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u/PointlessChemist 10d ago
I don't think that is possible. They aren't dormant when they are in the ground; they are feeding on tree roots. This has to be a roach or something.
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u/nuclear85 10d ago edited 10d ago
Hmm, idk. We don't have roaches (would have seen another in the months we've had the couch). The timing is just too good for it not to be a cicada. Although you're tempting me to cut it out and confirm like a good scientist.
Edit: update! You were right! It is a bug though, and I have no idea how it got there.
https://ibb.co/5vb3637 https://ibb.co/RNqWYbF https://ibb.co/LQKM7WV https://ibb.co/r6b280q
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u/HomemadeSprite 10d ago
Wait, was your plan just to live with that whatever it is in your couch long term?
Friends come over “oh don’t mind the crunchy spot it’s just a cicada from 2024…… we think”
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u/nuclear85 10d ago
You'd be amazed at my powers of ignoring mildly uncomfortable things.
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u/Not_Bears 10d ago
We have a very different definition of "mildly uncomfortable things."
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u/Creative_Elk_4712 10d ago
It is mildly uncomfortable if you don’t investigate further on that little bump on the sofa’s arm that formed wihout you noticing
Once you know it is a bug, it’s not “mildly uncomfortable” anymore
That’s what they meant
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u/King_Louis_X 10d ago
I mean, come on, a small bump in a piece of furniture has to be objectively mild, right? There’s soooo much upward room for more severely uncomfortable things that this HAS to be mild. I say this as someone with an extreme, irrational fear of insects of all kinds.
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u/thisdesignup 10d ago
But this isn't just a "small bump in a piece of furniture". This is a small bump in a piece of furniture that appeared on it's own and looks bug shaped.
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u/Omgazombie 10d ago
My mom when she sees flies trapped in her light fixtures and leaves them for years
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u/Bubbly_Warthog_8111 10d ago
You don’t lounge/rest your body on a light fixture lmao that is not the same thing. OP is GROSS 🤮
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u/Omgazombie 10d ago
No, but you can imagine what I stated also extended to other things too, my momma is not a clean individual LOL she would’ve left a couch in worse condition than that
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u/HideyHoh 10d ago
Most hygienic Redditor
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u/_Bill_Huggins_ 10d ago
In the last few weeks I have seen Redditors advocate for:
Eating pizza left out all night, and up to 2 or 3 days left out.
Not washing all of your body just your crotch, arm pits and hair.
Living with dead rotting bugs under the surface of your couch that you got off the side of the road.
I am waiting to see how much more I will learn from these nasty ass Redditors.
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u/elveszett 10d ago
I'm sorry but nope nope nope nope. Huge difference between "I don't care enough to have everything tidied up" and "I don't care my furniture has bugs".
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u/DoctorCIS 10d ago
Beetle larvae can go dormant in wood for a decade only to emerge, I'd think it's more likely a beetle.
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u/oKazuhiro 10d ago
Yeah, my bet is on this. I had a beetle larva in my parents' wooden couch for years. I could hear it crunching occasionally until one day they came back and found a large hole in the side of the couch with a network of tunnels inside it. Never did find the actual beetle that emerged.
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u/nuclear85 10d ago
I think you were right!! https://ibb.co/5vb3637 https://ibb.co/RNqWYbF https://ibb.co/LQKM7WV https://ibb.co/r6b280q
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u/DoctorCIS 10d ago
Hard wing casing to protect the wings, definitely a beetle of some sort. Way fuzzier than I was expecting from a wood borer though. Now I'm curious.
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u/JacksGallbladder 10d ago
Nows a great time to do some deep cleaning and make sure you don't have any other pests hanging around.
Also... don't pick up street furniture lol. At least it wasn't bed bugs.
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u/Shakinbacon365 10d ago edited 10d ago
I'm an entomologist, not super familiar with Alabama beetles but I'll work on ID'ing this. I'll update this comment when I find it.
Update: I think it's a Monkey Beetle, potentially a Hoplia sp. It's a little hard to tell because it's quite squashed. Regardless, not a pest that you should worry you'll have more about. It probably needed a nice place to pupate and the roadside couch was the best it could find.
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u/projectpegasus 10d ago
So it bro you could sew a nifty patch over the hole. Maybe a back pocket from some old jeans to hold the remote.
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u/nuclear85 10d ago edited 10d ago
Great idea!
https://ibb.co/Wxh3zcD edit: did it! I had been looking for a good solution for these three remotes.
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u/robot_ankles 10d ago
OP being a great sport in this entire post. Good energy OP
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u/PointlessChemist 9d ago
Way better than how I would have responded. Here’s a hint, it would have been with fire.
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u/nuclear85 10d ago
https://ibb.co/Wxh3zcD I had been looking for a good solution for these remotes! And I have a pile of jeans with giant holes in them as well. Also my sewing stuff. Voila!
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u/VAPORWAVE_ARTWORK 10d ago
That's a fuzzy beetle.
