Whats wrong with bugs?

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Gillibeanz
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Whats wrong with bugs?

Post by Gillibeanz »

OK. So some of you might know im very into making my little garden a wildlife haven.

I have a small pond - everyones ok with that....

I have sparrow and blue tit nesting boxes up, and feeding stations - everyones ok with that....

I have a hedgehog nesting box hidden in the bushes - everyones ok with that....

But this weekend I bought a bug lodge. For those of you who havn't the foggiest its a small wooden box. It has lots of small hollow reeds in the top half for bugs to hide in, and a box compartment with holes for the bugs to crawl through. Inside that are pieces of bark stacked up for the bugs to overwinter in

- everyones NOT ok with that.... everyone says ARE YOU MAD?....and YUCK!!! or they just laugh and call me bonkers.

may I just say that without bugs not only would we starve cos there would be no pollination but also countless food chains would break down. Now who is a looney buying a bug box?? :lol:
COME ON YOU SPURS!!
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RedShoes
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Post by RedShoes »

Aw man, I thought you were talking about Bugs Bunny. And then you say "looney" in the last sentance?

Such a tease :wink:


Seriously though, ain't nothin' wrong with bugs. Unless they're in your house. Then it's kinda icky. Or if they bite you. That's not fun either.
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crash8_durham
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Post by crash8_durham »

you have a blue tit???
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Poppet
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Post by Poppet »

i understand that bugs are important and useful things. they have a purpose.

and i personally want them to fulfill that purpose as far from me as possible. very, very far away from me.

don't like bugs.

but hey, your garden, your rules. you want bugs to feel like they've come home, hey, set out the bug condo.

i want them to feel like they need to go elsewhere. they can go visit you! that'll work.
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mood swung
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Post by mood swung »

you're not talking Roach Motel, now, are you, poppet?

I've heard of bat houses, bird houses, butterfly houses but never a bug house--they just seem to find their own space around my house. but outside my house. and I like bugs ok, as long as they don't go crunch when you step on them!
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A rope leash
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Post by A rope leash »

Although I don't like handling them, I find bugs to be quite fascinating. Whenever I see a cool bug, I start to believe in intelligent design.

Bugs are so specialized. Around my house, we have all kinds. My favorites are the praying mantis, the walking stick, and the rhino beetle.

Even flies and mosquitos can be inspiring. I think I'll take some pictures...
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Poppet
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Post by Poppet »

rope, when you do post pix, could you put them under a new topic, marked so i'll know it's bugs, and i can stay away?

they really, really, really, upset me.

i know, irrational. that's me!

they are amazing. incredible design. but they still totally creep me out.

thank you for considering me. :)
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A rope leash
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Insectiphobia

Post by A rope leash »

You know, Josie Cat is the same way. She totally freaks at the slightest of bugs.

When I see a spider, I think "cool". She shreiks until the bug is killed, usually by smashing. It's cute, but irrational. After all, butterflies are just bugs with pretty wings.

Another cool bug is the hornet. If I was a bug, I'd want to be a hornet. Hornets are bad.

"Bad" meaning cool...
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Poppet
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Post by Poppet »

i don't like butterflies either. but they aren't as creepy as other kinds of bugs.

oh, and something to NOT tell your kids, ever:

"raisins are dried flies." yes, told to me by my daddy when i was small.

great man, eh? :) i despise cooked raisins. but plain raisins are fine.
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Goody2Shoes
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Post by Goody2Shoes »

Gilli, is your bug house for any kind of bug in particular? 'Cause some bugs are really good for your garden, as they eat other, more harmful bugs. Praying mantises and ladybugs, and others, I'm sure, that I don't know about. Some garden centers sell beneficial bugs.

Ever see ladybugs migrating? It's creepy, even if they are good bugs. They all bunch together in huge rafts of crawly bugs and just hang out, waiting for whatever it is that moves them. It's quite a sight.
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spooky girlfriend
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Post by spooky girlfriend »

I think I once had a fear of bugs, but raising three boys and a nephew cured that. I now find myself calling the boys when I find one of interest and have even made some close up pics of bugs myself. It's gets interesting with bugs and birds and critters on the mountain here this time of year. I couldn't live here if I was still scared of them. They outnumber me a million to one. :)
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mood swung
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Post by mood swung »

no, spooks, they outnumber you about a billion to one. let's do the zeros just to see how big that number is 1,000,000,000!!!!!!

