Regional Bugs.

When I moved to Boston I rejoiced that there were (seemingly) no bugs here. Well, at least not in comparison to Texas where the wasps, cockroaches and fire ants rule the streets. I soon found out that there were, in fact, bugs in Boston but they were different.

In my first apartment on Glenwood I came to understand that there were numerous types of ants. Wood ants are enormous. So disgusting. They don't bite, but they do eat wood - shocking, I know. We had a problem with them and killing them was a task because they were so big their little bodies made a crackling sound when you squished them with a paper towel. (I never thought I'd be able to say I have killed bugs by simply squishing them in a paper towel because my Dad ALWAYS did this for us when we were kids and it totally grossed me out, but alas what do you do when you Dad's not around and your roommate is standing on the couch screaming?)

A few months into my residency in Boston I met another new and unusual bug. The centipede. These suckers are NASTY! They are kind of translucent and move wicked fast. They die easily if you can catch them and typically begin coming inside after a rain storm (hmm, it rained today- kinda makes me want to look obsessively around my room for any). Again, they aren't hard to kill and rumor has it they eat other bugs. I guess I can at least admire them for that.

Finally, and my least favorite of all the bugs in Boston... the snail. Are snails bugs? Maybe not. hmm... well, I hate them. They are the nastiest of the nasty. Especially when they have no shell and are about the length of your arm! Yes, I have seen a slug here that was close to the length of my arm from my fingertips to my elbow. G-R-O-S-S! You don't want to try to kill these things because they're slimy and yucky (I'm feeling like I'm going to have some freaky dream tonight about bugs). My biggest fear is stepping on a snail/slug and slipping on it... or just feeling its slimy ickiness beneath my shoe. ewwwww! It grosses me out to even imagine it. We currently have a family of slugs who have gathered, for what seems to be a family reunion judging by the number of them, outside our apartment. Tonight as I walked from my car to the front door - on my toes looking down at the ground - I realized my neighbor was on his porch with his girlfriend watching me. I must have looked insane, but sadly I didn't care because ultimate victory in not stepping on a snail was mine!