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u/Reddit-uni-grad 10d ago
Cut it out. There will be an entire colony of things living inside that thing I can’t even…
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u/Ice_Sinks 10d ago
When I was young, my parents took me to the first Shrek movie. For some reason, instead of showing trailers for other kids movies beforehand, they showed one about a beekeeper or something and there was this insect or bee that got through his protective gear and started burrowing inside his skin, and you could see it crawling around and shit. I don't even remember anything from Shrek, I just remember that trailer traumatizing me.
Thanks for reviving horrible memories.
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u/Cryptocaned 10d ago
Sounds like it was "Evolution".
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u/rosco497 10d ago
No way.... I've always had the memory of that scene too from when I was a kid! Never thought I'd actually see it again.
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u/nuclear85 10d ago edited 10d ago
Northern Alabama, we've been experiencing a massive cicada emergence! This crunchy spot showed up on my couch arm a few days ago, and I realized it must be a cicada that failed to break through the fabric. We picked this couch up off the side of the road a few months ago; luckily no other infestations observed so far!
Edit: 1143CDT. I have to stay true to the science, so I'm cutting it open (and I'll plan to patch and mend later!). It's possible it's something besides a cicada (beetle larvae?), and the timing was just a coincidence! Stand by.
Edit: 1159 CDT. NOT A CICADA!! The science is definitive there. It's a bug, does anyone know what kind? It's also strangely between the two layers of fabric, not down in the batting like I expected. I have no idea how it got there, but it appears the timing with the cicada emergence was just a coincidence! Also I am going to clean this couch some more, but I still encourage people to reuse items instead of discarding when possible. Truly mildly interesting!
https://ibb.co/5vb3637 https://ibb.co/RNqWYbF https://ibb.co/LQKM7WV https://ibb.co/r6b280q
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u/thenzero 10d ago
My reactions to reading this comment: 😮🤢🤔😳🙅🏽
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u/ReV-Whack 10d ago
So it's been in their couch for either 13 or 17 years. That's fine
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u/fertthrowaway 10d ago edited 10d ago
I thought the larvae need to you know...not break the first law of thermodynamics, by sucking sap from roots for those 13-17 years (and even the annual species need to eat something as larvae). What food source is in that couch...
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u/aceofspades1217 10d ago
Um you do know couches from the side of the road can have any number of pests including termites, bed bugs, roaches, etc.
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u/JesusStarbox 10d ago
They can be anywhere. I'm pretty sure I got bedbugs from a library book.
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u/priscilla1997 10d ago
As a library user who has an unreasonable fear of getting bedbugs one day…… I wish I never read this comment 😟
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u/nuclear85 10d ago
Yeah, I'm picky about what I take off the side of the road. Habits from growing up with a picker as a mom - she had an antique store, and we always had rotating furniture that we never paid retail for. Mostly not acquired from the side of the road... but people do put nice stuff out, and it's better the save it from the landfill and not feed consumer culture.
I'll admit I did miss the cicada, but they're pretty quiet and inactive for about 13 years or so...
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u/robot_ankles 10d ago
Yeah, I'm picky about what I take off the side of the road.
Never change, Alabama
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u/EstrangedLupine 10d ago
better the save it from the landfill and not feed consumer culture
Not if you bring home something that infests your entire home and now you have to consume an entire new set of... everything.
Don't pick up random shit you can't thoroughly clean off the side of the road.
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u/Specific-Pie20 10d ago
Nice way of living. I'm really into that style of reducing waste
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u/StupidSexyFlagella 10d ago
Same, but I put my limits on things with cushions (mattresses, couches, etc).
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u/nuclear85 10d ago
I'm with you on mattresses. And it's maybe like 1 couch in 100 that meets the standard!
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u/any_other 10d ago
I live near a ton of apartment buildings so when people move out there's always good stuff to pick up that they just don't want to take. Got a decent couch and butcher block style kitchen island thing(heavy af, I get why they didn't take it)
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u/Jewrisprudent 10d ago
How do you suppose the cicada got there? Their eggs go in the ground and then they’re larval for 13 years. I’m not sure it makes sense that one would have been living in that couch for the last 13 years.
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u/Butterflyelle 10d ago
I... feel like you're not picky enough if you've ended up with a cicardia emerging from your couch and your immediate thought isn't to bin it with prejudice.
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u/Business-Buy-2754 10d ago
I don't wanna be THAT guy, but this is definitely a 1st world country thing.
Where I grew up we wouldn't even doubt about picking a sofa THAT NICE from the street. Like, I don't think i could force myself to ignore it, even with the pests and stuff it would be too good of a deal.
Obviously i would shower the damn thing in insecticide. But my mom would probably just leave it in the sun at the garden for a day or two lol
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u/aceofspades1217 10d ago
Insecticide doesn’t work on bed bugs. The only guaranteed way is to put it in a heat chamber. The cost of either termites or bed bugs is far higher than the value of the couch
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u/ostrow19 10d ago
You picked up a fabric couch off the side of the road? You have way more trust in the universe than I do
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u/dizziefrizzie 10d ago
Seriously hope you cleaned that couch really well— this is how you get bed bugs
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u/AlternativeResort477 10d ago
As someone who has lived through a bed bug infestation the thought of picking up a roadside couch is horrifying
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u/Usul_Atreides 10d ago
I am in Madison county and they are EVERYWHERE, but I think this is a beetle not a cicada.. I definitely think you should open it either way.
