Breaking News: Washington Post Finally Tells Me About Those Ugly Bugs!

I now have an answer to the question that has baffled hundreds (OK maybe dozens?) of you: What the hell was that nasty thing that invaded my D.C. apartment?

It wasn’t a spider. It was a camel cricket. Take a look at this newspaper shot of the big no-noise making, jumping, basement-loving bug that totally freaked me out.



Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had an unexpected house guest. The District is loaded with these freaky things because the area hasn’t received enough rain. In a drought, camel crickets seek moisture in basements.

Here is how the Washington Post described my nemesis: "The cricket, with arching hind legs, is typically a half-inch to an inch long. It feeds on just about anything but is said to have a particular appetite for clothing with food stains. Homeowners who don't see the bugs can find evidence of their presence on walls and joints, where they leave black smears of fecal matter. Although they can wander just about anywhere in a house, the bugs prefer dark, moist places such as garages and basements."

MMMM… Yummy.

Clark Hamilton, some dude from Alexandria, Va., said: “They look like a mutant version of aliens.”

I may have said they look like aliens. I may have said they look like mutants. It seems that Mr. Hamilton knows what aliens look like and these horrible bugs are uglier than aliens. They resemble MUTANT aliens. Doesn’t get worse than that, does it?

I never ever wanted to go home again after I had my showdown with the nasty-mutant-alien-jumping-bug-thing. That is until, Khan the Destroyer moved in.



She protects our place, though I still have to pick up the camel cricket guts she leaves behind.

Click here for the full Washington Post story. If that doesn’t work for ya, you can click here for more info.