man v nature. and nature is winning

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I was talking to somebody the other day about living in Texas, and she mentioned that the things that freaked her out the most in mvoing here were the bugs: huge flying cockroaches, mosquitoes, snakes (yes, I know that's not a bug, but then, 'bug' isn't exactly a scientific classification), wasps, bees, hornets, etc. I realized that she has a point. Take a gander:

This lovely thing was in our tree. I have never seen a hive so big in a residential setting, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised: it's Texas. :)
Lizard-like things have a real talent for coming indoors out of the heat. Earlier this summer I caught an anole so I could stick it back outside, but it didn't like that plan, and bit me. Double reason to kick it out. The gecko (i think it's a gecko, anyway) above got in last week, and when I tried to catch him, I crushed his tail with a cup. On accident. I felt really bad. Especially because it was a baby, and because it died.
This thing bears a strong resemblance to Eric Carle's very hungry caterpillar. Seriously, very big. and green. and hairy. but very mild-mannered--it just walked back and forth on a stick until we were done examining it.

I can handle most of these creepy crawlies, but still, Texas is a tough place to live in for someone so disgusted by cockroaches. Why did nature have to produce something so nearly indestructible in such large proportions?

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