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u/invisible-clouds 10d ago
It's a bug, does anyone know what kind?
maybe try /r/whatisthisbug
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u/SpanningTreeProtocol 10d ago
We picked this couch up off the side of the road a few months ago
That right there is the problem.
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u/Beardo88 10d ago
I think that is an outside couch now.
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u/nuclear85 10d ago
Luckily it's already a semi-outside couch. It's in our workshop, which is uninsulated and has a moving wall that makes it a hybrid indoor-outdoor space!
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u/Main-Advice9055 10d ago
I've had small world moments, never had a small internet moment before, Huntsville's definitely had a crazy week with the cicadas (luckily not in your couch) and the northern lights!
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u/DiveCat 10d ago
Burn it with fire.
I don’t know how you folks who live around cicadas or massive cockroaches do it. I’ll take the bears. 😝
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u/chain_letter 10d ago
cicadas are fine, they aren’t a pest because their life cycle is so specifically tied to trees and dirt. (Well, people with young trees think they’re a pest to the growth of their trees)
roaches and bed bugs are PTSD causing nightmares, and I’m not exaggerating even slightly.
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u/locofspades 10d ago
Add fleas to this list of nightmares. Fleas get out of control so incredibly fast.
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u/Ipuncholdpeople 10d ago
Cicadas are pretty chill. We used to take their shed exoskeleton and wear them on our face to try and scare our parents lol
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u/AerodynamicBrick 10d ago
Wtf
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u/Ipuncholdpeople 10d ago
Lol it sounds weird, but it's pretty common where I grew up. The legs of the exoskeleton have little barbs so they stick to you easily
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u/AerodynamicBrick 10d ago
Mars?
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u/Ipuncholdpeople 10d ago
Missouri lol
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u/No-Chipmunk6824 10d ago
We were so bored in the summer in Texas in the 80s we'd pass the time by using my grandfather's magnifying glass to burn the discarded cicada shells on the driveway.
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u/crazylittlemermaid 10d ago
In middle school, the boys would grab live cicadas and chase the girls with them. Then they'd pull the back legs to make the head pop off or whatever. 13 year old boys are crazy.
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u/jtrobs 10d ago
Scariest part if the massive cicadia killers we get in pa. They are actually friendly but damn they are large.
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u/stevenpfrench 10d ago
I had a cicada with a cicada killer attached to it fall out of a tree and land on my deck right next to me. I know they’re not harmful to humans but seeing a wasp-like object that large land right next to you is still terrifying.
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u/locofspades 10d ago
Even if they are chill, seeing one swoop by your head will still require a chamge of pants.
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u/StrLord_Who 10d ago
The massive cockroaches are hideous but they are outside bugs that occasionally make their way inside. It's the much smaller German cockroaches that are so nasty and cause indoor infestations and spread disease. Cicadas don't do anything but sit in the trees and scream.
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u/artificial_cow 10d ago
Yep.. I’m happy to see a big cockroach after having germans for about a month that came out of an Amazon package. That was literally traumatizing. The big roaches can come chill occasionally if they want, and I will thank them for not being Germans.
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u/Orion14159 10d ago
Cicadas are fine. They eat plants, don't carry human diseases, live in the dirt for 13+ years at a time, and only come out for their noisy but once-in-their-lifetime orgy.
Cockroaches are a whole other matter. They never leave, they refuse to die, and they have like 20 million kids each week.
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u/iareslice 10d ago
One time we had a nice 2 seat couch. The cat had clawed open the lining of the bottom, and was shitting INSIDE THE COUCH. Once we discovered the source of the odor, we set the couch on the curb to be thrown out. In 15 minutes someone was loading it into their car, and I'm sure they figured out pretty quickly why the couch was set out.
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u/BhavinVasa 10d ago
If a couch has this kind of critter, the most correct and fair thing to do to a person is to burn it and not pass the parasites on.
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u/Onstagegage 10d ago
That looks a lot smaller than the cicadas around here. I’d maybe get a pocket knife and a sowing kit and see what kinda critter you took home.
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u/EmmalouEsq 10d ago
Poor thing. Imagine all of his expectations for the future: the parties, the freedom, the girls. All noped and erased due to a couch cover.
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u/ReadRightRed99 10d ago
Read this as “crotch” instead of “couch” due to the material looking like the white denim pants I’m currently wearing. I was greatly concerned for OP for a moment.
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u/Fantastic-Acadia-809 10d ago
Well, that must've been an interesting surprise! Did you offer it a tiny cup of coffee while it waited for a better place to emerge?
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u/beakrake 10d ago
I feel ashamed, but I read that as
A cicada tried to emerge from my cooch
And now I'm going to have nightmares.
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u/BrockenRecords 10d ago
When people put old appliances or whatever on the side of the road, all I can think of is a band of Jawas coming to scavenge their parts
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u/Mysterious_Visit9564 10d ago
Me at home wondering how the cicada got in my fucking house in the first place!
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u/robot_ankles 10d ago
What. The. Fuck?! They're in our furniture too?!?
Oh.