"Palmetto Bugs!"

[crazeedizneefinatic]

We just got back last night from 10 glorious days at CBR. We were worried about the lovebugs since last Septemer was so bad. We were relieved they were extremely light this year. One thing that did have me on edge was the numerous sightings of "palmetto bugs". One night at the pool a HUGE one glided from somewhere and landed at poolside right in front of us! When I say huge I mean HUGE! Of course we quickly gathered our things and left. We never saw one around our room but also saw them in the parks. One night we saw one crawling on the wall while waiting for the Pooh ride in MK. We would see them crawling along curbs in the parks. The funniest (if you can say that) place we saw one was while riding the land. Under the lettuce display there he was just waiting and watching. In all the years of going to the parks I may have seen one here and there but this year seemed really bad and quite frankly scary. A lady in line at the Pooh ride actually left line. Did anyone else who recently went discover these?

[AuntDJ]

I'll be honest, I had to google this...as here in the south, we just call them cockroaches or just plain roaches.

To be honest, having grown up with them around, they don't really bother me that much. I don't like them, but I am not afraid of them either...I just get a shoe and hit it

Although I will admit that I have never seen them at the world and that might make me a little uncomfortable, as long as it isn't my room, I think I would be okay.

DJ

[Polynesian Dweller]

I wouldn't mind knowing about this. About 6 years ago I was surprised by one at about 3:00am in the bathroom of our room. Don't want to go through that again.

[crazeedizneefinatic]

OMG! On the bathroom floor, I would have died. I never saw one immediately outside our room or in it, believe me I looked, every night, lol. They just seemed to be in the common areas. I am sure the resorts are extra safe about the rooms. I am sure they spray frequently. But anything is a possibility. I am from Pittsburgh and these are not common where we live so I was a little freaked out about it. And the ones we saw where rather large! I know Palmetto bug is a nice way to say roach. I can remember a friend moving to Fort Lauderdale a few years back and discovering these lovely creatures were very common. It just seemed this year we saw quite a few.

[mouseaddict]

palmetto bugs are evil. I swear they like to attack! I have been surprised a few times at night...ick. It has been a bad summer for them here becuase we have actually had a lot of rain..and that seems to bring them out.

[Diznee4Me]

As a previous poster said here in the south we just know them as cockroaches. Used to having them around, I don't presonally care for them, but that's why I have my wife - to kill them for me when I run screaming from the room!

[disneydeb]

About 20 years ago one landed on my husband's back while waiting to board the Jungle Cruise. YUCK!!

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Welcome to Florida.

A good way to avoid roaches is to not have mulch. That is a breeding ground for them.

Also, do not litter. They like the food you throw on the ground at resorts.

Ask for a second floor room as most of Disney property uses mulch on the ground levels.

Other than that...it's Florida, it's hot, and they are everywhere. I'm used to it. And if you see one, you should also notify the resort/area so that they know and can take care of it.

[SurferStitch]

We saw one on our third floor balcony at the Grand Flo about 6 or 7 years ago. Completely freaked me out. It was at night. I slammed the sliding glass door shut, and didn't go back out there for at least a full day. I was always on bug watch after that.

Never saw one in any room, or anywhere else, actually. Just that one time.

[magicofdisney]

It's funny you mentioned this because we just had some bad experiences with them on our recent trip. The first time was at Aladdin's Magic Carpet. Two others and I were sitting on the ledge outside Tiki Room waiting for the kids to come off Aladdin. All of a sudden, my mom screams and my aunt jumps up hopping all over the place. There was a roach about 2 centimeters from crawling up her back. A group was walking by and said those roaches were big enough for leashes. We never sat back down in that area again the rest of our trip.

A couple of nights later, there was one running around the floor of the gift shop at our resort. A brave (read scared), young female CM was kind of trying to locate it so it could be removed. We tried to warn her about it's size and she said that's what male CMs are for.

[TinyTink]

Yuck! I am one of those people who are afraid of roaches. And living in Florida, you see them around, especially in the summer. Those pesky things can be huge!!! I was staying at a hotel right by UCF in Orlando this summer, and one night I was sitting in a corner studying and I look down at the ground and one of those little suckers is running around by my luggage. Needless to say, I almost dropped my laptop. I kept thinking that there were roaches in my bed all night!

[kakn7294]

I think they're kind of amusing - I love watching everyone else's reactions to them. I don't find them all that scary although I can be startled by one, providing others with a bit of entertainment myself. Fortunately, they don't hurt you, they're just nasty, dirty insects. We didn't see any at all in August.

[DisneyDudet]

Yes, they are what we call "trophy sized" roaches. We had a pool at a previous house, and I've never seen so many! They can also be called tree roaches. They like moisture, and now that we don't have a pool, we don't see them much.

They are sooooooo gross! I haven't seen one at the world, but we need to remember "Its tough to be a bug."

[disguy]

Yuck! I had one land on my leg while I was sitting outside the japan pavillion. I was kicking my leg thinking it would take off but it just hung on until I flicked it off.

eww eww eww

[Here we go again...]

As a previous poster said here in the south we just know them as cockroaches. Used to having them around, I don't presonally care for them, but that's why I have my wife - to kill them for me when I run screaming from the room!

You are the man!!

We call them tree roaches here too. Thank goodness they do not get in the house often. I have 2 dogs that like to catch them and then 'play with them to death'. That aways freaks me out.

[murphy1]

Do y'all know the difference between the two? Palmetto bugs are the flying ones and cockroaches are the ones that just crawl. The South is also notorious for ant problems.

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I knew that was the difference between the two bugs. The ones we had on Okinawa didn't fly.
I did find one on the floor in my room at ASMu last month. It was in the bathroom, so i just got one of the park guides, scooped it up and flushed it!
Palmetto bugs are also a lot larger than your average cochroaches.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Do y'all know the difference between the two? Palmetto bugs are the flying ones and cockroaches are the ones that just crawl. The South is also notorious for ant problems.

No I didn't know the difference and thanks for that.

At 3:00am in the bathroom at the Poly, confronted with this monster bug , it didn't matter too much to me which it was. It was just plain ugly, and large, and I wanted it out of there, FAST. Yuck!

By the way, we were on the 3rd floor of what is now Tahiti at the very end by the doors so being off the ground didn't help much. You southerners are welcome to keep them.

[Nate's Grandpa]

We just got back Sunday night. We did not see any palmetto bugs, but the love bugs were the worst I have ever seen.

When we were leaving MGM Saturday afternoon, they were swarming all over the place. The cast member at the exit was constantly trying to fan them out of her face. She had just moved to Florida from Illinois and was not familar with these bugs.

We will never go back to WDW in September again because of this bad experience with love bugs.

[crazeedizneefinatic]

We will never go back to WDW in September again because of this bad experience with love bugs.

Wow, I am surprised to hear that. We did not spend much time at MGM so maybe that's the area they were in. I have to admit they were quite light in the places we visited this year. I was kind of relieved because my son was so annoyed by them last year. We stayed at POP last year in September and waiting for the buses was awful they would be all over us. It was really really really bad last year. Maybe that is the reason they seemed so light this year, lol!