[Towhee]

Yes, Prickly Pear Cactus are native to the Ozarks, but not all that common, and generally not in yards unless planted there. I suggest if you do not like them, just remove them ( wear leather gloves...).

We've lived in the woods in northern Newton County for 24 years, and I have not seen one cactus on our land, or the neighboring areas.

As for poisonous spiders, we have lived here 32 years and I have not seen a Brown Recluse spider, but have known a very few people that have been bitten by them. It is mostly the woman of the house who does the housework, and encountering one is very rare. I do see Black Widows outside, but if I know of anyone bitten by one they did not suffer any severe reaction.
We see Copperhead Snakes every summer, and occasionally see Rattlesnakes. A cousin's young son was bitten by a Copperhead, on his bare foot. It swelled up really bad, and he was under a doctor's treatment. He got over it fine.
I am the yard keeper on our place, and I am much more bothered by the bitting insects such as horseflies, deerflies, gnats, ticks, and chiggers, and stingers such as wasps and yellow jackets.

Did you live in the country in Ohio? I imagine there are injurious things there also.....
If you were a city person, you will have some adjusting to get used to the countryside here.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

Prickly pears are supposedly edible and rather tasty but I've never had them.

We had them all over So Ca when I was a kid..Of course that is when 25 miles outside of Los Angeles was almost desert...We used to peal them and eat them like any other fruit.

I just never think of castus and Ozarks.

Nita

[Bufford]

Are they doing much lay offs in NWA?

[dldavis]

Originally Posted by krunchabunch

Hi, i just moved from ohio to ozark arkansas, my family and i are staying with my husbands family until we get a job and can find our own place, hes at an interview right not at the butterball plant. some money is better then no money. i am hoping ill get a job soon also. My husbands car plant closed down in ohio and he was out of work, so we more less came down here with nothing but our clothes because there wasnt much room in the car for anything else. but i have to say so far i do like it. my 7 year old son got in a fight with a cactus because we didnt have those in the yard were we were at in ohio. I am worried about the poison spiders tho, how often do kids die or have to be rushed to the er for spider bites? thanks

yep - you got that right. if we didnt have unions all would be good but that is exactly why the car dealership and other factories have either closed their doors or moved out of the country, UNIONS. They were good in ole days but not needed now. They just add another layer between you and management and cost a great deal of money. I mean can you imagine. My son is a chemical engineer and went to school for 6 years and studied his butt off and he only right out of school will make 75k and an auto worker only high school level with benefits and turns a freakin screw gets paid 150k yr. that is insane. give us a break.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by Bufford

Are they doing much lay offs in NWA?

Superior Industries has been laying off at both their Fayetteville and Rogers plants. They make cast aluminum wheels for quite a few automakers. However, this isn't anything particularly new with them, they've been having trouble since before the worst starting happening and have been working to move production and engineering to Mexico for years. I had a good friend get the pink slip just a couple weeks before Christmas but he had ample warning had he listened.

[krunchabunch]

Originally Posted by Marianinark

Yes, Prickly Pear Cactus are native to the Ozarks, but not all that common, and generally not in yards unless planted there. I suggest if you do not like them, just remove them ( wear leather gloves...).

We've lived in the woods in northern Newton County for 24 years, and I have not seen one cactus on our land, or the neighboring areas.

As for poisonous spiders, we have lived here 32 years and I have not seen a Brown Recluse spider, but have known a very few people that have been bitten by them. It is mostly the woman of the house who does the housework, and encountering one is very rare. I do see Black Widows outside, but if I know of anyone bitten by one they did not suffer any severe reaction.
We see Copperhead Snakes every summer, and occasionally see Rattlesnakes. A cousin's young son was bitten by a Copperhead, on his bare foot. It swelled up really bad, and he was under a doctor's treatment. He got over it fine.
I am the yard keeper on our place, and I am much more bothered by the bitting insects such as horseflies, deerflies, gnats, ticks, and chiggers, and stingers such as wasps and yellow jackets.

Did you live in the country in Ohio? I imagine there are injurious things there also.....
If you were a city person, you will have some adjusting to get used to the countryside here.

yes we lived in town in ohio so not much wildlife at all unless u count stray cats lol

[blueyedgurl79]

Something to know about brown recluse spiders is that they like dark spaces. Just to be cautious if you pull anything out like clothes, blankets, shoes, etc., that have been in storage or haven't been handled in a while, just give them a good shake and make sure nothing is in there hiding. I live in southeast Oklahoma which is a lot like Arkansas and I got bitten by one a few years back after a bad ice storm. The spider was hiding under my pillow and got me on my arm. I went to the ER and they gave me a steroid shot and also prescription steroids and antibiotics. I was one of the lucky ones and you can't even tell I got bit as my skin didn't die around the area. Anyway, hope that helps you some!

[Bufford]

All the critters(bugs, snakes, etc.) they everyone is talking about, are they all over AR, in the city or more in rural areas?

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Bufford

All the critters(bugs, snakes, etc.) they everyone is talking about, are they all over AR, in the city or more in rural areas?

Bufford, I don't know where you live in Ca but we lived in So Calif most of our lives and there, probably aren't many more creatures here than there. Yes, there are snakes, we haven't seen them. My understanding they are more around the water and under rubbish. In CA we had Diamond Backs and Side winders.

the spiders are no more prevenant than Black Widows in Ca, AZ or NM. We do live in an area that is pretty much all forest, we get our house and yard strayed every few months and put down little traps sorta like the old fashion fly paper.

I am not going to say no one will ever see a pretty scary varment, but I wouldn't let it worry me too much. Both Tx and NM have lots of Recluse Spiders, we never saw one, I guess the were riding.

[Bufford]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Bufford, I don't know where you live in Ca but we lived in So Calif most of our lives and there, probably aren't many more creatures here than there. Yes, there are snakes, we haven't seen them. My understanding they are more around the water and under rubbish. In CA we had Diamond Backs and Side winders.

the spiders are no more prevenant than Black Widows in Ca, AZ or NM. We do live in an area that is pretty much all forest, we get our house and yard strayed every few months and put down little traps sorta like the old fashion fly paper.

I am not going to say no one will ever see a pretty scary varment, but I wouldn't let it worry me too much. Both Tx and NM have lots of Recluse Spiders, we never saw one, I guess the were riding.

Thanks Nita, I didn't think it was so bad.
I live in Banning.