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S.C. Bailey's avatar

I’m here to tell you that DC also has roaches of unusual sizes too! In a hospital I worked at on night shift. Those suckers would not make much of an appearance, but when they did — they were HUGE! And I lived blissfully invigorate about their flight capabilities for a few years. And then, one night that bubble was popped like the scene out of Austin Powers with the huge steamroller thing taking its time to squash the person. Except this time it was in a cardiac patient’s room. My very elderly female patient called to tell me it was on the wall next to her bed and she was afraid it would get her. I immediately went there and she he thing was definitely about 2” or more in size. She wanted help to the chair as she was afraid it would fly on her. As previously mentioned, I had zero clue they could fly. So I mentioned that if we moved her it couldn’t get her. That’s when in slow motion it took flight straight for her. As we both looked on in horror, it landed on her shoulder. I promptly swatted it off her. And got it squashed. Then she said “I told you they could fly!” I then said “I stand corrected!” And “Ewww!”

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S.C. Bailey's avatar

Oh it was!! Slow motion terror train! LOL I couldn’t move her fast enough to avoid it! A massive “Eeeewww!” moment! LOL

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Oh my 🤣🤣 That is horrible!! Especially that it landed on her, that has never happened to me and I hope it never does!

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Ororo Munroe's avatar

OMG, I couldn't have handled that. So, maybe my future life in Costa Rica is out of the question. LOL

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

LOL I've heard Costa Rica has way worse critters. Scorpions and bigger spiders 😂

Go follow Marlo Leaman who lived in Costa Rica for several years...ask her what she thinks of your plan lol. https://whatanadventure.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile

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Ororo Munroe's avatar

I'll be sure to check it out.

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Ororo Munroe's avatar

I checked it out and I subscribed. LOL

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J. L. Gittens's avatar

I love this thread about our mutual dislike for flying roaches 😭😭😭 I remember a time we almost died cause of one ☠️ maybe I'll share that storytime later

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

LOL now that sounds like a good story!!!

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J. L. Gittens's avatar

Its so much fun seeing people from other cultures experience the island life 😭😭😭😭 Visit Antigua when you get a chance! We have roaches in all colors too🤣☠️

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Hahahaha challenge accepted!! Antigua has actually been on my list. Who are we kidding though...ALL islands are on my list!

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J. L. Gittens's avatar

WOIIIIIIIIII Message me when you arrive and we can go beach 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I would love to travel all the islands too. Sadly it has not been my portion as of late...BUT IN THE FUTURE I SHALLLL 🤭

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Travel hasn't been on my radar for years either. Tough times and other priorities but I'll get back in the saddle again soon!

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J. L. Gittens's avatar

SIS😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 GROWING UP IN THE CARIBBEAN LIFE MAYNE 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

LOL never a dull moment!

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Karen Michaels 🦋's avatar

Ohhhhh my ga I freaking HATE bugs so much. I always say it’s one of the questions I have for God when I get there a long time from now lolz. “WHY DID YOU MAKE THEM SO HORRIBLE?!” While this is NOT a bug it still freaks me out to this day… it was my first big singing gig and I moved out to Nashville with my friend. We found a great little apartment, trees ALL around just outside of town. My bathroom was just down the hall and one night I walked down to use the restroom and didn’t turn on the lights but “felt” my way down the hall… as I came out of the bathroom (the light was still on) I saw on the wall A HUGE TARANTULA. 😭😭😭 HUGE. Coffee can give.

I started screaming and my roomie came out to yell at me and she started screaming… the apartment manager heard us and came running. 😆

He got that critter out so fast (he didn’t kill it, told us it was good for killing other bugs… ummm OK) and we didn’t sleep well for days. Lollllz.

Great story and I kinda wanna know more about renting a room in a big mansion in Jamaica but def NOT in the bush lol.

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

OH MY GOD Karen! I would lose my shit if I came face to face with a tarantula! Spiders are IT for me. My hair raised just reading that LOL!!

And about renting a room in a mansion, I kind of got lucky with this one because I met Kemar through a friend and it just happened that he had 9 empty rooms in this monster place he inherited. However, there are houses like this all over the island and this is a way of life for them...sharing huge villa-style homes, each person has their own huge room and they share the common space. In fact, the very first local I ever met in Jamaica was a police officer who lived in a large room with a bathroom and a fridge in a gigantic house. They shared the common space. It's just how they live.

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Karen Michaels 🦋's avatar

That’s kinda cool! I wonder if it could be short term too like a coupla months. I bet we could find that. Yayyy… and ummm TOTALLY RE SPIDERS. 🕷️ 🛑👎🚫🙈😩

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Yeah I'm sure you could find it short term. Although, Airbnb probably has that market sewn up unless you know someone who knows someone.

