The history of my relationship with bugs

I moved to Dallas, a naive girl. Growing up, yes, I saw some bugs in my parents house. A few spiders, ants, and silverfish in the summer. None large and I had this awesome male roommate (my father) that would take care of it within 2 minutes of noticing the nuisance.

I had lived in Dallas for about a year when me, Ashley Payson and Lauren Hensley decided to be roomies. We found an awesome condo and signed a lease. Me being the brat I can be, decide I really want the master and will pay $100 more a month for it. We move in... about 3 weeks to a month pass by when one of the most awful, life changing events of my life happens. It starts when I come home late and Hens and Payson are not home. I go into my bathroom to go pee, sit down and am doing my business when I look onto the floor to see the largest animal I have ever seen sitting there, looking at me. Ok, ok... it was not an actually animal... it resembled a cockroach, but was so massive, I wasn't sure if it was some mutilated creature coming to attack me, or possibly an alien. I freak OUT!!!! literally, freak out... there is no way to explain the emotions that were going through me. So... I run out of my bathroom and stare at it. I need a plan of action, but I am so scared of this "thing" that I am not sure what it will do. It was standing so tall... had legs similar to a frog and was humping my bathroom rug (I don't know if it was actually humping, but it was doing something on it). I call Adam, who at this time in our lives worked at 4:30am, so he was asleep and seriously not happy about me calling him. I FINALLY get up my nerve. I am going to flip the rug on him and stomp the living daylights out of it. I do it. I am slightly relieved and get the balls up to take a shower. I am in the shower, constantly staring at the rug.... wondering if I actually killed it. I get out and just to check, I tap the rug just to make sure... WELL, OF COURSE, it runs out, crippled but alive and now with a vengense (sp?). I grab Ashley's can of hairspray and spray the whole bottle on it... I probably blinded it, but it starts charging towards me full speed.... I am crying, sweating and still dripping wet. I call Adam, bawling to him on the phone. He finally agrees to come over, but is pissed. I sit there and watch the disgusting creature slowly die. Adam comes over, kills it, cleans it up, doesn't look at me or talk to me, grabs a blanket and goes to sleep the rest of his few hours on the couch. I try to explain the story to Ashley and Lauren and they probably think I am a crazy roommate at this point. But the situation is over and I can move on with my life.... so I think.
The rest of our year goes something like this. We find out these are basically giant cockroaches called waterbugs (why? Because they can swim, and fly). Other people call them Palmetto bugs and they live in the south in humid climates. So, the following Wednesday (episode #1 was a Wed.) I am getting ready for work in my closet, when another freaking waterbug RUNS into my closet full speed at me. I literally let out the loudest, blood curdling scream ever. Poor Josh Dent was staying over with Ash and jumped out of bed because he literally thought I was getting raped. Everyone runs into my room and I tell them that the devil is in my closet. We go in there, can't find it. So Ashley starts moving my clothes looking for it. I look down and the creature is creeping out of my closet. The Bad Ass roommates kill it and episode #2 concludes. The ONLY reason I was glad #2 happened is so my roomies could actually see what I saw. Well, the term "waterbug wednesday" becomes a theme in our house. Throughout the year these awesome visitors were constant guests. Mainly on Wednesdays and mainly when I was home alone, of course. We found them in the kitchen, hallway, Hensley's room, their bathroom, but mainly my bed/bathroom... at least a few a week. I bet you are asking yourself why didn't we call an exterminator. We did, in fact he came every few weeks and felt like he was our buddy by the end of the year.

This story brings me to my point. I seriously researched if Denver had these.... they don't because it is too dry. Of course there are cock roaches everywhere, but not the waterbugs here. We are very lucky that we literally have not seen any bugs in our new house. I have seen A few really tiny ones, but none that give me a heart attack... that is, until tonight. I was cooking dinner, and I go to the sink and there is a large spider sitting in the counter. I was so shocked, that I at first had a freak out moment, but then got my self together and killed it. It is sitting there right now, I am waiting for ADam to come home and pick it up. I sprayed some windex on it too...
Anyways, I can handle spiders, I don't like them on the counter, but I am still so thankful it was not a waterbug. Waterbugs have contributed to an approximate 5-7 year loss off my lifespan. I might have some ulcers from it too. I can handle bugs, just not LARGE ones. Men in Black (the movie) must of had some sort of affect on me.

Anyways, here are a few pictures of some waterbugs (I am just putting the links) just so you can see what is the #1 thing I am afraid of. #2 is lightening if anyone was wondering.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.yesmag.ca/bugbeat/images/giant_water_bug.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.yesmag.ca/bugbeat/bugs.php%3Fid%3D3&usg=__RkJjrAZwmk8Ym5k-QkizWFvxeXs=&h=290&w=445&sz=72&hl=en&start=13&sig2=eUC1mCr2_5vLFtREhtqQJQ&um=1&tbnid=5joKeLLYIoh9EM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwater%2Bbugs%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=yFfFSorXDciYtgfXt5W5AQ

http://www.magicexterminating.com/UserFiles/Image/Water%20Bug.jpg

http://www.loupiote.com/photos_m/3222587870-giant-water-bugs-lethocerus-indicus-belostomatidae-edible-insects-laos.jpg