Anyone who lives in Florida knows about the flying roaches. Excuse me, Palmetto Bugs. As I am now living in the country, I have hired an exterminator who comes out to spray the house, inside and out, to keep as much of the wildlife (insects) outside. He’s done a good job. The only palmetto bugs I’ve found were dead ones outside. Yes!
The dogs and I then walked around more. When the scooper was empty, I swayed it gently. When I saw more poop, I picked it up, and when I thought I’d found all the poop, I put the scooper back for a well deserved rest and we walked on without it. Until I found some old dog poop, so I went back for the scooper. I picked up two petrified poops, took my find back to the poop bucket, and dumped them, but one piece wouldn’t go in. When I tried again, my eyes focused to two antennae moving on the thing sticking to the back of the inner scoop. It was that roach!
Gravity did not win earlier. Instead of falling off over the fence, that Palmetto creature hung onto the back of the scooper! I had been taking it for a walk! Around and around and around the property, while playing games with the dogs even. It was with me all that time! Closer to me than any dog. I don’t know about you, but I have Palmetto Bugs at the top of my scream-out-loud list.
Apparently, my diagnosis of the bug being dead was incorrect, which means I didn’t look at it closely enough to start out with. That looking at them too closely thing is not going to change, though. It was not too far from dead. I mean it was lying out there, which is not usual behavior, I assume, for a prehistoric bug.
Getting back to my discovery, I did somehow manage to stay calm when I got a glimpse of its antennae moving. I grabbed the scooper and walked as briskly as if walking over hot coals. This time, I slammed the scoop over the fence onto the ground. And I did look to make sure. Yes, it was on the ground. Gone from my plot of land.
I hope to high heaven that this shall be the one and only time I ever take a palmetto bug for a walk.
Helen Verte Schwarzmann
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