(and I saw bluebirds today!!!)
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Gillibeanz
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Post by Gillibeanz »

GOODY/ROPE: We dont have the exotic bugs you get over there! I can pick up spiders and even daddy long legs and id love to have a go at holding a trantula! Any bug is welcome in my bug lodge! I particaully want lacewings and ladybirds as they will eat my pesky aphids!

CRASH: On a personal note I only have blue tits in the winter!

In the summer im going to put a bat box up and keep my fingers crossed!
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crash8_durham
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Post by crash8_durham »

Is that from lack of blood flow, temperature or the tides or something?
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laughingcrow
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Post by laughingcrow »

Good stuff Gilli...I used to work with a bloke who loved damselflies and dragonflies - certainly some of the UK's best insects! He also studied parasitoids (insects which lay their eggs in other insects)...not so aesthetic though!

Was talking to a guy working for the RSPB out in Wales the other day, and he was saying it's amazing how many birdwatchers get into moths, because of the variety - more things to tick! They even get into micro-moths...madness! I think I'll stick with big, black and feathery! :lol:

Do you get many beetles? I like them!
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A rope leash
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Variety

Post by A rope leash »

Yeah, dragonflies are cool.

...and June bugs. Crazy.
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josie cat
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Post by josie cat »

In my own defense, I do not shreik!
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A rope leash
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Post by A rope leash »

Then it must be the bugs!
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Post by BlueChair »

I have a major insect phobia. I've gotten much better. When I was a kid I'd run inside squealing. Now I can do away with small insects I find in the bathroom. But any large spiders and/or bees freak the hell out of me!
Last edited by BlueChair on Wed Mar 10, 2004 7:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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A rope leash
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Post by A rope leash »

Aside from the occasional stinger or mosquito fever, there's really nothing to be afraid of. Most bugs are harmless.

LC was asking about beetles. We get a beetle around here that, (I swear) is sort of a metallic gold color, and it's color changes as it moves in the light, like one of those funny paint jobs we see on cars nowdays.

I gotta catch me one of those.
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Gillibeanz
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Post by Gillibeanz »

CROW: Yeah we get loads. Most unusual one ive seen was one I couldnt identify! It looked like a tiny humming bird - pink and furry with a long tongue and could hover backwards, but it was definately some kind of big beetle. I hear some sometimes fly in from hot countries on trade winds?

I am also a butterfly/moth/fan. We also get lots of dragon flys and damson flys in fantastic colours around the pond . Last year I saw a dragon fly ive never seen before it was massive! It was a bright lime green colour and very inquisitive about me zooming in round me for a better look, and when I looked it up it was a rare visitor from South Africa! Wicked or what??

I grow a variety of flowers for the moths and butterflys although there do seem to be so few of them around now. :(
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Goody2Shoes
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Post by Goody2Shoes »

Rope, I think that's a Japanese beetle you're talking about. They are nasty--they will decimate roses and tomato plants. But they do look kind of cool.
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A rope leash
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Post by A rope leash »

What's a Japanese bug doing in the Ozarks?

I think if the Japanese "invented" a bug, it would look like this one!
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selfmademug

Post by selfmademug »

I'm totally fascinated by bugs. But I don't like them in my house. For that reason I will allow spiders (who eat lotsa bugs) to stay in corners of the house, though the kitchen and bedroom are verboten. My hubby on the other hand cannot rest until any spider within his sight is dead, dead, dead.

I used to get ridiculed at a former job because I had a plastic cup labelled "SPIDER TRANSPORT UNIT" that I used for ferrying spiders out to the street. For some reason spiders seem so smart to me, I can't bring myself to kill them.
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mood swung
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Post by mood swung »

red velvet ants. supposedly the Worst Sting You Can Get. We found one summer before last, the kids put it in a jar. Usually, I say 'let it go' after 24 hours, but I forgot about the ant. But they fed it and just when you thought the SOB was dead, there he was with his velvet suit on. We let him go this past summer--I'm sure we'll regret this.
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