Sooners in SC

P is for Palmetto

In South Carolina, everything is called Palmetto. The definition of Palmetto is as follows (yes I had to look it up when we got here.)

Definition of PALMETTO

1

: any of several usually low-growing fan-leaved palms;especially :

cabbage palmetto

2

: strips of the leaf blade of a palmetto used in weaving

Ah, so Palmetto is a tree! The palm trees that are everywhere including our front yard. Fun fact: it is also the state tree of South Carolina and Florida (but who cares about them.)

Our palmettos

So South Carolinians are very proud of their tree and use the name for almost everything. Look up Palmetto in the yellow pages and you'll find pages and pages of businesses that use the tree as their moniker.

South Carolinians also give the name to a very unpleasant friend we've made in the state... the cockroach. Here everyone calls cockroaches "palmetto bugs." I'm convinced they do this in denial because here, cockroaches are everywhere!

In Oklahoma and in Alabama, for the most part, you only have cockroaches if you're a slob or living in a dump. In South Carolina, everyone has cockroaches. You can't walk down the street without seeing them scampering along under your feet.

Unfortunately, we've seen our fair share of palmetto bugs in our new home. Craig, our exterminator and my new BFF, assures me this does not mean they've nested in our home. "They're bad in the summer," he says. "They come in from outside; come in through the pipes," he says. Either way, I hate them and have continued my chemical warfare against them. So far I am winning this battle with my right hand man, John the cockroach slayer.

I may eventually win the war against the "palmetto bugs" (and yes I'm being sarcastic there) but don't worry, the mosquitos will finish me off.