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Kelly Kotanidis's avatar

Oh yes. We lived in far north Queensland for many years. A tree frog fell on my face while I was asleep one night. A cockroach did the same to my husband. We had a saltwater croc in the main street last year. My 19yo daughters sent us a pic last week of the python they evicted from a grown man's cupboard - he called them because he was too scared to deal with it. And that's not even starting on the spiders...

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

OH MY GOD!!!!!! Okay, you WIN for the most disgusting things in one lifetime!!!

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Kelly Kotanidis's avatar

Welcome to Australia! Although I still think we're lucky, we don't have bears, mountain lions, or anything except crocodiles that see us as food. And they're quite easy to avoid.

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Jennifer Miller (she/her)'s avatar

I guess I never realized cockroaches fly. Dive bombing roaches are a terrifying thing to contemplate. Fortunately, Hawaii is the only place I ever encountered one,and it didn’t come after me. I got to look fierce and brave to my roach-phobic husband when I killed it.

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Hahaha as long as you looked like a badass, that's all that matters 😉

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Bertsyview's avatar

Not fun to deal with but a great story for a Uk based person to laugh at! My apologies :-)

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Haha no apologies necessary! My purpose in life is to make people smile 😃

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Marc Typo's avatar

I’m hoping whatever inspired a bunch of us to share our roach stories ends here 😂 glad I never had to encounter one on vacation yet. It would be the end of it. I hate being the man in the house who’s suppose to deal with them. Sigh

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Lol you know what? I've always wondered how men felt about being the expected hero in all situations 😂 Whether it's cockroaches or murderers in the basement, you guys are always the ones who have to sacrifice!

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Marc Typo's avatar

I hate it so much. My wife and I have agreed, I’ll do the smashing and she’ll pick it up. I can live with that. 😂

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

😂😂😂👌

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Elizabeth Beggins's avatar

Gurl! I've never lived in a tropical location, but I can tell some cockroach stories from time spent in the Florida Keys and Hawai'i. Big, honkin' cockroaches, like the kind that might walk out with your new XBox. Despite my years as a farmer -- dealing with wasps and spiders and slugs -- I never grew enough spine for cockroaches. 😬

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

😂😂 I just died over the Xbox!!! Well I'm safe and sound back in cold ass Canada now but yes...I will never say I don't flinch!!

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Jules Torti's avatar

I so wish I could attach photos here. Thank you for inspiring me to revisit my Ugandan archives from 2008. I have a disturbing number of cockroach pictures--one with a ruler (60mm!), another with a matchbox, a close-up of cockroach releasing her endless egg capsules....that one is followed by a photo of the fried grasshoppers I had for lunch (wrapped up in some kid's math homework sheet). I had to share those grasshoppers with the cat. And the housekeeper who preferred to warm hers in the microwave. I know someone here is having a fur ball reading this but, cockroaches are a part of life. Just like Beverly Hills 90210, you can't deny it. Thanks for taking me down a weird and buggy memory lane!

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

LMFAOOO!!! And believe me, I haven't used LMFAO in a long time but this? It was worthy!

I never dreamed a cockroach story would attract as much attention as this one did. It is universal!

PS: I soooo wish we could attach photos in comments.

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Jules Torti's avatar

If you need additional cockroach footage, ever, send me a SOS. I'm also well-stocked in toads, frogs and snake coverage! Thanks for the vintage LMFAO...

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Tanya Mozias's avatar

Where I live we have giant flying cockroaches in the summer. They're completely harmless but they're the grossest thing ever.

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

That's the funny part. We KNOW they're harmless but we're scared anyway 😁

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Lique's avatar

Texas has some big boys too. Dancing on the ceiling. Don't care the time of day. Dive bombing. Oh! My! Gawd!

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

😂😂

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Liberty Jensen's avatar

I’ve lived in Arkansas most of my life, and while the roaches aren’t that big (thankfully), they are everywhere. When I was little, my babysitter had a HUGE roach problem. I’ll see them occasionally pop up in my own home now, but it doesn’t bother me *too bad* after that - there is definitely a difference in the occasional visitor and a problem😅😬

Your cat-sized rat story did remind me of a trip from high school. A club I was in took a trip to this place called Heffer’s Ranch, where you basically try to experience what people from 3rd world backgrounds live like for a week. My friends and I went exploring the woods one night, and came across this massive rat - also cat sized, which tried to jump off a tree limb into this wooden hut we found with us. No one believed us though until the next night, when one got in a group’s hut and all we could hear was squealing. There were lots of sorry’s the next day😂

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

OMG I soooooooo love the comments this post is bringing out of you guys. I COULD NOT live another day if a rat that size jumped out of anything and into my space LMAO! The one that went under my couch, I never saw it again so I have no idea what actually happened to it.

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Laura W.'s avatar

You make me laugh !! 😃

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