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Alright, this is kinda sign related in that the backdrop to this post takes place in my office.
There is one of those little, stinky, lady bugs flying around my office - and he just landed on my screen. His little hard shell separated and raised up like the doors on a Lamborgini and he buzzed away before I could get ahold of him.
I have a thick rubberband now sitting at the ready; deciding to give him a sporting chance - and will attempt to down him either mid-air or as he perches on something.
Life is good....I feel content knowing I can kick back and take a shot at such an insignificant distraction.
So....dumb question of the day is this:
Have you ever had some sort of critter, bug, or vermin distract you from your work? If so, what's the story....and how did you get rid of it?
(and please, I don't count as a distracting Vermin....hehehe)
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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Query...if it's a ladybug, how come it's a "he"? We have the same critters in our place, 'cept I 'spect they are Japanese beetles. As it warms up in the spring the little buggers drop down from the ceiling, landing on my draughting table with a "clink". This is generally OK as they keep the spiders company, but when they fall in fresh paint and than crawl around, it do tend to **** me off. Beats hell out of the moles in the bedroom, tho'! MUR
-------------------- Murray MacDonald OldTime Signs 529 Third Ave S Kenora, ON. P9N 1Y3 oldtimesigns@gokenora.com Posts: 781 | From: Kenora, ON | Registered: Jan 2003
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LOL Murray! Yeah, those little buggers are a menace.
I'm not sure what they are called. I have heard they aren't a true "ladybug" but they stink like a bitter fart in an igloo if you squish them.
They get into the house by the hundreds when it warms up - - as you say.
Seems like I heard some story about them being introduced in Europe to kill some sort of other crop damaging insect...and then they made it to the US and other countries.
They've turned out to be a real bother though.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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Todd, they sound like Maple Bugs. We get them here sometimes. Some years there are thousands and some years there's hardly any.
They seem to be hard to kill, you squish them and a few minutes later they're walking again. One year when they were really bad, I kept a bowl of water with a little bit of dishsoap in it. You'd throw the critter in there and the dishsoap zapped them right away. Without the dishsoap, they just crawl away again. They can get in anywhere, and they stink when you squish them. The leave tiny poop tracks everywhere too, almost like they spit on things. The ones I'm talking about are mostly black with red outlining the wings. I think they may be called "Boxelder Bugs".
To answer your question if a bug has ever distracted someone from work...My husband as a young fella once rolled a lumber truck trying to swish a bumble bee out the window. He reached over to the passenger side to crack the window, and before he knew it, the wheels where on the shoulder of the road and sucked him into the ditch. I'd say that little sucker affected his work that day!
Suelynn
-------------------- "It is never too late to be what you might have been." -George Eliot
Suelynn Sedor Sedor Signs Carnduff, SK Canada Posts: 2863 | From: Carnduff, SK Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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These little pests are shaped and sized just like a ladybug...except they are orange with a few black dots. I guess lady bugs are more reddish with more dots or something.
These little guys also bite....if they get down your shirt or up a pant leg they can give a mild little pinch....
My father-in-law disposes of Japanese Beetles [from his yard] in the same way....tosses them into a pail of soapy water. You're right, it kills them right away.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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my guess is spiders will top the list with snakes and bees/wasps in the top 5
-------------------- Harris Kohen K-Man Pinstriping and Graphix Trenton, NJ "Showing the world that even I can strategically place the pigment where its got to go." Posts: 1739 | From: Trenton, NJ, USA | Registered: Jun 2001
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My most memorable "insect distraction" was during an installation, on a hot summer day in the city.
I had a cold soda going, and I put the can down on the sidewalk for a couple of minutes while I was working.
When I picked it up and took another sip, I felt something that I thought was metal on my tongue.
Before I could spit it out, my head practically exploded with pain. As a wasp, which had crawled into the soda can (attracted by the sugar) stung me about a half dozen times inside my mouth.
Needless to say, I'm pretty careful now, about where I set down a canned beverage.
