7 squash plants looking to kill em. Yes, I’m a murdered but my squash taste good.
That’s why I have cats. Yum–protein! And you can PLAY with your snacks! 😉
Oh, yes. People are weird. After many years of riding public transportation in Chicago, I have story upon story of weirdness. Ask me about the guy in the green bathrobe sometime. We saw so many, er, INTERESTING folks on the Broadway bus we started calling it the Bellevue Express.
“Traditionally despised, squashed at every opportunity, they are in fact easy-going and intelligent with distinctive personalities, and not at all difficult to train.”
Why??????
Of course there was barracks U-20 at NAS Norfolk in 1981. The barracks had roaches, more than I had ever seen in my life being agirl who had spent most of her life until that point in PA and KS. I also worked second shift. For the amusement of the residents, I suggested cockroach races every Friday at 1330 (1 pm). The entrants would be caught and trained by barracks residents. The owner of the fastest roach would win a Roach Motel; the losers could come back and compete the next week.
The suggestion never made it to the officer in change of the enlisted barracks, the petty officer (enlisted) in charge figured that the LT would appreciate the suggestion that that barracks was infested with creepy crawlies. ; )
Bugs can live anywhere outside my home and office they like, but they are not welcome indoors. Okay, I’ll tolerate the occasional spider as long as it steers clear of my body. Recently, I moused over an ad on weather.com and a hord of cockroaches went scurrying across my screen. I nearly knocked over my tea! It was an ad for a nationwide pesticide company (you know, O***n) which I will never use because their ads – TV and now, internet – gross me out.
My husband and I have decided that we are a little weird. We have odd interests and never seem to find the books we want at our local major bookstore. Weirdness kind of makes people interesting.
Yes, people are weird! And newspapers are weird, too!
Yesterday’s newspaper feature, ‘5 Things You Need to Know Today’, included a blurb about a man who come to his dentist appointment 4 weeks late, totally naked.
Now, I’m not sure I needed to know this at all, yet alone TODAY!
Have a great weekend!
I would definitely not want to train cockroaches! They are the only bugs that really freak me out!
People are weird-but you just have to deal with them and ignore their freaky habits…
but what does he do with the ants?
When I was little I wanted to be a bug doctor when I grew up so all the bugs that I collected wouldnt die or so I could make them better if they got sick. I loved bugs and general ‘creepy crawlies’ of all kinds until I was bitten one day by a spider and had a horrible allergic reaction. After that night all spiders became squished and bugs were given a wide berth.
it apears that my entire weekend may be taken up with…are you ready? Tractor pulls! Yes, tractor pulls. I have grand children, male and female, a son in law and father in law in law that will be pulling 2 days and watching at another Saturday nite. Now, I have no idea what the appeal of tractor pulls is but, I do occasionally go for a little while. Gotta support the kids.
As for bug, outside is fine, inside depends on the bugs and their activities of the day.
If they can be trained someone please train them to STAY AWAY FROM ME! Seriously!
Happy Friday!
We have enough trouble at times between the ants, spiders and wasps. When I hangout clothes on the line…..the wasp like the jeans real well. I forgot to check them out one day and
something stung me in the leg and I was dancing around trying to get the pants off.
But on the subject of weird people involve with bugs…..they have too much time on their hands!
GAH! People like that make me seem normal! No, no nothing to do with bugs, just normal eccentricities (hehehe what an oxymoron!). I can’t stand to live with bugs mostly because they spread diseases. Still trying to get that one story of the guy with his ants outta his head, and people think knitting is weird!
I also appreciate the no photo post. People are weird I totally agree. One of my favorite sayings is “Everybody is somebody else’s weirdo.”
Just Lori, how are you keeping that rabbit from eating your garden the one around me is eating everything in sight.
I’m with you. That is not only weird…but disgusting. Cockroaches carry disease. Ew.
I don’t mind most bugs too much (but I’m sure not going to coax them out to feed them!) but cockroaches I cannot abide. I got stuck living in a place with them once and I still have nightmares. The only cockroach I ever felt sorry for was one I had to inject with red dye for science class. Unfortunately I miscalculated the amount of dye necessary and gave it ten times too much. That poor little thing was so bloated and bright red. I still feel bad for it.
If the cockroaches or those 2 inch long water bugs – will NOT pay rent or room and board and I did nothing to “invite” them in my home -then the insects will surely meet the sole of my shoe fast and furious. They breed and carry germs and sometimes disease. Actually – I get those sticky rat traps – the large ones – and put them under my kitchen cabinets and basement and they do a great job of catching the water bugs. For the ones I catch individually – I toss them out under my bird feeder and let the insect loving birds have breakfast on me.
As a former newspaper reporter, I feel for the writer who has to cover “The Cockroach Beat.”
Thank you for sparing us the bug pictures. Ick. We have enough bugs of our own, especially this time of year. Nothing too weird over here so far, but the weekend isn’t over yet!
Ew. That is all.
eeewwww, seriously people are weird. Reminds me of the Country song by Billy Currington – God is great, beer is good and people are crazy.
Makes me want to pull out a fly swatter!