I spent most of my childhood and college years in central Texas (the Dallas
area and Austin). I never saw a giant water bug in Seattle, but they are
hard to miss in central Texas, unless you live in, you know, a
well-constructed, bug-tight modern house.

I lived in various um, low-rent domiciles during my Texas tenure. Water
bugs like moist areas. (Who woulda guessed?) When they get into a house,
they gravitate to the bathroom. Which makes for an exciting experience when
you wake up in the middle of the night and shuffle into the bathroom. Water
bugs fly. When you turn a bathroom light on, they often fly straight at
you. Gives the cockroaches time to scuttle for cover.

Kelly Cassidy
Pullman, WA
(where there are no fleas, no roaches, no waterbugs, no bull nettle, few
skeeters, no chiggers, a short tick season, no greenbriar, no mesquite, no
sandburs, no Bushes. Something to be said for a cold winter and a dry
summer.)