-------------------- Steve Purcell Purcell Woodcarving & Signmaking Cape Cod, MA
************************** Intelligent Design Is No Accident Posts: 900 | From: Cape Cod, MA | Registered: Oct 1999
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They bore holes in the rafters of my barn. I restored a cedar sign a few months ago and they had bored several holes in it. If you cut a cross-section of one of their long tunnels, you will see that they can travel several feet down the length of a 1.5'' thick board, stay to the center and never deviate to the outside. That's an amazing sensor array if you ask me.
Anyway, when I see one flying around the barn door, I lose it. I get this faraway, dazed, crosseyed, predator look on my face and I'm swatting carpenter bees. Many times, when you swat and miss, they'll buzz around, make a wide circle or two and come right back, hover afew feet away. Like a death wish ir something. Tennis rackets are the best.
Lady bugs don't hurt anything. If you have a garden, you want ladybugs because they prey on the harmful garden bugs.My wife was working in the garden one day and my little daughter came up to her with a lady bug. LynnDee says "that's a lady bug" a few minutes later my daughter comes back with another...."look mama...a man bug".
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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Last summer,while priming hdu letters, a praying mantis landed on the letters. Fortunatly the paint was dry on the faces. The distraction was simply watching him and later hand feeding him every bug I could find, including a cricket. He eventually went back outside where he hung around for about a week. My wife named it Chuck.
-------------------- Thom CREATIVE SIGNWORKS Lancaster,PA creativesignworks1@juno.com Posts: 79 | From: lancaster,PA usa | Registered: Dec 2000
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Someone told me lady bugs eat pine-beetle larva too . . . .
Lady bugs are pretty harmless here . . .don't get me started on 'skeeters and houseflys and those huge black rutchez . . . UGH
Those brown beetles Mr. Mur mentioned are attracted to light . . .They will beat themselves to death on a light fixture. . . . haft'a make sure no doors are open while painting and no lights are left on near dryin' panels.
Summer will bring all these and more in droves . . . .
-------------------- Signs Sweet Home Alabama
oneshot on chat
"Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a dog" Posts: 5758 | From: "Sweet Home" Alabama | Registered: Mar 2003
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Bugs are a major distraction for me, because I don't like them. My older sister tormented me with them when we were kids. Once she and her buddy stuffed the garden hose full of pincher bugs then lured me into taking the first drink when they turned it on. A whole jar of bees were put down my dress once. I'm terrified of bugs now.
The one that we all still talk about at work is when we had an invasion of locusts. They were everywhere, but harmless. One landed on Mark's ear at a job site and he ran in circles screamining like a girl and swatting at his head. He did three full circles before he got it off his ear.
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We got those yello shell with a black dot counterfeit ladybugs here. Yep, Todd, they DO bite, & stink too!
When i was little, my neighbors ahd 14 kids, & the youngest 2 girls had the job of scooping the Japenese beetles off the blackberry bushes & dumping them into a pop bottle of gasoline. they got 1 pennny for each one they caught!
I don't like the spiders in my shop. They are fat, fuzzy, & grey & they jump. They drop from the ceiling onto me sometimes & give me a scare.
But today..... I am feeling ornery as ever! Hot flashes, got a case of the "meanies". I'd love to see a bug right now, he'd last maybe 2 seconds.....
-------------------- The Word in Signs Bobbie Rochow Jamestown, PA 16134
724-927-6471
thewordinsigns@alltel.net Posts: 3485 | From: Jamestown, PA 16134 | Registered: Oct 2002
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Missed your post Tresa, hey, that reminds me... when Iw as little, I LIKED bugs, & had one of them locusts as a pet! It had bright orange eyes!!! I remember his feet clung to my fingers & bugged me!
-------------------- The Word in Signs Bobbie Rochow Jamestown, PA 16134
724-927-6471
thewordinsigns@alltel.net Posts: 3485 | From: Jamestown, PA 16134 | Registered: Oct 2002
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![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)
Steve! You're probably right....I'm just to stupid not to realize it. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
I'd love to see a bug right now, he'd last maybe 2 seconds.....
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