6 Reasons I am NOT a Fan of Eastern Toe Biters!

It’s that time of year again. Time for all the creepy crawlies to arrive that we haven’t seen since last year.

This includes the Eastern Toe Biters. Have you ever seen an Eastern Toe Biter?

They are HUGE! And I mean huge!

They are WAY creepier than June Bugs and about 5 times their size.

Ewwwww!

I don’t like June Bugs either, but that’s a different story.

I became aware of Eastern Toe Biters when we first moved to the country. My husband was working on his car lights outside the garage one Spring evening. He turned his headlights off and stood in the pitch dark, hearing something scrabble down the roof of the garage – and PLOP! Whatever it was landed next to him on the cement. He froze… and then he heard it scritch-scratch along the cement towards him. He flipped on his headlights and saw what he thought was a big beetle. He captured it in a cup and brought it inside the house to show me.

What was he thinking?!?!?!?!

While I agreed that I had never seen this bug before in my life, and agreed that it looked kind of cool, we didn’t realize that the thing could FLY! Yes. Fly! It escaped the cup and was in our house!

We managed to get it outside again and I took pictures of it before we released it. I did some research to identify it, and discovered it was an Eastern Toe Biter. A GIANT water bug. A water bug that lives in ponds (of which we have several) and they actually DO bite toes!!!

So – ‘Why don’t you like Eastern Toe Biters?” you ask? I can think of at least 6 reasons…

#1 – They’re BIG!

These bugs are huge! The ones we’ve seen on our property are around 3″ long. You read that correctly – 3 inches! Oh good grief. That is way too big for a “cute” bug!

#2 – They Fly and Get In Your Hair!

These bugs fly around your head and if they get too close, they get stuck in your hair while you mildly freak out, and try to get them OUT of your hair. Okay. “Mildly” isn’t the right word. “Frantically” is a better one!

#3 – They Bite Your Toes!

Yes. They bite your toes! Keep your toes OUT of the water or you could get bit! Their bite hurts like heck. Yikes!

#4 – They Look Like a Super Power June Bug

I have a thing about June Bugs. I don’t like them. Not since Ronny Anderson (the cute boy on the block) threw a June Bug at me when I was 11 and it stuck to my shirt and I couldn’t get it off. Yeah. I was a little freaked by that and haven’t like June Bugs since. Thanks Ronny.

#5 – They’re Sneaky!

These oversized water bugs lie in wait in a pond or creek – motionless – until they see their prey. Then they STRIKE! and stab their prey, injecting their digestive saliva into whatever they caught. I hear that stab is very painful and I hope I’m never a victim to that.

#6 – They Play Dead.. When They Aren’t.

These large bugs fly around lights in the evening and occasionally land on the ground. When they’re on the ground, they play dead. You walk up to one, thinking it’s dead, pick it up to remove it from the driveway or sidewalk so you don’t end up stepping on it, only to have the giant come alive in your hand! UGH! When they’re surprised, they also emit a smelly fluid from their anus. Never a delightful thing – especially from a bug.

I generally like bugs. I find them interesting. But these gigantic Eastern Toe Biters just creep me out! They are definitely NOT my favorite bug.

Last night while sitting outside on the patio, my husband brought me a dead Eastern Toe Biter and set it on the table. It was the first spotting of this bug this season. And of course, after looking at it closely, it instantly moved and started to crawl towards me. Dang! I should have known – it was just playing dead. Oh for the love of Spring and creepy crawly season…

Have you ever seen an Eastern Toe Biter?